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Scienceworks (Melbourne)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Scienceworks is a science museum in Spotswood, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. It is one of three museums operated by Museums Victoria.[1] Displays and activities offered by the museum include hands-on experiments, demonstrations, and tours.
Scienceworks is housed in a purpose-built building "styled along industrial lines" near the historic Spotswood Pumping Station,[2] constructed in 1897, whose steam engines form an associated exhibit.[3] The pumping station forms part of the museum complex.[4]
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History
Scienceworks opened on 27 March 1992, and was opened by then-Premier Joan Kirner.[5][6] Its first permanent exhibitions were Inventions, Energy, Travel and Materials.[5][3] The Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks opened in 1999.[5] The planetarium was the first in the Southern Hemisphere to have a digital star projector, as well as digital projection capabilities.[7]
From 1997–2013, the 1883 clock tower from Flinders Street station was also located at the museum.[8] 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.[9] The clock restored with an electric movement is now located at the Southern Cross station.[8]
In 2018, the CSIRAC (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Automatic Computer) was transferred from the Melbourne Museum to the Think Ahead exhibit.[10]
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Museum
Facilities
The "lightning room" is a 120-seat auditorium that presents demonstrations about electricity, featuring a giant Tesla Coil, capable of generating two million volts of electricity, producing three metre lightning bolts.[11] The Melbourne Planetarium is housed on site.[12] On Friday nights, movies are shown in the planetarium.[13][14]
Exhibits
There are two types of exhibits at Scienceworks. Temporary exhibits run for a specific period of time, such as the Rescue exhibition, which ran from 26 March to 5 October, 2014.[15][16]
Permanent exhibits at Scienceworks include Think Ahead (opened 5 December 2013),[17] which is about advances in science and the speculative future,[18] and Sportsworks (opened <2000),[5] which is about the science of sports and the movement of the body.[19] Beyond Perception: Seeing the Unseen (opened 2018)[20] is about invisible forces.[21] Ground Up: Building Big Ideas, Together (opened 4 December 2017)[22] is a sensory exhibit for babies to 5-year-olds.[23]
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Gallery
Steam-driven pump engine
CSIRAC computer display
Spotswood Pumping Station
References
External links
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