Mercury #13

WOW FACTOR

CREATIVE HEALING

POWER UP

An overview of the new My WoW Live! experience.

Bringing innovative design to hospital waiting areas.

Full power ahead for Floor 2 energy exhibition.

POSITIVE DESIGN

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GRAND DESIGNS

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Dr Stephen Breslin Chief Executive Glasgow Science Centre

This collaboration plays to the strengths of the Science Centre.

Glasgow Science Centre is buzzing as we celebrate a string of successes on all fronts.

As we review the year gone by, we know that together we are delivering on our promises in terms of promoting STEM learning, continuing to enhance the Science Centre and to build on our extensive community outreach activities across Scotland.

In addition, our exhibition design services team recently completed the installation of a ground-breaking play and recreation areas for patients and their families at The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

That project provides the main feature of this edition of Mercury, explaining how the Science Centre team worked with Yorkhill Children’s Charity to achieve a brilliant solution that will make many children’s visit to hospital just a little more bearable.

This collaboration plays to the strengths of the Science Centre.

Much of our income comes from partners, and so we need to demonstrate that we offer real value to them, time and time again.

In this edition we also report on our collaboration with Skills Development Scotland, establishing a live and interactive My World of Work programme here at the centre.

We provide an update to our forthcoming, and very exciting, major permanent exhibition Powering the Future, which will examine all aspects of energy in a way that will attract young and old visitors alike.

Last year more than 300,000 people visited the Science Centre, and 115,000 people were involved in our community outreach programme. Our evaluations reveal that a very high number of visitors, teachers and other participants gain real value from their contact with the Centre.

They learn new things, understand more about science, and want to find out more, our surveys find consistently. This means the overall programme is working well.

But we shall not be complacent. We want to continue to succeed and we do that by remaining ambitious in terms of the exhibitions we design and manage, and all the other things we do.

Glasgow Science Centre is a great national asset, and we will continue to build on its success. ••

For more information visit: glasgowsciencecentre.org/blog

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THE

WOW FACTOR

FEATURE

National initiative to boost young people’s engagement with science.

The careers hub has expanded to include a suite of hands-on activities on the second floor of Glasgow Science Centre, My World of Work Live!

This national initiative – based within the Science Centre – aims to inspire school students as they learn more about working in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

The programme was created for Skills Development Scotland (SDS), which has worked with the Science Centre for the last two years, developing engaging activities aimed at helping children, mainly in the 10-14 age-group, to learn about the exciting careers available to them in science, technology and maths.

Repeated studies, including one recently carried out for the Scottish Government by a commission led by Aberdeen based oil and gas services entrepreneur Sir Ian Wood – Developing the Young Workforce – have underlined the vital importance of promoting the STEM subjects to the workers of tomorrow.

My World of Work Live! – created via a £450,000 investment by SDS –launched in April and catered for 2,500 visitors during its first month.

By the end of the first quarter in operation, more than 480 P7 – S3 children and over 100 people drawn to the Science Centre from various community groups had been actively engaged by the hands-on activities.

The new exhibition is an activity-based experience, rather than a fixed show. Participants are encouraged to take part directly in the experience.

This includes a suite of practical and careers management workshops for both public and education visitors. Skills-based activities encourage visitors to try science for themselves, as well as raising awareness of the career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and maths across Scotland.

7 There are new cryptography workshops, where participants are challenged to break codes using both traditional methods and modern software. In the new school year, educational activities will match the national curriculum.

“The level of involvement will continue to rise over time,” explains Susan Meikleham, who runs My WoW Live! on behalf of the Science Centre.

“We work extremely closely with Skills Development Scotland to broaden the appeal of the project and to help make science truly relevant for young people.”

Activities launched since April include “3D printing with a difference”, where participants can make their own 3D objects using special pens. Others include engineering initiatives, and DIY Coder is modelled on the successful CoderDojo programme based at the Science Centre.

“Our work here applies increasingly to all of our audiences.

As well as catering for a much broader age range of school students, we will also be working more with adult groups of 16-24 year olds referred to us by the Prince’s Trust,” adds Susan.

The Centre is also working with various Additional Support Needs schools. ••

glasgowsciencecentre.org/blog

Our work here applies to all our audiences.

Susan Meikleham My WOW Live! Manager

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SPACE

PLACE

is the

Steve Owens Planetarium Manager Glasgow Science Centre

INTERVIEW

Planetarium goes digital to build on previous success.

