With the rapid development of science and technology in the past few years, children today find it difficult to conceive how people lived in the past. How did people in ancient times cook without gas ovens, keep out the rain without raincoats, measure humidity, or tell the direction without a compass? To answer these questions, a group of interested people recently set up the first children's museum in the Republic of China.

Establishment: The museum is the brainchild of Linda Wu, managing editor of Echo magazine. Last year, the magazine sponsored a traveling exhibition consisting of thousands of children's games to tour the island. When the exhibition ended, Ms. Wu realized that the establishment of a children's museum would not only serve to provide a permanent home for the exhibits but would also help children understand their own culture.

The idea was supported by the third branch of the Taipei Zonta Club. Through the persuasion of its members, people from all sectors of the community donated money, and the Taipei City Government provided the site on the second floor of the Li Chung market on Hoping E. Road, While the environs may not seem ideal, children quickly feel at home in such a comfortable place.

Model architecture: Facing the main gate of the museum is an example of traditional architecture, patterned after the Lin Family Garden in Panchiao in the suburbs of Taipei. The model was designed and constructed by two teachers at the Taipei Institute of Technology with wood donated by a timber merchant in Lotung. Children learn how to construct a Chinese building without using nails, and how to let in the maximum amount of sunshine.

Classical residence: Next to the model house a "central hall" in traditional Chinese style has been erected. It is laid out with chairs, a credence table with ancestors' tablets placed on top, and scroll paintings. Next to it is an old-style bedroom, where children who test the bed often say: "It's beautiful but not as comfortable as mine."

In the kitchen, an old-fashioned furnace, grindstone, bamboo-made dining table and chairs are displayed, and a coir raincoat is hung on the wall. Children are allowed to touch these exhibits to satisfy their curiosity. They can also operate a spinning wheel. Museum workers demonstrate how people in the past raised silkworms, spun silk and wove cloth. Children are especially delighted to try on classical garments.

Science: Science exhibits include a model orientation-chariot, a rain gauge, a hygrometer and others. The chariot, which functions as a com pass, helped Huang Ti, the first ruler in Chinese history, to smash his enemy Chih You when fog descended on the battlefield about 5,000 years ago.

The hygrometer used in the Han dynasty was fashioned after a weighing scale with a feather and a piece of charcoal on either side. If the humidity is high, the scale will tilt to one side as the charcoal becomes heavier after absorbing moisture from the air. The Western world did not find out how to measure humidity using a ball of wool and a piece of rock until the year 1450, about 1,000 years after the Chinese invented their system

The wind cone is a device in vented by Chang Heng of the Eastern Han dynasty. The so-called "bronze phoenix" was placed on top of roofs to measure the direction and velocity of the wind. A similar appliance was not invented until 1,000 years later in Europe. Other appliances, such as a papermaking machine, help to inspire children to think and create through an understanding of the development of science in ancient China.

Toys: Toys on exhibit are mainly made from natural materials. Museum workers teach children how to make animals from tree leaves or dolls from soybeans and toothpicks as a way to divert their attention from the new craze of video games.

Library: A small library, with a collection of 2,000 books, situated in a corner of the museum, draws the largest crowds of children. Tapes on Chinese culture are regularly shown on a video recorder at the museum.

Since its inauguration, thousands of children visit the museum every day. The museum's director Teng Pei-yu said: "We want it to be a living museum. At present, we have 50 volunteer workers. We need more to make every child feel their tour of the museum is worthwhile."

[Picture Caption]

1. A front view of the children's museum on the second floor of Li Chung market. 2. As it is a living museum, children are allowed to touch the exhibits. 3. From this architecture model, children learn how to construct a Chinese building without using nails, and how to let in the maximum amount of sunshine. 4. The old-style bedroom in the display. 5-7. An old-fashioned furnace, grindstone, bamboo-made dining table and chairs are displayed in the kitchen, and a coir raincoat is hung on the wall.

1. A girl operates a spinning wheel in the museum. 2. Children are delighted to try on classical garments. 3. The museum's director Teng Pei-yu hopes that more children's museums will be established in the future. 4. The so-called "bronze phoenix" wind cone and the old-style hygrometer fashioned after a weighing scale with a feather and a piece of charcoal on either side. 5. A small library standing in a corner of the museum draws the largest crowds of children.

As it is a living museum, children are allowed to touch the exhibits.

From this architecture model, children learn how to construct a Chinese building without using nails, and how to let in the maximum amount of sunshine.

The old-style bedroom in the display.

An old-fashioned furnace, grindstone, bamboo-made dining table and chairs are displayed in the kitchen, and a coir raincoat is hung on the wall.

An old-fashioned furnace, grindstone, bamboo-made dining table and chairs are displayed in the kitchen, and a coir raincoat is hung on the wall.

An old-fashioned furnace, grindstone, bamboo-made dining table and chairs are displayed in the kitchen, and a coir raincoat is hung on the wall.

A girl operates a spinning wheel in the museum.

Children are delighted to try on classical garments.

The museum's director Teng Pei-yu hopes that more children's museums will be established in the future.

The so-called "bronze phoenix" wind cone and the old-style hygrometer fashioned after a weighing scale with a feather and a piece of charcoal on either side.

A small library standing in a corner of the museum draws the largest crowds of children.