Science centre renewal fund ReDiscover has announced a further round of awards which included grants to At-Bristol, Thinktank and Sensation.
At-Bristol has received two grants, of £1.6m and £2m. The first will fund the redevelopment of Wildwalk: a new People and the Planet gallery showcasing protected species – including a walkthrough living coral reef – will be added; an enhanced Live Science Area for public debate will be created and a new travelling exhibition set up in partnership with Wildscreen will be launched.
Work will begin later this year in phases with completion expected by the end of 2005.
The second grant has been secured on behalf of ECSITE-UK and will see At-Bristol, Magna, National Museums Liverpool (NML), Science Projects and W5 jointly create three science-based interactive touring exhibitions. Initially the exhibition will be used by the consortium members before being hired out to attractions all over the world.
Thinktank, the Birmingham science centre based at Millennium Point, is set to use a £673,000 grant towards its Future Horizons project to create the region’s first planetarium.
As well as the 70-seat digital theatre, the funding will also see the centre set up three Future of Space interactive exhibits, a new study area and a new dramatic entrance feature.
Thinktank plans to commission designers and contractors by the end of October with the planetarium scheduled to open by Christmas 2005.
Dundee science centre Sensation, meanwhile, has secured a £1.4m award to develop new permanent exhibitions following the success of its temporary exhibitions, which included Eating Creepy Crawlies and the BBC Walking with Dinosaurs.
“Sensation’s reputation is gathering momentum and reflects our ambition to make the science centre a world class visitor attraction that inspires and engages the scientists of tomorrow,” said chief executive Paul Jennings.
“The development work will commence shortly and we will launch the new exhibition during summer 2005.”
ReDiscover is the £33m capital renewal fund for UK science and discovery centres, whose contributors include the Millennium Commission, Wellcome Trust and Wolfson Foundation.
