Knowledge Park opens in Yala
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn yesterday inaugurated a new Thailand Knowledge Park (TK Park) in this southern province.
Modelled after Bangkok's TK Park, which is based on a living library, the southern branch incorporates a local touch with rubber wood, palm wood and bulrush mats in its interior decor.It also features a prayer room. During the preparation, academics and local children were recruited to help design the library. In its month-long soft opening, Yala's TK Park has attracted more than 10,000 visitors. TK Park president Sirikorn Maneerin said the princess praised the park's good ventilation system, which was expected to save Bt1.2 million a year on electricity costs, because fewer air-conditioners were needed. Sirikorn said the princess also suggested officials monitor children and warn them against playing too many games. Sirikorn assured the princess that park officials would closely monitor the children. PM's Office Minister Dhipavadee Meksawan said Yala's TK Park was one of the projects held to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty the King's Accession to the Throne. The Yala location was the re-sult of cooperation between the TK Park project and the Yala Municipality Authority. The municipality paid for the construction of the TK Park's building and landscaping, official salaries and management costs, while the TK Park project provided know-how, learning kits, books, journals and multimedia materials. The Yala branch has about 10,000 books and journals. Its digital library is linked to the central database. The library has games with Thai content and a database covering southern music and songs. Sirikorn said one of the books at the Yala location featured the story of Phra Sawet Surakachatarn, a royal elephant belonging to HM the King. Yala residents had presented the elephant to His Majesty, and the princess said it played with her when she was young. Sirikorn said about 200 books at Yala's TK Park were about the South. The Nation Yala
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