One of Glasgow Science Centre’s most popular attractions has been rebuilt for the digital age – and visitors are in for a treat when it opens in September.

The centre approved the massive upgrade of the Planetarium into a fully-digital version that will massively increase the quality and range of features.

Steve Owens, a well-known astronomer and author of Stargazing for Dummies, leads a team of four specialists who will manage the digital Planetarium and play leading roles in presenting events and education sessions on site.

He is no stranger to the Science Centre. Steve worked there from 2001 and 2008, and since then has been a freelance consultant on all things astronomical, such as the creation of “dark sky” areas in the UK. There are six such areas in the UK, the first of them being at Galloway Forest. “Ninety per cent of people in the UK cannot see the Milky Way, because of light pollution. The dark sky areas are vitally important as they allow people to appreciate what’s out there,” observes Steve.

More than a million people have used the old Planetarium facility since the science centre opened in 2001.

Steve points out that during that time we have learned much more about space and the universe, thanks mainly to the breathtaking images sent to us from Copernicus (the European earth observation programme) and Galileo, the unmanned craft which studied Jupiter and its moons, as well as many other bodies in the solar system.

Steve points out that during that time our understanding of the Universe has changed dramatically, thanks to ever-larger Earthand space-based telescopes, our permanently manned scientific outpost aboard the International Space Station, and our fleet of unmanned robot probes that have visited all corners of the solar system.

9 “We have discovered thousands of exoplanets around alien suns, oceans of water under moons in our solar system, even liquid nitrogen glaciers flowing past ice mountains on Pluto. Much of that we did not know when the original planetarium was designed and built less than 15 years ago” says Steve.

“The Planetarium was spectacular. But the new digital Planetarium is a truly immersive experience.

“People who have been before will see a dramatic difference in the amount of learning to be had.

“What we’re most looking forward to is the sheer scale and breadth of what we can show and how we can connect with the cosmos – the big picture.”

The digital Planetarium, offers vastly increased capabilities with more data and imagery and uses multiple projectors to allow greater manipulation of images.

Steve and his team expect to be able to offer greatly enhanced learning experiences for school parties, with education sessions and film shows.

They will also cater for astronomy club members, and will attract more adult visitors with after-hours events at the centre.

“We will have shows suitable for all ages, allowing us to engage with pre-school children, school pupils at all stages of learning, and families, while at the same time enabling us to take our adult learners on in-depth explorations of our cosmos in a programme of evening lectures and night classes,” he added.

Special events will also be designed, for example to coincide with specific astronomical events, or with the adventures of Tim Peake, the first British-born European trained astronaut who is expected to join the International Space Station in late 2015.

The new Planetarium will also be able to show “full dome” films, which can be displayed at 360° across the 15-metre hemispherical dome roof.

These include Google’s “Back to the Moon for Good”, narrated

by Tim Allen - the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Disney’s Toy Story, as well as We are Aliens (NSC) and Cell! Cell! Cell! (Wellcome Trust).

The new development, funded by the Science Centre from reserves and its endowment fund, was welcomed by John Brown, Astronomer Royal for Scotland.

He said: “Since the late Professor Archie Roy and I persuaded the original Science Centre designers to install a Zeiss starball, I have loved seeing the superb starry sky it provides and I will be sad to see it go.

“However, the quality of digital system star projection has improved enormously and, combined with its vastly greater versatility, will offer much better value for money than maintaining the expensive Zeiss.

“Glasgow Science Centre is to be congratulated on investing in this new system and in steering resources into the creation of a much enlarged quality planetarium team under the expert leadership of Steve Owens.” ••

glasgowsciencecentre.org/blog

We’re most looking forward to the sheer scale and breadth of what we can show.

Steve Owens Planetarium Manager

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CREATIVE

HEALING

FEATURE

Centre design team excels in making hospital experience positive for children.

Children and young people awaiting treatment at Scotland’s newest hospital will do so amidst the most advanced surroundings of their kind in Europe.

Gone are the days of grim waiting room surroundings, stiff chairs and worn lino.

In come brightly coloured seating and a mind-boggling range of interactive games and other distractions for every child up to the age of 16.

More than a few adults will be drawn to the attractions too!

The waiting areas at the new Royal Hospital for Children – built as part of the £840m Glasgow South University Hospital complex in Govan – include state-of-the-art furnishings, games, speciallydesigned “pods” and a range of features including video special effects.

