Gwacheon National Science Museum said on Thursday it will open its permanent exhibition halls free of charge through Feb. 18 during the Lunar New Year holiday and run hands-on programmes themed on the "senses".

A special exhibition, "Structure of the Senses: Touch," opens at the creative studio from Thursday. Visitors can learn about the role of touch and experience how senses expand into cognition and memory through activities such as making postcards and braille bookmarks.

On Feb. 16 and 18, the museum will run a hands-on creative programme titled "Kite Flying on New Year Wind." The programme has participants make a wind vane from paper and string and create a hand fan and a stingray kite, letting them feel the power and movement of wind with their bodies. The Insect Ecology Hall will run the "Wriggling Insect Exploration" programme through Feb. 22. Visitors can closely observe larvae of the Japanese rhinoceros beetle and the white-spotted flower chafer and feel the movement of life up close.

A "2026 Winter Sci-POP Special Hands-on Exhibition" will also be held on the first floor of the central hall. It combines 20 types of mobile Sci-POP science exhibits with holiday game experiences such as yutnori and tuho. Volunteer-guided explanations by students from Hanseong Science High School will also be offered.

Han Hyeong-ju (한형주), director of the Gwacheon National Science Museum, said, "We have put together experiences that awaken the senses for the Lunar New Year holiday." He added, "I hope it will be a time for families to feel science and talk about it together."