In the run-up to the millennium, £1.3bn of National Lottery money was invested in more than 200 projects. Some were controversial, others failed, but these science centres have gone from strength to strength
@Bristol Location: Bristol Twitter: @AtBristol Cost: £96m Millennium funding: £44m Opened: July 2000 @Bristol, which recently installed the UK’s only ultra-HD 3D planetarium, attracts more than 300,000 visitors a year.
IMAGE: Lee Pullen
Live shows are popular at the hands-on science centre
Magna Location: Rotherham Twitter: @MagnaScience Cost: £47m Millennium funding: £23m Opened: April 2001 Magna is set in a former steelworks and tells the story of the region’s steel industry. In recent years, the science centre’s financial stability has been in question.
IMAGE: John Edler
The venue is often used for events and gigs
The International Centre for Life (LIFE) Location: Newcastle Twitter: @scienceatlife Cost: £67m Millennium funding: £33m Opened: May 2000 LIFE explores human biology through hands-on exhibits and multimedia displays. It welcomes 250,000 visitors per year.
The 4D motion ride at LIFE
National Space Centre Location: Leicester Twitter: @spacecentre Cost: £84m Millennium funding: £32m Opened: June 2001 Featuring a state-of-the-art dome theatre, this attraction uses personalities and technology to explain our understanding of space.
IMAGES: Osborne Hollis
Moon rock and rockets are on show
IMAGES: Osborne Hollis
Moon rock and rockets are on show
Winchester Science Centre Location: Winchester Twitter: @WinSciCentre Cost: £11m Millennium funding: £6m Opened: March 2002 Previously known as INTECH, this Hampshire science centre attracts 150,000 visitors a year, and sells 100,000 tickets to its digital planetarium.
Hampshire science centre
Glasgow Science Centre Location: Glasgow Twitter: @gsc1 Cost: £71.5m Millennium funding: £35m Opened: June 2001 Glasgow Science Centre is one of the most popular paid-for attractions in Scotland, attracting more than 350,000 visitors annually.
Glasgow Science Centre
Millennium fails Though the Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge and the Eden Project have seen great success, not all Millennium Commission contracts did well, and some were forced to close their doors, including:
• The £15m National Centre for Popular Music in Sheffield, which predicted 400,000 annual visitors but received only 104,000
• The £42m Earth Centre in Doncaster, which went bankrupt in 2004
• The Public, a £54m digital art gallery in West Bromwich. Much of it never opened
• The £14m Big Idea Centre in North Ayrshire, which closed in 2003 due to lack of finances and low visitor turnout
COMPANY PROFILES
Holovis
Holovis is a privately owned company
established in 2004 by CEO Stuart
Hetherington. [more...]
Sally Corporation
Our services include: Dark ride design & build; Redevelopment of existing attractions; High-quality [more...]
Simworx Ltd
The company was initially established
in 1997. Terry Monkton and Andrew
Roberts are the key stakeh [more...]
In the run-up to the millennium, £1.3bn of National Lottery money was invested in more than 200 projects. Some were controversial, others failed, but these science centres have gone from strength to strength
@Bristol Location: Bristol Twitter: @AtBristol Cost: £96m Millennium funding: £44m Opened: July 2000 @Bristol, which recently installed the UK’s only ultra-HD 3D planetarium, attracts more than 300,000 visitors a year.
IMAGE: Lee Pullen
Live shows are popular at the hands-on science centre
Magna Location: Rotherham Twitter: @MagnaScience Cost: £47m Millennium funding: £23m Opened: April 2001 Magna is set in a former steelworks and tells the story of the region’s steel industry. In recent years, the science centre’s financial stability has been in question.
IMAGE: John Edler
The venue is often used for events and gigs
The International Centre for Life (LIFE) Location: Newcastle Twitter: @scienceatlife Cost: £67m Millennium funding: £33m Opened: May 2000 LIFE explores human biology through hands-on exhibits and multimedia displays. It welcomes 250,000 visitors per year.
The 4D motion ride at LIFE
National Space Centre Location: Leicester Twitter: @spacecentre Cost: £84m Millennium funding: £32m Opened: June 2001 Featuring a state-of-the-art dome theatre, this attraction uses personalities and technology to explain our understanding of space.
IMAGES: Osborne Hollis
Moon rock and rockets are on show
IMAGES: Osborne Hollis
Moon rock and rockets are on show
Winchester Science Centre Location: Winchester Twitter: @WinSciCentre Cost: £11m Millennium funding: £6m Opened: March 2002 Previously known as INTECH, this Hampshire science centre attracts 150,000 visitors a year, and sells 100,000 tickets to its digital planetarium.
Hampshire science centre
Glasgow Science Centre Location: Glasgow Twitter: @gsc1 Cost: £71.5m Millennium funding: £35m Opened: June 2001 Glasgow Science Centre is one of the most popular paid-for attractions in Scotland, attracting more than 350,000 visitors annually.
Glasgow Science Centre
Millennium fails Though the Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge and the Eden Project have seen great success, not all Millennium Commission contracts did well, and some were forced to close their doors, including:
• The £15m National Centre for Popular Music in Sheffield, which predicted 400,000 annual visitors but received only 104,000
• The £42m Earth Centre in Doncaster, which went bankrupt in 2004
• The Public, a £54m digital art gallery in West Bromwich. Much of it never opened
• The £14m Big Idea Centre in North Ayrshire, which closed in 2003 due to lack of finances and low visitor turnout
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
+ More news
COMPANY PROFILES
Holovis Holovis is a privately owned company
established in 2004 by CEO Stuart
Hetherington. [more...]
Sally Corporation Our services include: Dark ride design & build; Redevelopment of existing attractions; High-quality [more...]
Simworx Ltd The company was initially established
in 1997. Terry Monkton and Andrew
Roberts are the key stakeh [more...]
