BUSAN — A new program invites children to treat architecture not as a set of engineering techniques but as a culture shaped by human life, art and imagination — and then to design buildings of their own.
The National Science Museum Busan said on the 22nd that it will run the hands-on program "Hidden Stories Inside Buildings" through Dec. 20 as part of its special exhibition "Build-Up Project."
The program is a participatory course in which children work through a workbook examining the design methods and architectural philosophies of leading global architects, then conceive and build their own structures. Participants explore a range of cases, including Le Corbusier's ideas for efficient living spaces, Frank Lloyd Wright's nature-oriented architecture and Frank Gehry's unconventional, free-form designs, to broaden their architectural thinking.
In the hands-on portion, children use materials such as wire mesh, wood, clay and PVC to combine key architectural elements and structures, completing a one-of-a-kind living space or building of their own design.
The program runs five times a day in the mid-size conference room on the first floor of the museum, with 15 teams per session. Each team consists of a preschooler or elementary school student accompanied by one guardian. Applications are accepted through NAVER reservations. Participants will also receive free admission to the "Build-Up Project" special exhibition on the day of their session.
"Architecture contains not only scientific principles but also the architect's thinking and artistic imagination," said Kwon Soo-jin, head of the museum's science culture division. "We hope this program gives children a chance to understand architecture from various perspectives and to express themselves creatively by adding their own ideas."
Separately, the National Science Museum Busan will hold the "2026 Fragrance Science Camp" on Oct. 31 in partnership with the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), for students in the fourth through sixth grades of elementary school and in middle school. Under the theme "In Search of the Scent of Korea's Wildflowers," participants will explore the scientific principles of fragrance and its links to memory, and will try blending scents themselves.