Opening hours
Monday13:00～18:00
Tuesday13:00～18:00
Wednesday13:00～18:00
Thursday13:00～18:00
Friday13:00～18:00
SaturdayClosed
SundayClosed
Public Holiday Closed
Fee
Free admission
Suggested time for visit
30 minutes
Before Hong Kong’s first earth sciences park, the community is relatively ignorant about this subject. It does not take long, however, for people to realise that these rocks are hugely relevant to our lives. Named after a retired mining engineer, Stephen Hui, this modest-looking museum at the University of Hong Kong is located next to the University Bookstore, and so is very easily accessible. The two exhibition halls explain the development of earth sciences from ancient times to the present day, including the story about the world’s highest peak, the Himalayas. While its presentation format is quite academic-focused, it offers a substantial amount of information on the earth and its changes, research materials on earth sciences, and some useful everyday knowledge.
Having worked in the mining industry in Hong Kong and China early in his career, Dr Hui is a keen collector of rare rocks and fossils. His collection dates from 1950s to 1970s, and the majority of his collection has been donated to the University of Hong Kong. Under the Department of Earth Sciences, the collection is used mainly for academic and education purposes. In 2015, students studying there discovered that one of the fossils in the collection is actually an osteoglossoid osteoglossomorph fish Paralycoptera from the late Jurassic period some 147,000,000 years ago, and is also Hong Kong’s first vertebrate animal fossil from the Jurassic period. There are altogether over 1600 colorful and flamboyant rock minerals, rocks and fossils, displayed under four themes: Dynamic Earth, Earth Evolution, Earth Materials and Geological History of Hong Kong. For female visitors, the exhibition on Earth Properties on the second floor, which showcases many precious gemstones, must be a real draw. Other than fossil exhibits, you can also find a massive chrysanthemum stone hidden within a Trilobite fossil from the Ordovician period (some 490,000,000 years ago) in Hunan，A specimen of such size is a rare discovery indeed, and visitors can even allowed to touch these gems!
To cater to the interest of the public, the museum also organises regular large-scale shows that feature other themes such as precious gemstones. As an example, the exhibition last year showcased the stunning collections of 18 private collectors.