Trinity College Science Gallery to be replicated in Melbourne

Ireland's Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin is to be replicated in Australia with the creation of Science Gallery Melbourne.

The centre to be built at the University of Melbourne is the third international Science Gallery modelled on the gallery in Dublin, with two others already announced for London and Bangalore.

The Dublin gallery opened in 2008 with a mission to blend art and science into engaging exhibitions that were particularly attractive to a 15- to 25-year-old age group.

It was an immediate success and in 2012 with a €1 million grant from philanthropic body Google.org it was decided to help open similar galleries attached to major universities around the world, said Dr Michael John Gorman chief executive officer of Science Gallery International.

“We chose Melbourne for a number of reasons not least the excellence of the university, but also because it is a city with a vibrant cultural scene, a place where art and science can come together in new ways,” he said.

Science Gallery International is a not for profit company headquartered in Dublin. It plans to open galleries in New York and a west coast US city, in an Asian country and also Venice.

This would bring to eight the number of galleries including Dublin. “It is an Irish brand going worldwide,” Dr Gorman said.

An additional €1.2 million in support of this aim comes from the Cordover Foundation and another unnamed philanthropic body.

The gallery network will allow an exchange of ideas and exhibitions between the eight locations, he said. Science Gallery International expects to have a two-year turnover of more than €1 million coming in from touring Irish exhibitions and from development services as the new galleries are established, he said.

Science Gallery Dublin has attracted more than two million visitors since it opened seven years ago.