Hyundai Motor Group offers preview of GBC science museum with hands-on pop-up exhibition

Part of partnership with San Francisco's Exploratorium

12 interactive exhibits on display through Dec. 15

'Will serve as differentiated science education platform for a better future'

Visitors try out "Relay Play," an exhibit at the "Have Fun with Science" pop-up exhibition at Hyundai Motorstudio Seoul. [Hyundai Motor provided]

Hyundai Motor Group announced Tuesday it will hold a pop-up exhibition titled "Have Fun with Science," giving visitors a hands-on preview of the interactive science museum it plans to build inside the Global Business Complex. The event offers a glimpse of the group's vision to nurture future talent by strengthening foundational science education — the bedrock of advanced industries such as mobility, robotics and AI.

The exhibition is part of a strategic partnership Hyundai Motor Group signed with the Exploratorium in San Francisco on April 15. At the signing ceremony, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung said the group "continues to take on new challenges in cutting-edge scientific fields such as mobility and AI in order to contribute to humanity and the future of society," adding that the interactive science museum to be built with the Exploratorium "is expected to play an important role in nurturing individual curiosity and a spirit of inquiry, and in serving as a differentiated science education platform for a better future."

Located at Pier 15 on the Embarcadero in San Francisco, the Exploratorium was founded in 1969 by physicist Frank Oppenheimer, the younger brother of nuclear theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. The museum pioneered the "hands-on" approach — grounded in the philosophy that science is something to be done, not merely observed — in which visitors touch and experiment with exhibits directly. It draws nearly 750,000 visitors each year.

A view of the exhibition hall at the "Have Fun with Science" GBC interactive science museum pop-up exhibition at Hyundai Motorstudio Seoul. [Hyundai Motor provided]

"Have Fun with Science" is an extension of a pop-up science exhibition held at Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang in 2024. It was conceived to gather real visitor feedback ahead of the planned 2032 opening of the interactive science museum inside the GBC, with the responses to be incorporated into future content development. The exhibition runs at Hyundai Motorstudio Seoul through Dec. 15.

Free to enter, the exhibition occupies the fifth floor of Hyundai Motorstudio Seoul for roughly two months and features 12 interactive exhibits through which visitors can experiment with and understand basic scientific principles — including motion, ecology, and light and sound. Highlights include "Balancing Act," where visitors develop a sense of balance on a moving board; "Relay Play," which demonstrates the laws of energy through a chain reaction of domino blocks; and "Teamwork Game," in which multiple participants cooperate to move wooden blocks.

Additional offerings include "Windswept Landscape," an art installation that lets visitors observe wind-formed sand dunes and explore how desert ridgelines are created, and "As Time Goes By," a social-science exhibit in which visitors discuss future design directions through the keywords of technology, culture and the environment. Three hands-on programs using electric circuits and electronic devices will also run on a regular basis.

The "Drawing Machine Workshop," available by advance reservation or on-site registration, lets participants build a machine that draws pictures using rotational motion. All exhibitions and hands-on programs are free for visitors who sign up for a Hyundai Motorstudio membership.

A nighttime aerial rendering of the interactive science museum planned for the GBC. [Hyundai Motor provided]

On opening night Tuesday, an adult program called "Spin the Night" will be held for grown-up visitors. The event, open to members of the science community, Hyundai Motorstudio Seoul membership customers and the general adult public, will feature "Science of Cocktails," where cocktails are served alongside scientific explanations, and "Take Apart," a program in which participants disassemble everyday electronic devices.

During the exhibition period, Hyundai Motor Group plans to invite various domestic science and creative communities and analyze visitor feedback collected on-site, using the findings to inform content development and operational planning for the future interactive science museum.

Ji Seong-won, executive vice president in charge of HMG brand experience at Hyundai Motor Group, said the GBC interactive science museum "aims to cultivate individual curiosity and create new ground for science education in Korea," adding that the group is "adjusting and developing content in a direction suited to domestic conditions by listening to a wide range of visitor opinions." He expressed hope that "many people will develop a curiosity about science and enjoy the pleasure of creative experiences through hands-on science content that is still relatively unfamiliar in Korea."

eyre@heraldcorp.com