Roaming the Fantastical Space: A Fun Day at Shanghai Astronomy Museum with Chevrolet

A Little Astronaut’s Dream

The starry sky is vast and boundless, and exploration never ends. Safeguard the fantastical and magnificent space dream in your child’s mind, starting with a short trip through the stars. The world's largest Shanghai Astronomy Museum has opened with a bang. Together with the Chevrolet Menlo EV, we set out to fulfill the first dream of this summer vacation! Our "Astronaut Mickey" turns on the shiny headlights, and we drive smoothly all the way, kicking off a self-driving tour filled with laughter and joy. Let's experience this new landmark of the Magic City!

"Mom, I want to be an astronaut and play in space." "Then do you know what space looks like?" "I do! It's a place where you can touch the stars~~"

A Hidden Gem for Traveling with Kids

For a self-driving trip around Shanghai, Yiyu is here again to recommend a hidden gem for traveling with kids. The kids are all on summer break, so come and check out the recently opened Shanghai Astronomy Museum!

Bird's-eye view from the sky, it looks like a giant time machine, as if you can travel through the universe and soar in the Milky Way; the exhibitions inside are dazzling, reach out and touch the unreachable moon, the dreamy space backdrop amazes children, even preschoolers can have a blast! Take photos, learn science, and you can also observe the sun and many celestial bodies through the solar tower and large astronomical telescopes. It's a new Shanghai landmark loved by both adults and children!

The Shanghai Astronomy Museum is located on the shores of Dishui Lake, with an investment of 528 million yuan, an exhibition area of 12,500 square meters, making it the largest astronomy museum in the world. Its futuristic architecture is inspired by the "Three Bodies" – symbolizing the sun, earth, and moon. The various curved designs reflect the beauty of curves in the movement of celestial bodies and orbits. The main building has three floors above ground and one basement level, with three main exhibition areas: "Home," "Universe," and "Journey," closely connected for a one-stop tour. In addition, there are three special exhibition areas: the Curious Planet children's activity area, the Chinese Quest for the Sky exhibition area, and a multi-functional dome theater for interactive experiences. There are also a youth observation base, a public observatory, and the Magic Solar Tower.

Address: No. 380 Lin-gang Avenue, Nanhui New City, Pudong New Area, Shanghai. Tickets: Online reservation (real-name system), ticket price 30 yuan. Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 9:30-16:00 (closed on Mondays), last admission at 15:00.

Must-Visit Guide for Shanghai Astronomy Museum

Tickets for the Shanghai Astronomy Museum are now by real-name reservation. Note that free tickets also need to be reserved. After entering, just swipe your ID card. Dome theater tickets also need to be snatched in advance; remember to enter your information early to increase your chances. The restaurant is on B1, offering mainly fast food and simple meals, and there are planet-themed ice creams and desserts worth trying. There's a luggage storage near the exit on the first floor. For the best visit, it's recommended to start from the entrance on the first floor and end at B1.

After entering the museum, there are six exhibition projects that require on-site official reservations: Flying Over the Galaxy Theater (explore the mysteries of the galaxy), What If Theater (stories about the origin of the universe), Voyage to Mars (simulated rescue stories of planetary exploration), Curious Planet (children's activity area suitable for preschoolers), Xihe Solar Tower, and Wangshu Observatory. These are divided into morning and afternoon sessions and are almost instantly fully booked. It's really hard to grab tickets when you're with a baby, but the main pavilion is still very worth seeing! Be sure to appreciate the beauty of the arched skylight and the Foucault pendulum on the first floor. Quietly wait for that moment that confirms the earth's rotation – perfect!

Entering the museum, I was completely awed. The earth swallowed by magma seemed still steaming, and a true-to-scale moon and an educational sun with a perfect presentation were right there! The multimedia projection showing the earth's changes from space was super cool; every photo you take feels like you're in the universe. Get up close with rare and precious meteorites, and look up to see a brilliant starry sky filled with spacecraft. Human civilization has continuously explored the universe, starting from 'the earth is round' to discovering the rules of celestial evolution and movement. I couldn't help but marvel: humans are tiny, but human civilization is truly great!

Here, through grand immersive scenes, simulation models, and various visually striking multimedia images, they've created a starry sky you can touch with your own hands. Here, Pangpang was full of love for the earth, curious about the moon, and the blazing sun deeply captured his attention. Curiosity made him fiddle with every button he could. The overall design is highly interactive, and if there were fewer people, the full view would be even more breathtaking!

For the first time in the world, this place presents the wonders of the universe panoramically from five angles: space-time, light, gravity, elements, and life, showcasing the core concepts of modern astronomy. Here, it answers children's countless 'whys.' The division of themed areas makes you feel like you're traveling through different spaces, with the flowing galaxy of colors, a three-dimensional spatiotemporal grid, and various themed artistic interactive installations allowing us to appreciate the mysteries of astronomy!

