Science Museum  Announces Bid for £50million of Funding

The Science Museum’s Inspired project is one of six candidates bidding for £50 million from the Big Lottery, to be voted for by the British public later this year via a televised vote.   The funding is vital to secure Inspired’s future as a brand new type of interactive museum.

Due to open in 2010 Inspired will be an important stimulus for young people, essential in shaping the UK’s science future by providing a hothouse for inspiring scientists, engineers, inventors, creators, and designers.  

Reliance on technology escalates every day, yet the number of young people opting for scientific careers is diminishing.  A recent study* of 11,000 pupils aged 11-15 years found that 80% thought that scientists did ‘very important work’ but entries for A-levels in sciences and mathematics has been in serious decline since 1996, particularly Physics which was down by over 5,000 entries and Maths by over 10,000 entries in 2005. 

The knock on effect will lead to a significant gap in the scientific generation which will start to become clear in the next 10 years, for example 50% of the UK’s current physics teachers will retire.  Also as a result of this lack of interest in Science, there have been 79 closures of university science departments in the past seven years.  The Science Museum is asking the public to take the matter into their own hands by supporting Inspired which will play a major role in injecting the fun back into science and making it accessible for all.

Martin Earwicker, the Science Museum’s Director, said: ‘We want people to vote Inspired.  There has never been a greater need, not only for UK Plc which will need a scientifically literate educated society to compete with the developing powers of China and India but also for the human race in general. 

“Inspired will house irreplaceable pieces of science history and science future that belong and should be accessible to everyone nationwide.   Inspired is about making science fun and inspiring future generations of scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs to step up to the challenges of our world.”

Britain has made a magnificent contribution to science from jet engines, to the lightbulb, penicillin, television, the lawn mower, rubber bands, perforated toilet paper, the corkscrew and Viagra.  Inspired should ensure Britain continues in the tradition of producing genius from John Logie-Baird, Isaac Newton, Isambard Kingdom Brunel to modern day heroes Sir Tim Berners-Lee, James Dyson and Jonathan Ives.

If it wins the vote, making science fun for all will be the mission of Inspired at the Science Museum Swindon.   Visitors will be thrust into a world which will unleash their creativity and imagination, just like the Science Museum in London.  The Science Museum can house just eight per cent of its exhibits at any one time and most visitors spend only a few hours exploring it.  At Inspired they will be able to spend days immersing themselves in a quarter of a million previously unseen exhibits, designing and building robots, hot air balloons, and even a solar-powered car, and enjoying interactive spectacular shows, awesome acrobatics, and huge displays in cutting-edge indoor and outdoor arenas.  

This unique £64 million world-class attraction will be environmentally friendly with energy provided by renewable source and a super-insulated structure, and a sympathetic design blending in with the surrounding landscape.

Visit www.voteinspired.org.uk  or text ‘SMS Inspired’ to 88833 to sign-up for free updates and the latest news as it happens on this exciting project