[Free Attractions]Family Travel Recommendation: Taiwan Highway Museum

Albee, Mom of Three

As my three little ones have grown, I’ve come to love taking them to museums more and more. The first time I took them to a museum, they were just wandering around the streets and probably finished exploring in less than an hour. Later on, I gradually started using storytelling to explain things to them, and after that, they fell in love with museums.

Because they’re still young, I mostly visit themed museums. From the Dinosaur Museum and the Lanyang Museum to the Taichung Science Education Center, the Taipei Shilin Observatory, and even the distant Fish Flakes Museum in Hualien. Hehe, my goal is to take them all to the National Palace Museum once they’re a bit older.

The great thing about museums is that they allow us to learn about history and the development of people and things in detail within a short time, and some even offer hands-on experiences. They can really broaden kids’ horizons.

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Today I’m introducing this newly opened museum tucked away on a small street — the “Taiwan Highway Museum.” I’m a wife from Wanhua, and when I used to live here, there was no museum back then,

As soon as you walk into Dongyuan Street, you’ll see Up!

The Happiness Highway Museum is onlyopen from Monday to Friday. It’s closed on weekends and national holidays,which is quite different from most museums. So be sure to check the opening hours before you come.

Admission iscompletely free — no charge at all.Just exchange your ID for a visitor pass at the counter and you can go in.

The little boy was super interested in this stuff. Before we left, I told Enen we were going to a highway museum — the very roads, highways, and overpasses you see, the history of all the roads you can see, how they’ve changed from the past to now. Let’s go explore together!

Walk through this gate, and when you look up, you’ll see an introduction to history. The development of roads has been a crucial part of Taiwan’s progress, connecting the entire framework of the island’s transportation and economic growth.

Hehe, this is one of the reasons they’ll love the museum — many museums have these stamp zones, and kids absolutely adore stamping things. Grab a postcard; there are four areas around the museum where you can collect stamps. Once you’ve explored and understood that section, you can get an Up stamp.

The museum isn’t very big, but if you take your time and explore carefully, you’ll find all kinds of surprises and interesting information, whether you’re looking down or up.

Of course, we start with the history of the Highway Bureau. Did you know where the very first Highway Bureau was? I only found out by looking at the photos — turns out the place I pass every day used to be the Highway Bureau!

Hi~ We’re little highway workers. The very first engineering hats worn by the Highway Bureau looked just like this.

The Highway Museum is quite different from other museums I’ve seen before — it uses interactive displays. Just touch the screen and you can see detailed information.

Do you know how many national highways Taiwan has? Each of them was hard-earned, carved out by so many workers!

After seeing the introduction to the Renjian Bridge, I suddenly realized just how amazing and hard-working the bridge builders and road pavers are. I have nothing but full respect for them!

Such a cute mini Guoguang bus. When I was little, I also took the Guoguang bus to visit my grandma.

Do you know which east-west expressways go around Taiwan? I didn’t until I saw the info — turns out Taiwan really does have a ton of roads. I’m also so impressed by the construction technology that connects the whole island from east to west!

We spent quite a while in this area. We all know typhoons greatly affect our transportation whenever they hit, but do you realize what huge projects road reconstruction becomes after each typhoon? May these natural disasters decrease, and may they bless the Taiwan we call home!

No museum is complete without interactive elements, and this is what the kids find the most fun. Pick up the microphone — at first, Enxin thought there was no sound, but then someone actually started talking to them. And those people turned out to be former directors of the Highway Bureau and high-ranking officials. The two were so surprised and ended up chatting with the person on the phone. Hahaha~ So fun!

Of course, it’s not just about roads and their development — it also covers the cars we drive. Enen noticed when she was very young why every car has a number plate on the back. I told her, “It’s like the car’s name. When the police type in the license plate number, they can find out what car it is...”

In the next interactive game, let’s try getting a driver’s license. Please pick up an exam sheet and head into the testing area.

The flip cards here are so much fun—I had no idea different vehicles have different license plates too!

Next up is the memory challenge game. I explained it to Enxin once, then tested how much they remembered. To my surprise, Enen remembered almost everything—he’s truly a car enthusiast!

Not only that, he seriously looked at the diagrams and explained the engineering warning signs himself, which amazed me with his understanding.

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After finishing the exam version, see how many questions you got right? Did you pass the driving test? And before you leave, don’t forget to take a photo at the FB check-in spot—you can even get a little gift from the staff brother there!

The gifts are amazing—they’re custom-built LEGO cars, and the triplets were super happy about them. Actually, the museum is great for all age groups. Take your time and let them discover that they can see and learn things here that are different from what’s in their school textbooks. Especially with free museums like this, we should support them even more!

I hope there can be more such small museums around Taiwan for our children to explore and learn more. A wife from Wanhua welcomes everyone to come and check it out!

[Authorized repost from Albee, Mom of Triplets. Parenting. Life] Original article from [The Taiwanese Highway Museum ^^ Where Happiness Lies in the Roads]