What are your favourite weekend leisure activities? Visiting museums, taking sports training courses, reading books in libraries, or taking a walk in a country park, perhaps?

Most people have had to work on Saturday mornings, and would participate in these activities on Saturday afternoons or Sundays. But this is expected to change now that more organisations in the private sector and some Government offices have switched to a five-day week step by step.

To cater for the expected rise in public demand for weekend leisure activities, the Science Museum and public libraries under the Leisure & Cultural Services Department have introduced new initiatives at some of their venues and enhanced existing services to give people a wider choice of activity programmes. Other weekend leisure programmes of the department will also be adjusted accordingly.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department has also enhanced its country park management and hiking safety promotion, anticipating a surge in the number of visitors.

Healthy lifestyle: The Science Museum has added the Science Cart programme on Saturday and Sunday mornings to cater for the increased demand for weekend leisure activites. About 150 sports programmes have been arranged on Saturdays during summer months. The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department has enhanced country park management and hiking safety promotion.

New science programme on offer

Science Museum Assistant Curator Paulina Chan told news.gov.hk the museum will offer more activities and programmes on Saturday mornings.

Since July 8, it has offered the Science Cart programme on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The cart is equipped with games that encourage visitors to explore the fun world of science.

The topic of energy conversion will be introduced in mid-August to cater for the growing number of visitors.

The museum has been recently equipped with a new exhibit - a Van De Graff Generator- used in a new science demonstration on electricity.

The museum will also enhance promotion of its free educational programmes, such as Self-Learning Computer Programmes and Pick-your-software Children Wonderland.

"We will arrange more docents to provide guided tours on Saturday mornings. We will closely monitor the attendance and will plan other new programmes and services in future if it is required," Ms Chan said.

Senior Librarian Mary Cheng said storytelling for children, reading talks, workshops and book exhibitions have been arranged in branch libraries to promote a reading culture and lifelong learning.

More weekend library activities

Expecting a rise in the number of library visitors, Saturday library services, particularly those for families, will be enhanced. Storytelling sessions and Reading Programme activities have been scheduled for Saturday mornings.

Mrs Cheng said when planning other territory-wide activities, the five-day week effect will also be considered. Most Summer Reading Month activities used to be held on Saturday afternoons and Sundays, but this year, some of the programmes will be shifted to Saturday mornings.

Since the demand for library services varies from district to district, branch libraries will study their own target customers to decide whether there is a need to increase Saturday activities.

Chief Leisure Manager for Community Sports Cam Lok appealed to people who get extra rest days to join the department's sports activities and courses on Saturday.

During the summer vacation, 150 sports programmes offering 6,149 places have been arranged on Saturdays. They include yoga, aerobic dance, tennis, squash, social dance, gardening courses and other competition and training programmes.

Ms Lok said the18 District Leisure Services Offices will re-schedule their September sports programmes to cater for the demand changes and, if resources allow it, will consider increasing Saturday activities.

Country park visitor numbers expected to rise

Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department Senior Country Parks Officer Dr Yeung Ka-ming told news.gov.hk 12 million people a year now visit Hong Kong's country parks - and that is expected to rise by 20%.

He said Taiwan's parks saw a huge rise when the five-day week was introduced there.

"We contacted our Taiwanese counterparts to see how the initiative affected their national park services. They told us that visitor figure rose up to 40%."

The department will observe park-goers' behaviour and visiting patterns to adjust its management strategies, including increasing rubbish collection and washroom cleaning frequencies.

As many novices are expected to start hiking, the department has stepped up safety promotion, too.

Publicity drive to focus on safety

The department has issued a number of publications, including a book called Nature in Touch, that introduces country parks and special areas.

It recently issued a guide on how to get to country parks, and a leaflet offering hints for nature appreciation.

"We are now focusing our efforts on safety promotion. When hiking season starts in September and October, we will shift our emphasis to country park conservation promotion."

The department plans to have its 20 ecology expert volunteers and 2,000 hiking volunteers offer safety tips and share their ecology knowledge with country park visitors.