Interactive science museums are money-spinners - attracting tourists across Europe - and teach us all about science. But will the Republic ever have one? A UK expert on museums talks to Dick Ahlstrom
If people have a declining interest in science then how come science centres across Europe attracted about 30 million visitors last year? Why are the numbers of new centres growing every year? More importantly, why does the Republic still not have a national science centre?
"There is now a huge international movement to create science and technology centres, places that the public can visit where they can have a hands on exposure to science," says John Durant, director of ECSITE (European Collaborative for Science, Industry and Technology Exhibitions) and director of the At-Bristol interactive science centre in the UK.
Durant was in Dublin yesterday to address the Dublin Docklands Development Authority on the contribution made by interactive centres. The Authority is considering how to use Stack A, adjacent to the IFSC, which has been targeted as a possible home for a science museum or some other public cultural facility.
Europe has about 300 interactive science museums, Durant says. "We estimate that about 30 million European visitors come to these places every year," he says. "These places can have a highly beneficial affect on the local economy." At-Bristol attracts 600,000 to 700,000 visitors a year.
It is definitely a growth industry: "I think it is because around the world governments are recognising the importance of science centres. It is difficult to maintain a close relationship between the public and science. The pace of scientific and technological change is so fast that there is a risk of the public and science getting out of step." Issues such as cloning, genetics and the growth of the Internet confuse and worry people and they need a way to come to grips with these subjects. "Science centres are one very good way of doing that," he says. "They do attract huge audiences of people and can make an important contribution to culture and society."
Interactive centres cater for two key audiences, Durant believes. They serve "students of all ages" and can help to teach and motivate students about science as a subject and as a career - one-quarter of all visitors to At-Bristol are pre-booked student groups. The other visitors are families and individuals who are entertained by the interactive nature of modern science centre displays.
A Dublin-based group, involving enthusiast Kate Phillips Connolly, has been trying to bring an interactive centre to Stack A since 1987 and persists in this endeavour despite the lack of success so far. The fortunes of the "Discovery" proposal for Stack A have waxed and waned over the years but are again in the ascendant,she says. The group facilitated Durant's DDDA presentation yesterday, which comes even as the Dock Authority's view of what might be suitable for Stack A is changing. The authority, she says, had long resisted the notion of a science centre, favouring instead the site's commercial potential.
She believes this view has now changed. "It is a tremendous thing because it represents a sea change in the Docks Authority's view." Structural work continues apace while decisions are made. "Realistically, nothing will happen until there is a new government. After that, it will happen pretty quickly," she says. She and her fellow campaigners remain hopeful that a science museum will be on the cards when the new government takes office.