Locks are indispensable to our everyday lives since ancient times, and they are a kind of mechanical device that human beings invented to protect lives and property. With the development of the society and technology, the design of locks are becoming more advance, and so as the function and application of locks are also becoming more diversify. Nowadays, locks are no more just a piece of normal daily necessity, but are a kind of security device combining the function of protection, administration and decoration. 

The Macao Science Center is going to feature the first phase of “Know Your Locks and Keys” – Locks and Security Exhibition at Gallery 2 of the Exhibition Center from June 20 until the end of September. The officiating guests of the opening ceremony held this afternoon were Mr. Peter Lam, President of Macao Science Center (MSC), Mr. Steven Lei, Vice-President of MSC, Mr. Pan Sio, Curator of MSC, Mr. Shiunn-Shyang Chen, Curator of Taiwan National Science & Technology Museum (NSTM), Mr. Pei-Hsiu Wu, Director of the Exhibtion Division of NSTM and Mr. Zone-Jhe Jheng, Assistant Researcher of Exhibition of NSTM. Guests from the Mainland China and overseas and Planetarium representatives who are participating in the IPS-Macao International Full Dome Festival 2014 technical sessions also attended this opening ceremony. 

The exhibition showcases more than 160 exhibits, including a collection of delicate ancient locks borrowed from Dr. Hong-Sen YAN, the famous locks collector and the Vice-President of National Cheng Kung University. Locks such as “Castor Lock”, “Four-open Lock”, “Pullback Lock”, “Pattern Lock”, and “Hundred Family Lock”, and some self-made exhibits by the Center are displayed. Aside from these locks exhibits, there is also a “Lock Escape” experience game for visitors to complete a mission of unlocking and escape from the room. Through showcasing a variety of ancient and modern locks, model and interactive exhibits, the exhibition aims to let visitors to understand the history and development of locks, the structure and the mechanical principles of different locks and to recognize the ingenuity of locks designers. 

During the period of Exhibition, the Center will offer a “Locks DIY Workshop” for visitors to handcraft a lock. The Center will also invite Dr. Hong-Sen YAN, a locks collector and the Vice-President of Taiwan National Cheng Kung University, and Mr. Lee Chong Hou, “King of Locks at The Chinese University of Hong Kong” as speakers giving talk and workshop on the topics of the collection of ancient Chinese locks, and application of modern locks respectively at 15:00 to 18:00 tomorrow (June 21). All are welcome to join these free activities. For details and schedule of the activities, please visit the Center’s website (www.msc.org.mo). 

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Macao Science Center Limited 

20 June 2014 

05-PR-PUB-14