The Dana Centre, situated in London’s South Kensington and billed as the first science museum exclusively for adults, opened on the 18 November at the new Wellcome Wolfson building.

The £9.8m building has been provided by four major benefactors – The Wellcome Trust, The Wolfson Foundation, The Dana Foundation and The Garfield Weston Foundation.

Promising to lift taboos on even the most sensitive scientific subjects, the stylish public events centre wants to bring “the latest in contemporary science to life” with the aid of “controversy, spectacle and the unexpected” – according to the curators, no subject will be off limits.

The wide range of subjects that will be focused upon will include sex, death, torture and suicide and the museum will only be for those aged 18 or over, with a licensed bar allowing the centre to control the age of attendees.

The museum’s collection includes a selection of Victorian tattoos and a euthanasia machine which has actually killed people. State-of-the-art digital facilities will link the centre and its events with venues all over the UK, those on the internet and and mobile phone users.

There will be a series of events taking place as part of the centre’s launch which will include a live internet link with a team of American heart surgeons. Other activities will include pub quizzes, game shows and stand-up comic sessions.

The subsequent programming at the centre will be provided by the Science Museum, the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the European Dana Alliance for the Brain alongside a selection of other organisations.