MHS Park now opens
“Maehongson Knowledge Park” now opens as new learning creative space of 4.0 era,
developing the learning places for better education and life quality
Deputy Prime Minister Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong chaired the official grand opening of Maehongson Knowledge Park (MHS Park) at Mok Mai Building, Muang District, Maehongson province, hoping to be one of Thailand’s major knowledge assets and learning reform places where children and youth can learn and seek knowledge independently through an appropriate, advanced management system and information technology according with the learning in 4.0 era. The new knowledge park also provides space for creative learning and promoting skills and potentials in different disciplines in order to develop learning process of people of all ages and groups in Maehongson area as well as to build quality citizens who will help lay the foundation for Thailand’s future development.
Rames Promyen, acting deputy director of Office of Knowledge Management and Development and Thailand Knowledge Park director, said in the opening ceremony that Maehongson Knowledge Park was the 22nd place of TK park network libraries opened as a full-stream “Living Library” under the collaboration of 3 agencies i.e. Office of Knowledge Management and Development (Private Organization) by Thailand Knowledge Park (TK park), Maehongson Municipality and Maehongson Community College that signed the MOU on December 14, 2015 and have been integratively working together ever since, making co-use of knowledge and resources to effectively benefit the community and the society.
MHS Park is a small knowledge park development and renovated from the space of MSH ICT Skill and Learning Development Center to become “Maehongson Knowledge Park” under the concept of Living Library plus the idea, creativity, imagination, recreation, music and activity to be the learning center of the era with an IT focus, suiting and according with the context of faraway provincial with the mountains surrounded and the tough and time-consuming journey. Being developed from the former ICT Center with excellent IT system helps contribute the quick access to learning, especially the automatic library service hosted by TK park so the children and youth and people of Maehongson can research for knowledge as well as the youth in other regions.
TK park passed on the knowledge of Living Library and gave physical advices, supporting books and learning media, the automatic library system, the IT system, giving knowledge about reading promotion activities, demonstrative activities and management affairs to make MHS Park a learning center contributing the lifelong learning process for people of all ages and groups with the major aims to support and develop the strengthened knowledge seeking and learning exchange to make the children and youth and people of Maehongson become well-versed and improve the education, learning and life quality as the foundation for the development of Maehongson province later on.
The materials for the northern local learning have also been made composing of 3 bilingual (English-Thai) picture books titled Sam Ruedu Nai Muang Sam Mok (“Three Seasons in the City of Three Fogs”) with the illustration by the famous artist Thepsiri Sooksupha, Toh On (“Growing Young”) and Muang Nai Hoop Khao (“The City in the Valley”).
Muang Maehongson District Myer Pakorn Jeenakham said that MHS Park was a 3-floored building with utilization area of 2,473.65 square meters located at Mok Mai Building on Khunlumprapat Road, Chongkham, Muang District, Maehongson Province. It was a small knowledge park which suited the social context of a small province like Maehongson. Developed from MSH ICT Center which was the origin of technological learning, computer/internet access and ICT skill development training of the youth and general people in Maehongson since 2012, MHS Park therefore had its strength in the IT system with the future plan to promote and support the learning through the system of distance learning technology according to Thailand 4.0 Policy and also be the E-learning knowledge instruction center for the educational institutes in Maehongson.
MHS Park includes 3 floors of the utilization area. The 1st floor houses: Living Library (Reading Room) servicing over 3,000 items of books and learning materials, including the diversity of multimedia learning, Kids Room supporting the skill and learning promotion activities for kids and youth to enjoy their age-appropriate learning environment; Studio Room for the dance lovers to request the use of area or join the dance programs organized for health promotion; Study Room servicing the space for self-study, reading, small-group lecture and training which supports 8-12 users; and Mok Mai Space as the meeting space for kids, youth, people and community to create both academic and recreational activities plus the circulating knowledge exhibitions.
The 2nd floor houses the assembling space for Maehongson IT entrepreneurs using technology as a tool in their career e.g. PR media design, graphic, website, online marketing, packaging, labels and logos, giving the design/programming service, setting up training for college students in Maehongson and supplying jobs for the students to earn money while studying.
The 3rd floor houses: Good Net Room servicing the safe computers, tablets, internet/wi-fi for use with pre-filtered websites; E-tech and Library servicing the It learning materials in form of books, magazines, digital media, music corner and movie projects for kids and youth and people; Training Room servicing the computer training for IT skill promotion for at least 2 curriculum a month with the 40-seated computer-operating system including the computer room for workshop trainings and seminars; Smart Room for small-group conference and training of up to 15 seats; and ICT Café as the corner for snacks and drinks.
Maehongson Community College Council chairman Suthep Nuchsuang said that Maehongson had various strengths, especially the landscape and the diversity of cultures and people from various ethnic groups, the ICT system was very important in the connection and access of publicly useful news and information for the wide target groups including the government and private agencies, the general people, the students and the inferior people to access the teaching and learning equivalent to the national educational system.
The collaboration of all network sectors to bring the strength of MSH ICT Center in the IT knowledge support to fulfill the creativity, imagination, recreation, music and activity of under the concept of “Living Library” of Thailand Knowledge Park (TK park) serves the complete life quality development of Maehongson people of all ages and groups in all dimensions with the aims to support the average of not less than 1,000 users per month, both the youth and the general people.
All youth and general people are welcomed to join the learning and skill development in this 4.0-era modern, creative learning space of MHS Park every day from 08.30 - 21.00 Hrs. including the national holidays.
