A child takes part in a dry ice experiment with a teacher at the Science Night carnival, held at Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center.

A Science Night carnival was launched over the weekend at the city’s urban planning exhibition center, featuring a number of scientific experiments and lectures designed for parents and children.

The carnival, part of the Shanghai Science Festival, is going on at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center through July 15. It is open to the public free of admission. Visitors’ reservation is required on the Shanghai Kepu App.

Some 450 families took part in the event on Saturday. Parents and children were invited to a science park, virtual reality hall, science labs as well as a lecture hall during the evening carnival. The urban planning exhibitions at the center are also open to visitors during the event.

Visitors can put on headphones at “Sound of Science” to listen to music converted from speeches by China’s first astronaut Yang Liwei, Nobel Prize winner Tu Youyou as well as sounds recorded by China’s Tiangong space lab.

At the Science Park, children can assemble models of the Mars rover and China’s traditional mortise and tenon architectural structure. They can also try experiments, under the guidance of teachers, about dry ice and even quantum physics.

Virtual reality facilities are also installed on the third floor of the center to allow visitors to “fly” over the city or “ramble” around the historical Yueyang Road to see what it will look like 30 years in the future. The display is meant to showcase the city’s historic ambience as well as encourage the public to help protect the city’s historical buildings, according to the center.