Museums pique kids' curiosity

Children visit the Shanghai Animation and Comics Museum in Shanghai, east China, Aug. 16, 2012. Various cartoons, manuscripts and technologies were presented at the museum, attracting numerous visitors. (Xinhua/Pei Xin)

Shanghai is filled with interesting museums, and they will educate, intrigue and delight children with exhibitions of animation characters, insects and chopsticks, to name a few.

Here are some lesser-known, non-art museums scattered around the city. They're good destinations on weekends and when foul air means that outdoor activities are canceled.

Animation Museum

Children will love this museum covering the world history of cartoons and animation. The first floor covers history, from China's shadow puppets to Disney's characters. The main hall is filled with posters and life-sized statues. Short animation is screened.

In a second-floor studio, children can dub voices for favorite characters.

Tel: 5895-7998

Address: 69 Zhangjiang Rd, Pudong New Area

Opening hours: 10am-5pm, closed on Mondays

Admission: 30 yuan

Brush and Ink Museum

The one-room museum covers the history of ink, inkstones and brushes. It explains how to make ink and features stories about Shanghai and its calligraphers. Brushes and inkstones are displayed, each with an English audio explanation.

Tel: 5169-8918

Address: 2/F, 429 Fujiang Road M., Huangpu Distict

Opening hours: 9:30am-5:30pm, daily

Admission: Free

Chopsticks Museum

This is one of the city's smallest museums and it's a bit rundown. It's the personal exhibition of Lan Xiang, who has collected 2,000 pairs of chopsticks from around Asia. Lan, 81, lives upstairs. If inclined, the former writer can discuss his chopstick journeys. The prized pair is a gilded silver set from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

Tel: 5671-7528

Address: 191 Duolun Rd, Hongkou District

Opening hours: Call in advance

Admission: Free

Glass Museum

The museum, a former glass furnace workshop, explains the making of glass as well as artistic glass pieces. Works from China and overseas are displayed. The museum itself is visually dramatic with its play of light and shadow. It features interactive displays.

Tel: 6618-1970

Address: Bldg 8, 685 Changjiang Rd W., Baoshan District

Opening hours: 9:30am-4:30pm, closed on Mondays

Admission: 20 yuan

Insect Museum

The museum contains more than a million specimens of insects from around the world, many rare and beautiful, some extinct. It contains what many consider the world's most beautiful insect, the electric blue Morpho Helena from South America. The museum was founded in 1868 and once called the British Museum in Asia. Today it's in a modern building.

Tel: 5492-4191

Address: 300 Fenglin Rd, Xuhui District

Opening hours: 9am-4pm

Admission: 15 yuan for adults, 10 yuan for children