It also is a way for the hilltop science center to connect with the region's Asian community. And it will teach people throughout the country about China's contributions to astronomy hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years before Galileo looked into the night sky. "They can expect a feast for their eyes and they can expect to hear a great deal about astronomy and China," Chabot Space and Science Center Director Alex Barnett said last week at a fund-raising event for the exhibit, attended by new Consulate General of the People's Republic of China, Ambassador Keyu Peng.

"Dragon Skies" has been two years in the making. Chabot will import 32 artifacts from China, one of the major cultural exchanges between China and the United States this year. They will be part of 20 interactive exhibits and a planetarium show.

The people of Imperial China developed several tools to study the sky, many adorned with intricate dragon motifs. They created time-keeping devices such as water-powered clocks to gauge when to plant crops and schedule ceremonies.

Early Chinese astronomers, working in the Shang Dynasty around 1700 B.C., recorded astronomical events by etching symbols on oracle bones. A replica engraving of a lunar eclipse on an ox bone will be part of the Chabot exhibit.

The display will feature some of the earliest recordings of Haley's Comet, written in a book in 613 B.C. A replica painting of 29 different comets and the fortunes they foretold, said to be more than 200 years old, will be part of the exhibit.

This is the first time many of the artifacts will be seen in the United States.

The exhibit is set to open July 10. By January 2005, it will become a traveling exhibit, visiting cities across the country. Creators hope to reach an audience of 2 million.

Included in the program will be educational materials for schoolchildren, developed by Oakland educators.

The project has been funded, in part, by a $2.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Chabot officials said they need to raise $800,000 from the community to fully fund the project.

Councilmember Jean Quan (Montclair-Laurel), who also is a Chabot board member, said the 100 or so guests who attended Wednesday's event included many members of the Asian community.

She said she is excited to launch "Dragon Skies" in a community as diverse as Oakland.

"It is an opportunity to think about how we share these heavens," she said. "For the Chinese community it is a source of pride because 4,000 years ago, Chinese astronomy was very, very developed."

Peng, who arrived in the United States on Feb. 20, said he is thrilled Chabot is sponsoring a Chinese-themed astronomy exhibit.

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