Eureka! (museum)

Eureka! The National Children's Museum
The exterior of Eureka! The National Children's Museum in Halifax, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Exterior of Eureka!
Established 1992
Location 53°43′12″N 1°51′18″W / 53.72000°N 1.85500°W / 53.72000; -1.85500Coordinates: 53°43′12″N 1°51′18″W / 53.72000°N 1.85500°W / 53.72000; -1.85500
Type Children's Museum
Visitors 300,000 per annum
Director Leigh-Anne Stradeski
Website www.eureka.org.uk

Eureka! The National Children's Museum is an interactive educational museum for children in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, with a focus on learning through play. It is run as an educational charity and not-for-profit organisation. Eureka! is based on the North American model of children’s museums, aimed at families with children aged 0–11 and encourages hands-on inter-generational learning.

History

Eureka! is situated on the now demolished parts of Halifax station seen to the left, the remaining platforms can be seen to the right.

Dame Vivien Duffield, Chair of the Clore Duffield Foundation, was inspired by the children's museums that she saw during visits to the USA. Back at home she pursued her idea to create the UK’s very own children’s museum, and The Museum for Children was formally constituted as a registered charity in 1985. Dame Vivien remains Eureka!’s Life President.

Eureka!'s location was partly inspired by Prince Charles, who opened the museum on 9 July 1992 and subsequently became its Patron until 2002.[1] It is located on former British Rail land next to Halifax railway station.

The building design was led by Ken Moth of Building Design Partnership, an international architectural practice, and the exhibition designs were produced by an in-house team and by design groups who pitched for various elements of the work – co-ordinated by Richard Fowler. Design groups included Imagination (the Me and My Body gallery) and Conran (original gift shop) and individuals included Tim Hunkin (Archimedes) and Satoshi Kitamura (illustrations).

Eureka! celebrated its 25th birthday in 2017 by launching the Eureka! Stories website and opening the Spark Gallery, a flexible exhibition space which launched with the European premiere of the interactive art exhibition digiPlaySpace, created by Toronto International Film Festival.

Galleries

The museum has four main galleries: #

  • Spark Gallery - Opened July 2017 as part of the museum's 25th anniversary celebrations, Spark Gallery is a flexible exhibition space.
  • All About Me - Opened in March 2013. A £2.9 Million gallery, lead funded by the Wellcome Trust, exploring the themes of health, well-being and the human body.
  • Living and Working Together - A miniature town square (including a bank, fountain, garage and shops) and house.
  • SoundSpace - An interactive gallery encouraging children to discover the science of sound and music, with the help of Orby the Alien.

The museum also has two galleries aimed at the under-fives:

  • SoundGarden
  • Desert Discovery

The grounds of Eureka! include:

  • The Beach - possibly the biggest outdoor sandpit in the North of England.
  • The Wonder Walk - An outdoor sensory trail.

References

  1. ↑ "Eureka! History". Eureka!. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
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