A year of rediscovering awesome science experiences

Just like The Terminator warned you: we are back! As the world has opened back up in 2022, it is a return to interactivity and rediscovery of awesome science experiences at Glasgow Science Centre. These, made all the more special for us as we celebrate our 21st year in the heart of the community!

Throughout the year, our hardworking science communicators have been busy helping you rediscover engaging experiences with science. Many of those memorable moments took place here at Glasgow Science Centre, but our On Tour team have also taken them to audiences across the length and breadth of Scotland. We have been busy concocting fun online STEM learning programme for the classroom and home, known as: Learning Lab. Our planetarium is still taking its visitors to infinity and beyond with a wide variety of shimmering content. Our child-free adult evening ‘Science Lates’ are back by popular demand, and for the first time in two years we were able to safely throw our famed Halloween parties. Even more exciting news is the science centre has taken over the management of the IMAX which is home to Scotland’s biggest (and most awesome) screen showing the latest blockbusters. Phew! 2022 has been a busy year filled with curiosity, opportunity and festive spirit.

In this blog post, Nicole Alexander has shared some of the highlights of 2022 and rediscovering science experiences at Glasgow Science Centre.

21 years of awesome science experiences

To start us off, its only right we raise a toast to ourselves at being named as ‘Glasgow’s Favourite Business 2022’ at the Glasgow Business Awards in October! To be nominated is an honour in itself but to be nominated and win in the year of our 21st anniversary makes it just all the more special. In July we threw a massive birthday party celebrating 21 years of Glasgow Science Centre! 21 years of inspiring and exciting the public with science. There was food, live music and fun cocktails. After two years of restrictions it was incredible to see the science centre filled to the brim with joyful visitors and friends having fun. Glasgow Science Centre was officially opened on 5th of July 2001 by Queen Elizabeth II herself. Looking back is important but we have our eyes set firmly on future opportunities for all that science and technology brings.

Finding a better journey for learning about STEM

It has been wonderful to be at the centre of the excitement of learning within and outside the classroom again through 2022. Nothing beats the buzz of young people experiencing that sense of exploration, discovery and wonder. Glasgow Science Centre has been welcoming our future scientists back, travelling the length and breadth of the country to inspire them, and engaging them wherever they are in rich and sustained Learning Lab educational programmes.

Learning Lab was first developed in early 2021 as a way to connect with and educate schools online when face to face interaction wasn’t an option. Our learning coordinators personally map out a learning journey which takes place over several weeks. Each uniquely crafted programme contains: lesson plans, video content, teacher instructions, worksheets, family learning activities, live interactions with experts, and specialised teacher training. Learning is of course now enhanced by a visit to Glasgow Science Centre or from Glasgow Science Centre On Tour.

Our Learning Lab has been received extremely well, and as of the 21/22 academic year 827 teachers and 22,634 students have participated. Our participants have had plenty of great things to say about Learning Lab. One teacher commented: ‘the resources have been fantastic and easy to understand. It has given me confidence and saved me a lot of time.’ Our dedicated team are extremely proud of Learning Lab and all it is accomplishing in our community and further afield. Another commentator said: ‘I don’t know if you have any idea the impact that you’re having in schools everywhere but its just amazing, keep up the good work.’

Learning Lab encompasses our mission statement of empowering people through learning and engagement with science to make positive differences in their lives. We are extremely proud of all that Learning Lab has accomplished in such a short amount of time.

Lighting up local community learning

The Community Learning team is another ground-breaking team at GSC. This passionate and dedicated team engage directly with a wide variety of local community groups to ensure everyone is able to access and enjoy STEM learning. And boy have they been busy this year! Engaging with close to 4000 community members and in excess of 185 groups. In April we celebrated the opening of our dedicated community space in the heart of the science centre known affectionately as ‘The Bothy’. The Bothy provides a safe and comfortable bespoke space which enables the community team to invite and engage with community members who otherwise are facing barriers that would prevent them from visiting the science centre, The Bothy can be adapted to meet visitors’ specific needs. The versatile space has been used for various events throughout the year.

