Scienceworks (Melbourne)

Last updated

Scienceworks
Scienceworks Science Museum.jpg
Scienceworks (Melbourne)
Established28 March 1992
Location2 Brooker St, Spotswood, Melbourne, Australia
Coordinates 37°49′54″S144°53′38″E / 37.831582°S 144.89394°E / -37.831582; 144.89394
Type Science Centre
Accreditation Asia Pacific Network of Science & Technology Centres (ASPAC)
PresidentLeon Kempler
CEOLynley Crosswell
Owner Museums Victoria
Website Scienceworks

Scienceworks is a science museum in Melbourne, Australia which harnesses the power of hands-on experiences, immersive spaces and sensory learning, to inspire and drive future innovation. Through animated exploration and learning, Scienceworks expresses new ideas across science, space and technology. A venue of Museums Victoria, Scienceworks was first opened on 28 March 1992 near the historic Spotswood Pumping Station [1] constructed in 1897, whose steam engines form an associated exhibit. [2] in Melbourne’s inner west. The original vision for Scienceworks was a place for young people to engage with science, technology, engineering and maths in new, fun wpays. Today that original vision endures and continues to be expressed through Scienceworks’ STEM-centric experiences and exhibitions.

Contents

Launched in 2018, the permanent exhibition Beyond Perception: Seeing the Unseen is a series of immersive experiences that teach teenagers about the imperceptible forces that shape our world. From gravitational waves and invisible light to sound and aerodynamics, this ground-breaking exhibition highlights the science behind the hidden mechanisms of the world around us. Equally illuminating is the Lightning Room, with a giant Tesla Coil forming the centrepiece of this high-voltage learning experience, capable of generating two million volts of electricity and producing three metre lightning bolts. Elsewhere, the Think Ahead exhibition imagines what our world will look like in decades to come.

From the expansiveness of outer space to the microscopic inner workings of the human body, Scienceworks enables mind-blowing discovery at many scales. Learn about the science of moving your body (and race against Cathy Freeman) at Sportsworks, or open your eyes to the night sky at the Melbourne Planetarium, complete with a 16-metre full-dome projection, reclining seats and a 7.1 surround sound system.

Other highlights include the tactile play space Ground Up: Building Big Ideas, Together for visitors aged five years and under; tours of the historic Pumping Station engine room and boiler house; plus a 120-seat auditorium and a series of conference rooms for events and education.

Until late 2013, the 1883 clock tower from Flinders Street station was also located at the museum. [3] [4] The clock had been moved to Princes Bridge station in 1905 and Spencer Street station in 1911, where it remained until sold into private ownership after the station redevelopment of 1967. [5] The clock restored with an electric movement is now located at the Southern Cross station.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flemington Racecourse</span> Horse racing venue in Flemington, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is the world's richest handicap and the world's richest 3200-metre horse race. The racecourse is situated on low alluvial flats, next to the Maribyrnong River. The area was first used for horse racing in March 1840.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flinders Street railway station</span> Railway Station in Melbourne, Australia

Flinders Street railway station is a train station located on the corner of Flinders and Swanston streets in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the busiest station in Victoria, serving the entire metropolitan rail network, 15 tram routes travelling to and from the city, and some country and regional V/Line services to eastern Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Cross railway station</span> Railway station in Melbourne, Australia

Southern Cross railway station is a major railway station in Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, between Collins and La Trobe streets, at the western edge of the Melbourne central business district. The Docklands Stadium sports arena is 500 metres north-west of the station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Melbourne history</span>

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southbank, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Southbank is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1 km south of the Melbourne central business district, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas. Southbank recorded a population of 22,631 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Library Victoria</span> State library in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the world. It is also Australia's busiest public library and, as of 2023, the third busiest library globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powerhouse Museum</span> Technology museum in Sydney, Australia

The Powerhouse Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of museums in Sydney, and owned by the Government of New South Wales. Its main centre is in Ultimo, New South Wales, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Hill, and the newer Powerhouse Castle Hill at Castle Hill. Powerhouse Parramatta is due to open in 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotswood, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Spotswood is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km (4.3 mi) south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay local government area. Spotswood recorded a population of 2,820 at the 2021 census.

