The case for a national children’s science centre

CEO Barbara Galavan says now is the time to fund the project first mooted in 1998.

On 9 May 1865, the Dublin International Exhibition was officially opened with great ceremony.

Attended by a who’s who of Irish and British society, among them the Prince of Wales Albert Edward, who would later become King Edward VII, the exhibition – which showcased the latest scientific and technological innovations and various textiles and artistic works – was held to inaugurate a new building known as the Exhibition Palace at Earlsfort Terrace.

Erected as an institute for science and the arts in Dublin’s city centre, a record of the International Exhibition published in 1866 describes the rationale for the new building.

“[I]t would bring within the reach of all classes the civilising influence of music and the fine arts, which at present even the most wealthy of citizens rarely enjoy. It would aid in the study of the natural and mechanical sciences by an exhibition of their most remarkable examples; and by blending amusement with instruction, would thus elevate and improve the tastes of all.

“Such an institution is at present one of the great wants of this city.”

Fast forward 160 years and the historic site at Earlsfort Terrace is the perfect place to house a national children’s science centre (NCSC) – a great want of this modern city – according to its CEO Barbara Galavan.

The Exhibition Palace was an ornate building, complete with a glass and steel Winter Garden overlooking the new Iveagh Gardens. Though the original building was replaced in 1914, the site served the cultural and educational interests of the city throughout the last century.

It accommodated University College Dublin (UCD) for 124 years. When UCD moved its main campus to Belfield, the larger part of the building was earmarked for the National Concert Hall (NCH), which opened its doors in 1981. UCD retained use of the north wing until 2007, and it has lain mostly dormant since.

In March of last year, the Office of Public Works (OPW) was granted planning permission to renovate the site for use as the NCSC, complete with planetarium overlooking the Iveagh Gardens, echoing the original Winter Garden design. A few months later, permission was granted to redevelop the NCH.

While the NCH has secured funding with work scheduled to start next year, the NCSC is yet to be given the green light by Government.

“Now that the National Concert Hall is going to be redeveloped – that work is due to start next year and funding has been approved by Cabinet – we’re conscious that it’s going to be very difficult for them to redevelop two-thirds of the building without addressing the north wing,” Galavan tells SiliconRepublic.com.

The NCSC, which is a registered charity, was first mooted as far back as 1998, and has had a long history of plans and setbacks and struggles to get funding.

“Government are committed to the science centre, both legally and otherwise, but they haven’t actually addressed the funding of it and that’s a fundamental issue for us right now,” Galavan says.

The chair of the OPW told the Public Accounts Committee last June that the State has a “legal obligation” to deliver the NCSC.

Galavan’s background is in the entertainment industry, and she served as CEO of Screen Producers Ireland for a number of years. “I had many interactions with Government in that role, and I think the board recognised that in order to bring the science centre to the next stage of its development the conversation with Government is really the most important thing we can be having right now.”

‘Get kids into science early’

I’m given a tour of the north wing at Earlsfort by Galavan and Naomi Mooney, head of marketing and philanthropy for the NCSC, to get a sense of what’s planned for the space.

I’m shown rooms that would serve as science labs for school students. Speaking to teachers during the planning stage, the lack of science labs in schools was highlighted as a major issue to the NCSC team, Galavan and Mooney say.

An artist’s rendering of a room in Earlsfort Terrace transformed into a science lab. Image: NCSC

Galavan wants to work with schools to develop programmes that are useful and inspiring for students – “to support the great work being done in schools so that children have a very early opportunity to understand science,” she says.

“You really have to get kids into science early, preferably before they’re 10.” This helps to ensure that children aren’t intimidated by science, which can often happen, Galavan says.

One area she’s keen to highlight is the issue of gender equality in STEM. “That is really lacking in the STEM subjects, particularly at second level.”

Citing an iWish report, Galavan notes that girls made up just 9pc of engineering and 19pc of technology students at leaving certificate level in 2022.

She sees the NCSC as a place that will be accessible to everyone, hopefully inspiring more girls to engage with science and technology subjects.

“It’s a shame that Ireland is late to the table in being the only country in the OECD without a national science centre but that provides its own opportunities when building it from the ground up,” Galavan says.

If given the greenlight, the centre will take probably three years to build, she says, so there will be plenty of time to “see where the gaps are” for the centre to fill.

A spokesperson for the INTO teachers’ union told me that while the organisation doesn’t comment on individual projects, it “strongly support[s] greater investment in children’s learning, particularly at primary level”.

“[W]e recognise the growing importance of science education and the need to foster early interest in STEM subjects. Investment in STEM at primary level is essential to developing critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving skills, all of which are vital for preparing children to engage with the challenges and opportunities of the future.”

National conversation about science

One argument Galavan makes for engaging children early in STEM is the long-term benefit of addressing Ireland’s skills gaps.

With so many major technology, life sciences and financial services companies based in Ireland, there are plenty of STEM skills gaps to fill, Galavan says.

Though the idea is that the Government will provide a turnkey building, the NCSC team needs to fundraise to turn the space into a science centre. Galavan has been speaking to science and technology companies about sponsorship and she’s hearing that companies want students to be engaged in STEM subjects as early as possible.

An illustration of the picture gallery at the Dublin International Exhibition. Image: Catalogue of Dublin International Exhibition 1865

She says industry has shown enthusiasm for the centre and the work it could do to help build up Ireland’s talent pipeline.

Galavan and the board see the NCSC as falling under the remit of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science rather than the Department of Education and Youth. I query this, given the focus on children in the centre’s title.

“There’s a great opportunity, we feel, for this to become a broader centre for science,” Galavan says.

“There’s great work being done by Research Ireland, but particularly since the Science Gallery in Trinity was closed, there is no real gathering place to have a national conversation about science.”

The centre plans to have two lecture theatres, which Galavan says would facilitate academic and public education and debate. “It would make great sense for this to be a meeting place for a national conversation about science.”

Minister James Lawless, TD, is the person Galavan wants to talk to. The NCSC team are seeking a meeting with him and his officials.

“We haven’t found it easy to get that door open but we’re continuing to press,” she says. Lawless has committed to coming to the site to meet the team, she says, and they will give him the tour and show him their plans.

I reached out to Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to ask about Minister Lawless’ plans to visit the centre and whether he sees it as a priority. In response, I was told only that the department “has had no involvement with the proposed development of a national children’s science centre”.

With the National Development Plan currently under review, the NCSC has also made a submission to the Department of Public Expenditure.

“Our goal is to secure funding by September,” Galavan says. The centre will cost about €70m, with nearly 60pc of that to be spent on essential works to restore the site regardless of final use.

I reached out to the Department of Public Expenditure to ask if the NCSC will be prioritised in the National Development Plan review and was told by a spokesperson, “As this review is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment on individual projects at this time.”

The tour ends at double emergency doors that open out onto a fire escape overlooking a large wall that surrounds the site and blocks access to the Iveagh Gardens.

The Winter Palace would have been here originally, Mooney says. And with the new planetarium echoing that original design, the NCSC will open up this space and bring it into the park, which Galavan argues will help revitalise this whole area for the benefit of tourism and the local community.

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