Busan Science Museum Opens Quantum Education Exhibition with KRISS

Insider Brief

• The National Science Museum in Busan has partnered with the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) to launch a public education programme introducing visitors to quantum science through its Quantum Magic School exhibition.
• The exhibition features interactive demonstrations of superposition, entanglement and uncertainty, alongside a model of a 50-qubit superconducting quantum computer and an actual quantum processing unit.
• The programme includes a research laboratory tour at KRISS in Daejeon and a lecture concert combining magic performances with explanations of quantum mechanics for students and the general public.

The National Science Museum in Busan has partnered with KRISS on a special program linked to its “Quantum Magic School” exhibition, Seoul Economic Daily reported. The program is meant to let anyone learn about and experience quantum science, which the outlet described as a future strategic technology.

The event is patterned on the wizarding school in the “Harry Potter” novel series. It includes a magic performance, a tour of a national research institute and a special lecture by a research institute director.

The exhibition is on view through Nov. 22 in the small exhibition hall on the museum’s first floor. It starts in a space designed to look like the entrance to a medieval castle, the report said.

Visitors are enrolled as new students of the Quantum Magic School alongside a cat character. In a nod to Harry Potter crossing a wall onto Platform 9¾, they pass through a “quantum tunneling” feature, which the outlet described as a physical principle of the microscopic world. They then go through an augmented reality photo zone before being placed in a magic dormitory.

Inside the hall, interactive displays teach superposition, entanglement and uncertainty, which the outlet identified as core principles of quantum mechanics. The displays include the Schrodinger’s cat thought experiment and a plasma ball. KRISS is showing a model of a superconductor-based 50-qubit quantum computer and an actual quantum processing unit (QPU) on site. The outlet said this gives visitors a direct look at equipment central to future high-tech industries.

According to the article, the program also offers a chance to visit a national research site in person, an opportunity that had been hard to find outside the capital region or specialized research institutes.

The “Science Field Trip” tour is scheduled for the 14th. It is open to students in the fourth grade of elementary school and above, and 35 places are available. The one-day trip departs from Busan and goes to KRISS in Yuseong District, Daejeon.

Participants will attend a lecture on standards and measurement, tour an actual quantum computing laboratory, watch a superconductor experiment demonstration and visit “Newton’s apple tree,” the outlet reported.

Lecture Concert

At 2 p.m. on the 21st, the main conference room of the museum will host “Quantum Magic × Talk Concert,” a lecture concert that combines science and entertainment. Magician Lee Jun-hyung, who has performed at the MBC Entertainment Awards and advised JTBC’s “Magic School,” will recreate quantum phenomena such as superposition and entanglement through magic performances.

Choi Jae-hyuk, head of the Quantum Technology Institute at KRISS, will speak next. Drawing on the principles behind the tricks the audience has just seen, Choi plans to explain quantum mechanics concepts in an entertaining way aimed at citizens and children, as reported by Seoul Economic Daily.

Organizer Comment

The program was organized to deepen understanding of and interest in quantum science. Kwon Soo-jin, head of the science culture division at the National Science Museum in Busan, said: “We designed the program so that people could see and experience quantum science directly and understand it easily, through magic, science lectures and a tour of a research institute.”

Kwon also said: “We will continue to work with specialized research institutes to expand opportunities to introduce advanced science and technology at a level the public can relate to.”