The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum has shut down its Lunar Walk facility, following an accident last month, museum officials said yesterday.

It is not clear when the amusement will re-open to the public. But before that, the museum staff will conduct an extensive check on it and improve safety equipment.

'The suspension aims to better guarantee visitors' safety,' Li Jun, a museum official, said yesterday. ' Our technology is not mature enough.'

Early last month, the museum opened the second phase of its exhibition including dozens of interactive displays such as Lunar Walk and a four-axis rotating facility that is used for training astronauts.

However, only one week after it opened, a young woman fell from the 7-meter-tall Lunar Walk, and fractured her tailbone.

The Lunar Walk is similar to bungee jumping. This experience resembles walking in the moon, which has only 1/6 the gravity of the Earth.

Managers said they will look at adding more rubber cushions on the ground and walls to enhance safety.

They said the museum will regularly conduct safety checks on its interactive exhibits.

Other items set up as part of the second phase include robots that can perform Peking Opera, a mini-train journey inside the human body and a 3-D IMAX cinema.

2005/06/28
Source: Shanghai Daily