The brightly coloured and visually attractive areas include interactive play exhibits designed to engage children and young people, and distract them from the often sombre nature of their hospital appointments.

Apart from the waiting areas for routine visits, the scheme extends to the adjacent Accident & Emergency and Imaging & Diagnostics departments.

The scheme includes a fantastic “serpentine” seating system designed specifically to limit infection and resist everyday damage.

The ultra modern areas were created by Glasgow Science Centre’s exhibition design services team, headed by Creative Director, Graham Rose.

They were commissioned by Yorkhill Children’s Charity, who were inspired by a vision of a children’s hospital building that would be attractive to young out-patients and their families during what can be often a harrowing visit for children and parents alike.

11 “We wanted to achieve for children and young people an experience of the hospital that, no matter their age or condition, would be the best it could be,” explains Shona Cardle, chief executive of the charity.

“We spoke to a lot of families and children, including focus groups of users, and also staff – what they told us they wanted from a waiting area could be summed up as ‘comfort and distraction’.”

The charity’s overall brief is to support and enhance the work carried out by medical and nursing staff at the children’s hospital, as well as related maternity and paediatric services.

“We provide medical equipment, entertainment for children and specific help for families. We also give funding for research projects,” adds Shona.

Having established an outline brief, the Yorkhill team met up with the Science Centre counterparts to start a lengthy planning and delivery period that has resulted in the stunning areas within the new hospital.

“The Science Centre team totally “got” our vision and bought into it. We knew from an early stage that they could come up with something innovative, state of the art and ground breaking. It was the perfect fit,” recalls Shona.

The design project was realised by the Science Centre team and funded by a £1m donation from the Hugh Fraser Foundation.

“It is a designer’s dream,” says an enthusiastic Graham Rose.

“We collaborated closely with our interpretation and science people within the centre, and we also worked with hospital staff, the Yorkhill charity and patients themselves.

“We had lots of ideas and narrowed that down to the practical so that we have a well rounded solution. It’s wonderful to be involved.”

The science centre team totally “got” our vision and bought into it.

Shona Cardle Chief Executive Yorkhill Children’s Charity

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We had lots of ideas and narrowed that down to the practical. It’s wonderful to be involved.”

Graham Rose Creative Director

Graham believes that he and his team can continue to build new business by working on similar future projects. “Technology is emerging all the time. It allows us to try new things, using new materials and so on,” he explains.

He cites the example of that serpentine seating, ultra comfortable continuous benches, each built from a single block of foam, and electro-statically sprayed with a final protective coat.

“The idea came about through discussions with NHS infection control experts. It resists spills, there are no seams for material to get stuck in. The idea is that this and the various other features are low maintenance, so that on-going costs are kept down and everything stays in pretty much the same condition over the first few years,” adds Graham.

NHS project manager Mairi MacLeod sees the whole project as a significant breakthrough.

“Our whole focus is on patient care. So for example, in a conventional environment children come and wait. They get fed up, their parents get fed up and everybody gets stressed. The idea is that the outcome of the consultation gets better because the children are calmer as a result of their time in the play areas,” says Mairi.

“There will not be any other waiting area like this. I’m sure the parents will appreciate it and hopefully if that makes the child or young person’s visit to hospital better for them, then that’s what we want to achieve.”

GSC Science Director Robin Hoyle stresses how important it was for he, Graham Rose and colleagues to learn as much as possible about the hospital environment before working on outline designs.

“Visiting hospital can be stressful. Parents and children can be anxious, and we had to recognise that as the design was developed. What we produced had to fit in with the hospital environment without being a burden in terms of cleaning and maintenance”, adds Robin.

“This is by far the biggest project of its kind that we have worked on. Supplementing projects from Whitelee Wind Farm Visitor Centre and on projects for the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and Scottish Water, for example. With all these projects it is about understanding what our partner wants to achieve. In the end, they have to be very much involved.”

So what about the Science Centre’s client, and partner, Yorkhill Children’s Charity. Has the project worked out well for them?

“I believe we have created the most amazing patients’ waiting area in Europe. For some children visiting hospital can be daunting, especially if it is their first time. The new waiting areas will keep them distracted, and help them through that journey,” believes Shona Cardle.

“It’s been truly a great experience working with the guys from Glasgow Science Centre. They loved the project, which helps.

We all worked well together, and also with the NHS. It has been challenging but we all got through it to provide a great facility.” ••

glasgowsciencecentre.org/blog

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UP POWER FEATURE

Exhibition work starts after reaching financial targets.

