The original China Science and Technology Museum located on the north Third Ring Road (and not to be confused with the newer facility, which opened last year at the Olympic Forest Park) is set for a radical makeover, courtesy of award-winning architects KSP Jürgen Engel Architekten International.

Dating back to 1988, the museum was the first of its kind in China and featured an iconic geodesic dome that houses an "Astro-Vision Theater," among other attractions. Based on the artistic renderings, the new design looks far more grandiose, and, according to evolo.us, features a "floating structure measuring 133.5m x 133.5m, which rises above the pedestal building at a height of around 20m."

This roof is supported by numerous, extremely slender columns, which, based on the image of a bamboo grove, form a concentrated forest of columns. They create a spatial transition from the public road to the scientific exhibition area

No word yet on what attractions will be housed within, but from the looks of it, you can expect some truly-state of the art exhibitions.

Meanwhile, we recently took a trip back to the new China Science and Technology Museum, located a ten minutes’ walk east of the south gate of the Olympic Forest Park. The museum is easily accessible by metro line 1 and the attractions include four theaters, a cafeteria, and an area especially for kids’ exhibits.

The whole building is nicely air-conditioned, making it a great daylong activity for these hot summer days. Tickets for the main exhibition area are RMB 30 for adults, RMB 20 for students with ID, and include four floors’ worth of attractions, over which the obligatory dinosaur skeleton looms.

The attractions themselves are split into are themed areas ranging from "healthy living and nutrition" to "physics." Familiar tricks, such as pendulums and Rube-Goldberg devices, scatter the floor along with block puzzles and ocean life exhibits. All posters and information are written in both English and Chinese, though the scientific details may escape younger visitors.

Once your kids start to tire of wandering the floors, head back to the ground floor and check out the theaters. The Beijing Science and Technology Museum boasts an impressive array of four cinemas: the Dome Screen, 4D Cinema, IMAX Cinema and 3D Motion Cinema. The Dome Screen is reminiscent of a planetarium, with shows such as “Cosmic Voyage” and “Journey to the Stars.” Meanwhile, the 4D Cinema has cute animated films such as “Turtle Vision,” which should appeal especially to younger kids, while the IMAX theater has international films such as “The Ultimate Wave,” a film about Tahiti’s surf scene dubbed smoothly over into Chinese.

Finally, the 3D Motion Cinema should be a good choice for elementary to middle-schoolers, incorporating movement and special effects into selections such as the “Extreme Log Ride 3D.”

The museum has a number of dining options featuring both basic Western options – i.e. hamburgers and hot dogs – and Chinese selections consisting of the standard set meals (tao can, 套餐）with servings of rice, veggies and meat, and a variety of drinks. Prices for these tend to fall in the RMB 20 range for a meal. More options are available in the cafeteria area downstairs, which has both a greater variety of cheaper set meals and a Pizza Company buffet for RMB 49.

China Science and Technology Museum. 中国科技馆
2 Beichen Donglu (ten minutes east of the south gate of the Olympic Forest Park). Chaoyang District. (5904 1000) 朝阳区北辰东路5号

Parents looking to send their kids to an international kindergarten in Beijing have a plethora of options. That said, it never hurts to have one more.

On July 1, Beanstalk International Bilingual School (BIBS) will open the doors to its newest campus: the Beanstalk International Kindergarten, Wanda Branch.

This will be Beanstalk’s second kindergarten and its fourth campus, the other two being their primary school and their middle/high school.

The new kindergarten is smack dab in the center of the CBD’s Wanda Plaza—a massive complex encompassing office buildings, shopping, restaurants, and more. The Wanda branch will offer two programs, with the choice of program left up to parents.

The Bilingual International Program will evenly divide instruction between Chinese and English, while the Immersion International Program will be taught fully in English.

Some of the Chinese teachers have been transferred from Beanstalk’s original Liangmaqiao location, while others are newly hired. Meanwhile, all English teachers will be native speakers.

Beanstalk’s new facilities are lovely, with primary colors scattered about. The school has three floors with 15 classrooms, six piano rooms, a dance room, two playgrounds and even a stage so children have the chance to explore a wide range of interests outside of basic academics, from music to performing arts.

Parents are free to visit prior to its opening. To arrange a visit, call 5960-3997.

In a time of heated academic competition, many Chinese parents are turning to what might be seen as desperate measures to get their kids ahead. It is becoming increasingly common for parents in the mainland to send their children to high schools overseas—particularly in the United States—in hopes that a foreign education will put them on the fast track to academic success. While the majority of Chinese students heading off to the US for secondary school attend competitive private schools in wealthy areas, Millinocket, Maine’s 200-student Stearns public high school attracted the attention of The New York Times for its decision to recruit students from China.

Millinocket: only a 9-hour drive from NYC

The article described Millinocket as “remote,” with a population of only 5,000 and vacant storefronts littering its main street. Kenneth Smith, the schools’ superintendent and mastermind behind the project, justified the USD 27,000 price tag that the Chinese students will be paying with promises of the town’s beauty and extensive efforts made to welcome them.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t long before the Global Times published a biting reply. In the article, columnist Peter Mattimore described Stearns as a “run-of-the-mill” high school looking to make a quick buck off of unsuspecting Chinese students.

To nobody’s surprise, the article’s bitter criticism of Dr. Smith’s plan only spurred the controversy further. Articles on the websites of both The Atlantic magazine and Bangor Daily News slammed Mattimore for his “propaganda,” claiming the Chinese government was simply afraid of “leaking” its top academic talent to American schools.

But while the readership of the Global Times is certainly sizable, these magazines may be the ones taking the issue out of proportion. The column was published only on the English-speaking version of the website, whose reach is miniscule compared to that of its Chinese counterpart. As it caters primarily to expatriates—not remotely a part of Dr. Smith’s intended audience—it is unlikely that the article would have much effect in the Chinese community, but rather serve simply as food for thought.

As of now, the conflict has yet to find resolution. A follow-up article in the Bangor Daily News confirmed Mattimore’s staunch stance on the issue; he plans to visit Stearns around July to back up his criticisms. If all goes well for Millinocket, American public schools might just see an influx of Chinese students. Whether they are welcomed as ambassadors of cross-culturalism or a source of revenue, the foreign-student trend is not one to be ignored.