[WATCH] Esplora science centre launched: 250 exhibits for full visitor immersion

Esplora science centre inaugurated at Bighi • Video by Ivan Consiglio

The €27 million state-of-the-art interactive Esplora science centre is a landmark project of its kind in Europe and the Mediterranean and will go a long way to making science more exciting and approachable for children and adults alike, according to prime minister Joseph Muscat.

Muscat, who was speaking at the official launch of the 22,000 sqm centre in Bighi – on the former Royal Naval Hospital site – said that the new centre housed over 250 exhibits .

 “The sound of hundreds of school students running through the exhibits while we speak is a clear indication that this is going to work, that it is already working,” he siad.

Muscat said that education remained one of government’s top priorities, so much so that it had it had raised the ministry’s budget for 2017 to €535 million.

“We are aware that some students require more attention and help than others,” he said. “Esplora will make education that much more accessible to everyone.”

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, chairman of the Malta Council for Science and Technology, said that a lot of energy had been put into the project and that everyone should be proud of the new centre.

School children experiment with the many interactive exhibits (Photo: Ivan Consiglio)

(Photo: Ivan Consiglio)

(Photo: Ivan Consiglio)

The project was conceived by the previous administration and took almost three years to complete.

€14.5m of the funds were provided by the EU under the ERDF programme.

Later on this year, the centre will be launching a planetarium housing a 10.7m diameter structure and a complete Colourspace 4K theatre system, expected to deliver full-dome shows and live visualisations of astronomy and other sciences.