Glasgow Science Centre’s exciting new Powering the Future project has taken major steps towards its launch with the completion of funding targets.

Full design work on the project is now well underway, reflecting ambitious plans for an exhibition that will educate and inform, as well as providing an entertaining attraction for school students, young adults and families.

The aim of Powering the Future is to examine where energy comes from, shifting sources of power, and the challenges we face as a society in future.

Put simply, how are we going to “keep the lights on”?

The 550 square metre exhibition space – to be housed on the second floor of the science centre – will celebrate the contribution that electricity has made to the modern world.

It will examine the technology behind energy, and showcase some of the technologies of the future that will ensure our power sources.

These will be drawn from a wide range of science-led discovery and development, embracing “green” sources such as renewable power as well as using more conventional energy such as gas, made “greener” thanks to science.

Total funding for the project, estimated at £1.5m, has been attracted from a range of public and private sector sources, including OPITO, Scottish Power, SSE, The National Grid, Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, SDS, EDF, Doosan and ESPRC. One of the main aims of the exhibition will be to improve young people’s awareness of career opportunities in the energy sector. The industry expects to employ many thousands of new engineers and others during the year ahead, and many jobs will be drawn from today’s school students studying the “STEM” subjects.

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The exhibition, which is due to open December 10th, will support public and education programmes on a year-round basis.

Its development follows hard on the heels of the successful BodyWorks exhibition, which opened on the third floor in 2013.

Also on the second floor will be the My World of Work project developed with the training agency Skills Development Scotland.

“We engage with nearly 500,000 adults and children every year, both through the doors, through education, and our outreach programme,” explains Science Centre chief executive Dr Stephen Breslin.

“We want to engage and excite our young people with science, and to encourage the next generation of scientists and engineers, but also to engage everyone in science-based issues that are a major part of their lives.

“Energy is getting increasingly critical for our time, in terms of production and supply, and will be even more vital for future generations. The general public needs to have a lot of information to help make sensible, informed decisions for the future.”

The Science Centre held a Powering the Future debate including leading figures from the energy sector last May, co-sponsored by Heraldscotland.com and GlobalScot.

Chaired by the political commentator Iain Macwhirter, the event’s contributors included Kirsty Gogan, chief executive of Energy for Humanity and a pro-nuclear advocate; Professor Peter McGregor, of the International Public Policy Institute, University of Strathclyde; Gordon Ballard, chairman of Schlumberger UK; Ken Cronin of UK Onshore Oil & Gas; and Niall Stuart, of Scottish Renewables.

Attended by more than 100 people, the event gave a fascinating insight into Scotland’s options for an energy future. Can we ever achieve an all-renewables future, with power generated only by onshore and offshore wind and other technologies? Will fracking provide the answer, and should it be permitted given concerns about its impact on the environment? How do we keep the lights on?

Just like the debate, Powering the Future will be intended to educate and inform as well as finding yet another good reason to visit Glasgow Science Centre. ••

glasgowsciencecentre.org/blog

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FOR YOUR

DATES DIARY

The Planetarium at Glasgow Science Centre official opening September 15th

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell formally opens our new full dome digital Planetarium.

The Turner Prize, Glasgow October 2015 to January 2016

One of Europe’s most important and prestigious contemporary visual art awards comes to Scotland for the first time.

World Space Week October 4th - 10th

As part of the global celebration, we have a fantastic week of space themed activities!

Twilight Science Teacher development afternoon October 8th

An exclusive afternoon for Teachers as we showcase our Educational resources and programmes.

A Question of Science dinner and science quiz October 22nd

Another instalment of our annual science dinner and quiz. This year’s guest is world renowned sports scientist, Greg Whyte and is hosted by Capital FM’s Des Clarke.

World Gymnastics Championships October 23rd - November 1st

Watch the chalk dust fly and breathtaking flexibility, balance and control of the human body as over 500 gymnasts compete for World titles this October in Glasgow.

Powering the Future opens December 10th

Our new £1.5million exhibtion opens to the general public

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ABOUT MERCURY Mercury is a print and online publication produced by Glasgow Science Centre to promote science issues in Scotland, to examine the factors facing scientists and engineers, and to profile leading thinkers in industry, government and academia.

BLOG Find out more information about some of the topics covered in Mercury and keep up to date with all the latest from Glasgow Science Centre, by visiting our website and subscribing to our regularly-updated blog:

www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/blog

0141 420 5000 glasgowsciencecentre.org