Sin Yong Chol, a section chief of the palace, told KCNA that many facilities of the palace were open to schoolchildren for their after-school activities.

A museum of the palace provides them with knowledge about animals and plants through several hundred pieces of specimens.

At the palace they enjoy such activities as lecture, folktale-telling session, speech contest, poem recitation, film and puppet shows and physical training.

What is most attractive to them is an astronomical observatory on the top floor of the palace.

Kim Jong Sun, a teacher of the observatory, said that schoolchildren can observe solar activities and take a close-up view of such stars as Orion's Belt and the polar star through astronomical telescopes and planetariums. A total solar eclipse was viewed there by many boys and girls on July 22 last year, she added.