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Make no bones about it; the appliance of science has been given a huge boost in Bahrain with the unveiling of a new centre of hands-on learning and creativity.
School groups will be formally invited to the Bahrain Science Centre from the middle of April. Its target audience will be children as well as families and one of its most important roles will be to promote cross-generational learning between children, their parents and grandparents.
“Science centres are places where you ‘learn by doing’. Visitors engage with interactive displays in order to learn about human health, senses and talents, our dynamic planet, biodiversity, animal skeletons and many other topics,” a spokesman for Bahrain’s Ministry of Human Rights and Social Development said.
The colourful building is located on Riyadh Avenue in Isa Town, near the Manama/Salmabad intersection on the Isa Town/Riffa highway. It will be able to accommodate around 80 visitors at a time and between 150 and 200 visitors a day.
Entrance is free except for special events, although a small fee will be charged for private school group visits. A typical tour will last two hours.
It currently holds 50 ‘world-class interactive exhibits’ in six exhibition galleries. These galleries are called Discovery Room, Keeping Kids Healthy, Test your Skills, Our Dynamic Earth, Biodiversity and Travelling Exhibition Hall. In addition, there are also interactive exhibits in the corridors.
The science centre will also stage shows, talks, debates, demonstrations, dissections, workshops and star gazing. In future, it is likely to host interschool competitions, excursions to places of scientific interest, camping trips and other activities.
In addition to the galleries, the centre also has an auditorium, three laboratories for geosciences, astronomy and biology, a small reference library and a café-shop. Astronomy and other activities will take place on the roof at night.
Bahrain’s Science Centre differs slightly from others set up around the world in that it has an impressive collection of 36 skeletons, skulls and bones from different kinds of fishes, reptiles, birds and mammals that are found in the Arabian Peninsula.These include a snake, lizard, turtle, ibis, flamingo, ostrich, dolphin, dugong, whale, horses, gazelles, oryx, goats, camel, wild dog and baboon, which will be on display for visitors to view.
The centre will be operated during its first two years by a private company, MTE Studios, which provides specialised museum and science centre consultancy services.