The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), colloquially referred to as Jeff's Shed, is a group of three adjacent buildings next to the Yarra River in South Wharf, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The venues are owned and operated by the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne Central railway station</span> Railway station in Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne Central railway station is a commuter railway station on the Burnley, Caulfield, Clifton Hill and Northern group lines, serving the Melbourne CBD in Victoria, Australia. Melbourne Central is an underground premium station on the City Loop, featuring four platforms, two island platforms on two floors connected to street level by a shopping and commercial precinct. It opened on 24 January 1981, with station refurbishments underway as of June 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birrarung Marr, Melbourne</span> Public park in Melbourne, Australia

Birrarung Marr is an inner-city park between the central business district in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and the Yarra River. It was opened in 2002. The name refers to the bank of Birrarung, the 'river of mists', in the Woiwurrung language of the Wurundjeri people, the Indigenous inhabitants at the time of European colonisation of the Melbourne area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princes Bridge railway station</span> Closed railway station in Melbourne CBD, Victoria, Australia

Princes Bridge was a Melbourne railway station built in 1859 and was the terminus for all trains on what are now the Mernda and Hurstbridge lines. The station was named after the adjacent Princes Bridge, which crosses the Yarra River. Originally Princes Bridge station was isolated from Flinders Street station, even though it was adjacent to it, sited just on the opposite side of Swanston Street. Some years later the railway tracks were extended under the street to join the two stations, and Princes Bridge slowly became amalgamated into the larger Flinders Street station. This process was completed in May 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company</span> Railway company in Victoria, Australia

The Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. The company was incorporated on 20 January 1853 to build the line from Melbourne to the port of Sandridge, now Port Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museums Victoria</span> Museum operator in Victoria, Australia

Museums Victoria is an organisation that includes a number of museums and related bodies in Melbourne. These include Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum, Scienceworks, IMAX Melbourne, a research institute, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building and a storage facility in Melbourne's City of Merri-bek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Treatment Plant</span> Ramsar site and sewage treatment plant in Victoria, Australia

The Western Treatment Plant is a 110 km2 (42 sq mi) sewage treatment plant in Cocoroc, Victoria, Australia, 30 km (19 mi) west of Melbourne's central business district, on the coast of Port Phillip Bay. It was completed in 1897 by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW), and is currently operated by Melbourne Water. The plant's land is bordered by the Werribee River to the east, the Princes Freeway to the north, and Avalon Airport to the west. It forms part of the Port Phillip Bay and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site as a wetland of international importance. The Western Treatment Plant treats around fifty percent of Melbourne's sewage — about 485 megalitres or 393 acre-feet per day — and generates almost 40,000 megalitres or 32,000 acre-feet of recycled water a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail</span>

The Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the coast line of Hobsons Bay in the inner western suburbs in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The trail forms part of the western half of the Bayside Trail which encircles Port Phillip. It runs from the west side of the Westgate bridge, south and along the coast, finishing at the Skeleton Creek Trail in Sanctuary Lakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jolimont Yard</span> Former railway yard in Melbourne, Australia

Jolimont Yard was an array of railway lines and carriage sidings on the edge of the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. Located between Flinders Street station, Richmond Junction, the Yarra River and Flinders Street they were often criticised for cutting off the city from the river, being the site of many redevelopment proposals. The Princes Gate Towers were built over part of the yard in the 1960s, which themselves were replaced by Federation Square in the 2000s. The rail sidings themselves were progressively removed from the 1980s to the 1990s with only running lines today, but the area continues to be referred to as the 'Jolimont railyards' by Melburnians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration Museum, Melbourne</span> Culture museum in Melbourne, Australia

The Immigration Museum focuses on Melbourne and Victoria’s immigration history, providing a safe space for the sharing of ideas and stories that encourage visitors to build human connection and compassion. Through a program of captivating exhibitions, dynamic collections, special events, educational programs and digital content, Immigration Museum celebrates identity and world cultures.

Austral Otis was a Melbourne engineering works established in 1887 on site of former Langlands foundry in Grant Street, South Melbourne. It was one of the largest manufacturers of elevators in Australia and continued as the Otis Elevator Company.

The Spotswood sewer tunnel is a sanitary sewer tunnel in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was constructed in 1895 to take sewerage under the Yarra River to the Spotswood Pumping Station, where it was pumped to the Werribee Sewage Farm.

References

  1. ↑ Pumping Station website
  2. ↑ Sherratt, Tim. "SCIENCEWORKS - A REVIEW". Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 9, no. 4, December 1993, pp. 387 -388 Archived 19 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Turret Clock Movement - Victorian Railways, Flinders Street Station, Victoria, 1882" . Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "Time to return – Water Tower Clock installed at Southern Cross Station" . Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  5. ↑ Jenny Davies (2008). Beyond the Façade: Flinders Street, More than just a Railway Station. Publishing Solutions. p. 46. ISBN   978-1-921488-03-0.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.