13 Oct 2016
London Science Museum's £6m Wonderlab opens to the public
BY Tom Anstey
London’s Science Museum has launched the latest part of its museum-wide transformation, with the debut of its new £6m (US$7.3m, €6.6m) permanent exhibition – Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery.
Featuring a number of live demonstrations and immersive experiences, Wonderlab is the UK’s largest interactive science gallery.
The new space features a range of more than 50 exhibits across seven zones, all centred around “the wonder of science and mathematics”, with a team of science communicators on-hand to explain how the science works. The gallery is also home to three live demonstration areas and a 120-capacity showspace, which the Science Museum says was inspired by the Royal Institution’s world-renowned Faraday Theatre.
Among the exhibits on display in the new gallery, visitors will be able to ride a giant rotating model of the solar system to understand why we have seasons, learn about the forces of friction with a slide installation, and take part in live science shows featuring electricity, rockets and lessons about space.
The museum is aiming to welcome 200,000 young people a year for free to the new gallery through its school visit programme – twice the number it could previously accommodate. The museum is also working with IntoUniversity, Gingerbread and Family Action to increase free access for disadvantaged young people and families in difficult circumstances.
“The Science Museum’s core purpose is to ignite curiosity in our visitors,” said Science Museum group director, Ian Blatchford. “We’re confident we will do this in spades with Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery – a perfect mix of curatorial flair, scientific clout and joyous imagination.”
The gallery was designed by muf architecture/art – a firm renowned for working with artists on innovative projects celebrating the social and playful aspects of public spaces.
The evolution of the Science Museum is now well underway, with Wonderlab the latest part of its £60m (US$73.1m, €66.3m) masterplan. Through the masterplan, around a third of the world-renowned museum will be transformed by 2019, with funding raised through a combination of generous donations and grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Zaha Hadid’s £5m (US$6.1m, €5.5m) Mathematics Gallery – the next piece of the Science Museum puzzle – is scheduled to open on 8 December.
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