This area uses vivid and fun facilities to explain some obscure science. Teenagers gathered around the installations were eager to try. Here you can measure celestial bodies, feel gravitational distortion, explore what the 'spaghetti effect' of a black hole is, and even discuss equations in Einstein's classroom. There are also familiar DNA models and the periodic table of chemical elements – haha, it brings back the fear of being dominated by science!

This exhibition area is the most exciting and passionate one. It presents the great journey of human exploration of the universe in an epic manner, along with the latest achievements of China's space program – a full-scale replica of the Tianhe core module. You can walk in and visit the fitness area, sleeping quarters, and simulate space flight experiences with various button operations, experiencing the real life of our astronauts.

There's also the Chang'e-5, which packed 'lunar soil' and sent it express back to Earth, humanity's first lunar rover that traveled on the far side of the moon, and the Zhurong Mars rover that reached the Martian surface this May. It feels as if landing on the moon is within reach. If you want a deeper experience, try the spacewalk project!

After the visit, you can browse the souvenir shop at the astronomy museum. The huge astronaut model at the entrance is also a great spot for photos! Here you'll find a collection of childlike, space-related goodies. I recommend the popular science books and building blocks!

Although there is a Dishui Lake metro station nearby, I recommend driving for convenience.

Our Self-Drive Companion

This time, we explored the Shanghai Astronomy Museum with the Chevrolet Menlo EV Mickey Space Edition. The titanium gray body is elegant and stylish, with a futuristic design full of sci-fi vibes. The moment you get in, you feel like you're roaming the universe! Pangpang got very excited once onboard, constantly looking up at the sunroof. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the panoramic starlight sky roof outlined a fairy-tale world full of space dreams.

This playful pure electric Chevrolet Menlo EV Mickey Space Edition is designed around the classic Mickey Mouse image. The car body is wrapped with lively patterns of the universe, spaceships, and planets. The eye-catching Mickey in an astronaut suit is adorably funny and super eye-catching! Driving it to the astronomy museum feels so trendy!

The exclusive Mickey Space car stickers with a relief art feel are very three-dimensional and lifelike, making you want to touch them. Look, a golden Mickey is running off the spaceship – I wonder if he's going to the moon? The simple patterns outline a richly imaginative and cute story, full of exploration and adventure. You know, Chevrolet has a story with the moon that must be told!

In 1971, during the successful Apollo moon landing, the world's first manned lunar rover was an electric vehicle. At that time, through scientific research, General Motors first exhibited a full-scale model of this electric Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). After continuous innovative engineering, the world's first pure electric vehicle with both ultra-long range and affordable price – the Chevrolet Bolt EV – officially launched in 2017. The countless connections between Chevrolet's electric cars and the moon have created this Chevrolet Menlo EV, which blends technology and practicality. Driving it, we sped towards the Shanghai Astronomy Museum on the shores of Dishui Lake, looking forward to a space dream journey.

Dishui Lake, Shanghai's new trending travel destination, offers wide views and pleasant scenery, perfect for a self-drive trip. Catching Shanghai's fairy-tale weather, with blue sky, white clouds, and clear sunshine, my mood lifted with the gentle breeze!

Not only that, the car also features an exquisite Mickey Space nameplate, and the redesigned Menlo Adventure emblem is full of futuristic vibes! The wheels have delicate Mickey heads adorned with little planet textures, super cute. It's the dream car that awakens your inner astronomy dream and protects your childlike wonder!

A self-drive outing is a fun lifestyle, especially on the road with a baby; the time spent in the car becomes a joyful parent-child moment.

This Chevrolet Menlo EV Mickey Space Edition not only features Mickey elements all over the body, but the interior is also full of details. The steering wheel, dashboard, and center console in the winged dual-element floating cockpit are highly decorative and embedded with the Mickey astronaut emblem, with smooth and stylish lines. The seat headrests have the Fantasi logo and Mickey pattern, and with the premium Alcantara upholstery, the overall ride is comfortable and very user-friendly. Starting the car, the in-car screen turns into a 'space console' with a Mickey icon, making interactive operations like online navigation, entertainment, and media even more magical. All the way, laughter and joy filled the car as we immersed ourselves in tales of landing on the moon with Astronaut Mickey~~

There's also a little surprise hidden in this Chevrolet Mickey Space Edition car! Open the driver's side door on the left, and you'll see a super dreamy Mickey pattern projected on the ground. Seeing my baby's surprised look, as an old mother, I felt so accomplished! In the night, with the lights dim, the little starlight on the ground felt like we'd truly entered a fairy-tale kingdom.

The stylish and trendy body design is also great for photo ops. In the parking lot of the astronomy museum, we took a series of cool shots with the sci-fi style pure electric Menlo. In the dim night scene, it felt like we were ready to soar into space at any moment, with the moon right before our eyes.