Hong Kong has a vast and complex water supply system. To help the public understand the city’s water resources, the WSD set-up a water resources education centre named "H2OPE Centre" in 2019. The centre has had 80,000 visitors by April 2023 and provides comprehensive information on water resources through exhibits, demonstrations and interactive games.
Previously located in the WSD's Mong Kok office, the Water Resources Education Centre opened in 2013 and was a temporary exhibition centre mainly visited by primary school students; six-and-a-half years after its launch it had received nearly 70,000 visitors. The Water Resources Education Centre later moved to Tin Shui Wai with the relocation of the Mong Kok office. With a change of name, the H2OPE Centre now occupies a much larger space: from 300 m² to 720 m²; an increase of 1.4 times.
The two-storey H2OPE Centre features 12 exhibition zones with 54 exhibits and interactive facilities. Closely following people’s daily life, the displays cover a wide range of topics, including the city’s water supply history, water ecology, water reclamation, water recycling and waterworks projects. It is now Hong Kong’s most comprehensive exhibition about the city’s water resources.
During the planning stages for the exhibits, the WSD set-up an internal staff advisory team from different divisions to map the way forward for the development of the centre. The team adopted “SO WE AIM” as an acronym to represent the seven key design objectives for exhibits, using it as a design direction for the exhibition’s themes and format - as outlined.
Grey water recycling and rainwater harvesting are key water resources that have been developed in Hong Kong. A projected animation seen through a glass display window, the Water+Recycling exhibition zone presents the process of water recycling, purification and reuse of grey water and rainwater. The WSD Tin Shui Wai building housing the H2OPE Centre, is actually built with a grey water recycling and rainwater harvesting system with a daily treatment capacity of 19 m³ and 9 m³ respectively. The water collected is treated and reused for the building’s toilet flushing.
The Water+Show exhibition zone showcases a changing range of displays, including experiments and competitions on water conservation. The visitor seating is designed as benches made from pre-used water meters.
Water scarcity as a result of climate change is a future global issue, of which Hong Kong is also facing. The Water+Climate exhibition zone gives a global perspective using a spherical-globe projector to display images and videos about climate change and water issues.
The exhibits in H2OPE Centre are designed for the learning needs of a range of students. The Water+Cycle zone is a popular interactive area for children that realistically simulates the water cycle, showing various processes, from water yielding to waterworks facilities. Children can control rainfall, turn dams and gates on-and-off, play-act as engineers who build a network of water pipes, and experiment with new and old pumping methods.
The Water+Engineering zone is particularly suitable for older students and profiles water-related science and principles, including interactive exhibits showing the relationship between water pressure and water depth, as well as changes in piping and equipment.
The use of plumbing fixtures and appliances that consume less water is another way to save additional water. To raise public awareness of the WSD’s Water Efficiency labels, Water+Efficiency exhibition zone is designed to be a shopping mall, where visitors simulate making purchases and learn about products with different water efficiency grades and the difference it can make to water consumption.
Water+Sources features a series of interactive exhibits in which visitors play games, such as simulated fishing in reservoirs and acting as a waterworks inspector. Using technology and visual effects, students and the public are introduced to the city’s water catchment facilities and gathering ground ecology.
The interior of the Water+Theatre zone features a rarely-seen dome-shaped theatre screen showing three-dimensional movies that educate the audience about water resources.
CHAN Sin-yan, a H2OPE Centre docent, says tours of the centre are often given to primary school and kindergarten students, "Children come to the H2OPE Centre on a field trip, and they are usually very excited.” Unlike classroom learning, the H2OPE Centre emphasises interaction and a sensory experience. The tour is specifically designed to be interactive and students are impressed when trying it themselves. "Nowadays, children think that just by turning-on a tap they will get water. But they never think of where water comes from. The tour starts with historical stories of people fetching water using a carrying-pole. In the video, elderly residents talk about how they had to queue to fetch water when water rationing was in place. This is something students have never heard of,” says CHAN. After this introduction, children move through different exhibition zones to learn about methods of water yielding, reservoirs, ecology and the principles of water treatment. When they reach the “Water+Cycle” exhibition zone, the interactive features and games summarise what they have already learnt.
Now, understanding that water is not easy to come by, students visit the second floor of the exhibition, where the exhibits focus on the domestic use of water. By getting to know more about waterworks and water-saving appliances, they learn to cherish water. “I am impressed by the students’ reaction to the exhibition. Sometimes, I test them on what I have explained earlier. They remember and answer correctly! I find it very fulfilling,” says CHAN.
The WSD launched the H2OPE mobile app in 2021, to provide tour reservations as well as virtual tours. Visitors can join the centre's activities and receive a wide-range of water conservation information through the app.