Not only did the Community team host multiple events, but in June alone the team attended 8 different events engaging with 1022 people! A particular favourite was joining the Glasgow Science Festival at the Botanics. Packing their new tabletop exhibits, puzzles and a paper pot making activity the community team hit the road. The venue was perfect to talk about the benefits of growing-your-own and sustainability. Our Community team members decided they had never sweated so much in their life, spending 4 days in a greenhouse in June, the ice cream helped though!

Reconnecting remote and rural schools with science

Our incredible Glasgow Science Centre On Tour team have been touring the highways and byways of Scotland spreading knowledge.  Literally, from one end of the country to the other with the Caithness tours to Thurso and Wick down to Dumfries and Galloway. A particular highlight was the ‘small isles’ Tour, visiting schools that remote with so few pupils who would otherwise never engage with the science centre in any capacity! The midges in Rum were on a scale our team had never experienced before. Even having to (temporarily) abandon their outside exhibits when the midges got to be too much. Our team have particularly enjoyed seeing all the wildlife Scotland has to offer (an encounter with otters was the most memorable) just maybe not midges!

Flying to new heights with a unique experience

Don’t worry there is still plenty of exciting stuff happening inside science centre. In March we warmly welcomed the UK’s first Newton Flight Academy to Floor 2 of the science centre. Home to Scotland's only full-motion flight simulators. So, grab your wingman and get ready to enjoy this dedicated STEM learning space that gives everyone the chance to experience the thrill of piloting a plane, right into the danger zone! A happy frequent flyer of ours has this to say: ‘Glasgow Science Centre absolutely knocked it out of the park with this one! This is the real deal-every switch and panel works identically to a real aircraft, and the team are always on hand to provide a smooth experience even for a novice pilot. As an area local, I’ve already visited twice!’

The cosmic call back to space

In our planetarium we have the stars! 2022 saw the much-anticipated return of our David Elder lectures in a hybrid format, with speakers delivering fascinating, sold-out talks on everything from exoplanets to the future of human space exploration. These historic lectures have been held in Glasgow since 1905 and GSC has been proud to host them since 2015.

A highlight of this year’s lecture series was the launch of the Apollo Remastered exhibition, which due to overwhelming demand, saw us sell out not just 100 seats in the Planetarium, but over 300 in the IMAX! We were treated to larger-than-life-sized views of iconic Apollo spacecraft. This exhibition will run until 16 April 2023 and is the ideal way to mark 50 years since humans last walked on the Moon.

The second half of these lectures will take place in February 2023 but if you simply can’t wait for more content there is an archive of lectures on our official YouTube channel.

Bringing the big picture back into focus

In May it was the return of the IMAX! Now under the management of the science centre. Making blockbusters a fully immersive experience. One of our staff described their experience of our busiest summer blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick; ‘You really felt the sonic boom and the WHOOSH in this film!’ Clearly IMAX is the best way to experience a movie. And with our delicious snacks and hot beverage selection there is certainly no place like Glasgow Science Centre for a film. The sequel to the biggest movie ever shown in IMAX is on screen now - Experience Avatar: The Way of Water in IMAX 3D. You will feel like you are actually in Pandora!

Rekindling a vibrant events programme for families and adults

The return of our after hours events blasted off again with Science Lates: SPACE! Over 1,100 visitors took a giant step into all the fun of the science center without the kids. Visitors enjoyed face-to-face interaction with our skilled science communicators, knowledgeable experts, fun adult centered workshops and of course the grub was tasty! People boogied into the night to our superior music selection. We're looking forward to The Science of Whisky, Gin, Dark Side of the Moon: The Full Dome Experience, and tons more evening events for adults in 2023.

In October we had our first in-person Halloween events for families for two years. We have always prided ourselves on throwing the best Halloween parties, so it was fantastic (and indeed rather emotional) to get back into the swing of it! Over 2,550 fabulously dressed up visitors attended our events enjoying the atmosphere and décor the science centre provided. One visitor commented: ‘wonderful, every single one of them’ and we couldn’t agree more!

Onwards and upwards to 2023

Our friendly and focused staff make Glasgow Science Centre the impressive place that it is, and we want to thank them all as well as our loyal visitors. From school children to party guests to community groups we want everyone to feel welcome and included. As we head into 2023, we are even more committed to make every interaction memorable and bring positive change to our communities. These last few years have been challenging (for us all) but Glasgow Science Centre stands tall and ready to help create a brighter future.