Science Gallery Annual Review

The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport Mary Hanafin TD today launched Science Gallery's Annual Review for 2009. The review shows that the public clearly has an appetite for science as Science Gallery has attracted over 500,000 visitors in its first two years.

You can find a copy of the Annual Review here.

Watch what some of the people involved with Science Gallery had to say:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=786pWK6wOAk

PRESS RELEASE

The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport Mary Hanafin TD today (Thursday 15th  July) congratulated the Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin for its significant achievements in its first two years of operation - including attracting over half a million visitors, receiving numerous national and international awards and developing a pioneering new model for linking science and the arts to contribute to Ireland's development as a Smart Economy.

Speaking at the launch of Science Gallery's Annual Review 2009 Minister Hanafin said "while many of our great museums rightly safeguard our cultural past for our citizens and international visitors, Science Gallery is unique in that it safeguards our future. It does this by nurturing and inspiring the young creative, flexible thinkers who can move seamlessly between science and art, between technology and business who will be the lifeblood of Ireland's development as an innovation economy.  Science Gallery particularly engages 15-25 year-olds and involves, inspires and transforms curious minds through science, arts and culture."

Since opening in February 2008 over 500,000 visitors - five times the original projections - have experienced Science Gallery, clearly showing that there is a huge public appetite for Science Gallery's unique approach to science and art. Science Gallery, an initiative of Trinity College Dublin, has been recognised internationally with a Special Commendation for innovation in the museum sector at the European Museum of the Year Awards in 2010, and receiving the Irish Times Living Dublin Award for Culture and Tourism in 2008. (See further details below)

"Beyond the numbers, Science Gallery is ultimately about the stories of the people who have been inspired and contaminated by their experiences of the Science Gallery - the moments of inspiration and transformation that are the early results of the Science Gallery experiment. Science Gallery's mission is to ignite creativity and discovery where science and art collide, and we aim to foster a new community of "Leonardos", inspired by Renaissance artist-engineer Leonardo da Vinci, who bridge art and science, technology and business and can play a role in developing Ireland as an innovation hub," Michael John Gorman, Director of Science Gallery said.

He continued "This review brings to light the stories of people whose lives have been changed by their experiences at Science Gallery. The stories range from the student who came to work in the Gallery during the Infectious exhibition in 2009 and was inspired to study for a PhD in immunology, to the connections made in Science Gallery that allowed Irish entrepreneur Brian Fallon gather a team of artists and engineers to bring about the transformation of Liberty Hall to a giant interactive screen in the Playhouse Project."

The success of the Science Gallery shows the huge public interest in science as Dublin prepares to be the European City of Science in 2012. Michael John Gorman continued "We look forward to playing a central role in bringing science throughout the city during Dublin's tenure as European City of Science in 2012. Beyond Ireland, there is currently significant international interest in the model of Science Gallery as a new, dynamic interface between the university and the city. Dublin has the distinction of having created the world's first Science Gallery, but I would hope to see at least twenty Science Galleries around the globe by 2020, inspiring a new generation of Leonardos around the world and connecting them to Ireland."  

The Science Gallery is a unique partnership between Trinity College, the private sector and the Government to provide an important strategic national resource for Ireland's innovation economy. Science Gallery would not be possible without the generous support of its supporters - The Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport, the Wellcome Trust, Ulster Bank, Dell, Google, ICON, PACCAR and Trinity College Dublin.

ENDS
 
EDITOR'S NOTE
Science Gallery key achievements in first two years of operation
Below is a brief summary of key achievements in the first two years of Science Gallery.
 
·       European Museum of the Year Awards 2010: Special Commendation for innovation in the museum sector. Science Gallery was honoured in Tampere (Finland) for its unique approach to programming and community engagement as something that could be an inspiration to other museums throughout Europe;

·       European Commission Framework 7 programme: Science in Society. Science Gallery led a successful bid for the first ever call for experimental projects linking art and science, with a value of €1.5 million, with partners including Royal College of Art (London), Le Laboratoire (Paris), Ars Electronica (Linz), and MediaLab Prado (Madrid). Science Gallery's proposal received first place out of all applicants scoring 14.5 out of a maximum of 15 points;

·       500,000 visitors in two years (initial target was 50,000 visitors/year);

·       13 major exhibitions on topics ranging from future fashion to epidemics, from innovation with light to our current exhibition BIORHYTHM exploring music and the body;

·       Over 250,000 online visitors to www.sciencegallery.com

·       Over 14,000 members of Science Gallery (target was 5,000 members in three years);

·       Extensive media coverage nationally and internationally - 700 print articles, 55 radio spots, 35 TV spots, with value of over €4m;

·       Winner, Irish Times Living Dublin Award (Culture and Tourism) 2008, and

·       Winner, National ICT Excellence Award for Best use of IT in Education (2009).

For further information please contact Anja Ekelof on (01) 896 4197 or email marketing (at) sciencegallery (dot) com