MORE than 100 curators of the country's science museums yesterday gathered in Shanghai to learn and exchange ideas on how to better operate a natural science museum.

The six-day event, organized by China Association for Science and Technology, is being held in Shanghai Science and Technology Museum this week. The curators come from various kinds of museums on science education promotion including natural history, science and technology and wetland protection.

"The science museums in China has witnessed a rapid development in recent years," says Chen Minghui, an official with Chinese Association of Natural Science Museums. Chen said China is paying more attention on science and technology development, hence more attention and investment in science education promotion.

"Almost every province and city has a natural science museum. Many of them are also setting up new branches with modern technologies,”said Chen. She added the association wants to take this opportunity to broaden the curators' vision and shareexperiences from each other.

The event covers topics including trends of the development of science museums, experiences in operating multiple museums, how to apply new media in promoting knowledge and stories behind the museums, as well as financial and human resources policies through museums' operation.