Bringing Science To Life
Last updated: 31/08/2007 - 10:48
If you’re in the Midlands and in a cerebral mood why not call in on Birmingham's striking science discovery centre - Thinktank?
Thinktank is one of the largest science museums outside London and was named ‘Discovery Centre of the Year 2003’ in the Best of British awards. Thinktank has ten galleries on four floors, taking visitors on an interactive journey from the past, through the present and into the future. It also boasts LEGOLAB, the UK’s largest Lego education facility outside LEGOLAND.
LEGOLAB
Thinktank is the main visitor attraction at Millennium Point, England’s largest Millennium project outside London that cost £114 million, including £50 million of Millennium Commission lottery funding and £25.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund.
Britain's most exciting new science centre has attracted over 265,000 visitors since it opened in Birmingham in September 2001. Thinktank, the Birmingham museum of science and discovery, is the main visitor attraction at Millennium Point in the heart of Birmingham.
Millennium Point is England's largest Millennium project outside London and has cost £114 million, including £50 million of Millennium Commission lottery funding and £25.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund. One of the biggest museums outside London, Thinktank offers four floors of interactive learning and fun, a 200-seat theatre, education rooms, café and shop. "We have created a new science centre for a new century, a place where science comes alive for the general public," says Jonathan Bryant, Chief Executive.
Community"The Thinktank proposition is based around a simple but powerful narrative: innovation in science and technology underpins our life and changes the way we live. It tells this story through Birmingham's past, the present day and what we know of the future. We also encourage our visitors to help determine future choices in science, medicine, genetics and lifestyles. Visitors to Thinktank enter in the present, with the past below them and the future above.
Millennium Project
Britain's most exciting new science centre has attracted over 265,000 visitors since it opened in Birmingham in September 2001. Thinktank, the Birmingham museum of science and discovery, is the main visitor attraction at Millennium Point in the heart of Birmingham.
Millennium Point is England's largest Millennium project outside London and has cost £114 million, including £50 million of Millennium Commission lottery funding and £25.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund. One of the biggest museums outside London, Thinktank offers four floors of interactive learning and fun, a 200-seat theatre, education rooms, café and shop. We have created a new science centre for a new century, a place where science comes alive for the general public," says Jonathan Bryant, Chief Executive.
"The Thinktank proposition is based around a simple but powerful narrative: innovation in science and technology underpins our life and changes the way we live. It tells this story through Birmingham's past, the present day and what we know of the future. We also encourage our visitors to help determine future choices in science, medicine, genetics and lifestyles.
Visitors to Thinktank enter in the present, with the past below them and the future above.
The ten galleries are:
How many pen nibs can you punch in 60 seconds…? From buttons and buckles to hairgrips, and sweet wrappers, explore the birth of the Industrial Revolution as man and machine meet in the workplace.
Planes, trains and automobiles. Come face to face with the City of Birmingham locomotive, the Railton Mobil Special world land speed record car and Hurricane and Spitfire aircraft. Find the best way of moving goods to and from Birmingham and four major ports - by canal, rail or road.
When man harnessed steam power, the world seemed invincible. Take a tour of some of the most magnificent working steam engines ever, including the oldest working example in the world - James Watt's Smethwick beam engine. Designed to pump water up the canal lock system, this clanking leviathan now pumps water inside Thinktank - a staggering tonne of water with each mighty stroke.
A journey through Birmingham of the past. From green suburbs to grimy back-street tenements, explore tales from the city and see how its inventors and their inventions transformed the Midlands into the world's greatest workshop.
Take a stroll down Thinktank's very own weird and wonderful street and discover the science we all take for granted behind things at home and at work. You'll be amazed how much science and technology is part of your everyday life!
Designed especially for under 7s, there's plenty to do here. Become a mechanic, a postman, a chef or a market-trader, play in the 'buzzy bee-hive' or splash in the water park. Whatever the activity it's all hands on fun!
Wrestle with our boneless body, get to grips with your guts then voyage through veins and ventricles in an amazing exploration of your own body. You'll also meet TAM, our animated guide, and members of the TAM gang - including TAM Fonda, who'll take you through an aerobics work out!
Take a healthy interest in disease, genetics, surgery and more. Play Immunity Space Invaders and Musical Genes, perform a virtual hip operation and wise up on Artificial Intelligence. Will you know the difference between talking to a computer or a real person?
Why do you never see a polar bear slip? What's really odd about the platypus? How long have crocs been snapping? Join us in the field to find out how scientists study the wild world and how clever animals adapt to change.
The world we live in is changing every day. Look with us and see how it's being shaped by cutting edge technology. From robotics and human knowledge to sensors, body checks and deep space. Welcome to Thinktank's vision of the future.
Millennium Point is also home to the Midlands' first large format IMAX Theatre. With a giant screen measuring 50ft high by 70ft wide, 42 speakers delivering six channel digital surround sound and 385 luxury stadium-style seats, the IMAX Theatre at Millennium Point will bring the clarity and dramatic effect of large format 2D and 3D films to the Midlands for the first time.
Millennium Point itself – which was designed by internationally renowned architects Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners - lies between Curzon Street and Jennens Road. Just 10 minutes stroll from the New Street and the Rotunda, there's a specially designated pedestrian route from the central shopping area, it's convenient for buses and trains, or you can drive straight there - it's just off the inner ring road and there's plenty of parking. The stunning central mall is free to enter and there will be shops, cafes and bars. Millennium Point is also home to the Technology Innovation Centre (part of the University of Central England) and the University of the First Age and Young People's Parliament.
The Birmingham Museum of Science and Discovery - Thinktank is open six days a week, Saturday to Thursday (closed Fridays) from 10am to 5pm. A Family Ticket for four people costs £18.00 for one visit.
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