Exploratory (museum)
![]() Brunel's original Great Western station building (pictured in 1994), former home of the Exploratory museum | |
![]() ![]() Temple Meads, Bristol | |
Established | 1987 |
---|---|
Dissolved | 14 September 1999 |
Location | Bristol, England |
Coordinates | 51°26′56″N 2°35′01″W / 51.4489°N 2.5835°WCoordinates: 51°26′56″N 2°35′01″W / 51.4489°N 2.5835°W |
Type | Science museum |
The The Exploratory Hands-on Science Centre was a science museum in Bristol. Established in 1981 by Richard Gregory, professor of neuropsychology at Bristol University,[1][2][3][4][5] it was the first regional hands-on science museum in the United Kingdom.[6]
From 1987 to 1989 it was housed in the city's Victoria Rooms. In 1989 it moved to Bristol Temple Meads railway station, where it occupied two floors of the original terminal shed, which had been designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. There it opened full time to the public and also took bookings for education programmes for school parties.
The Exploratory closed in September 1999 due to the expiry of the lease on the building. Its successor was At-Bristol, now We The Curious, a larger science centre which opened in 2000 at a new site as part of the regeneration of the historical Floating Harbour. However, one exhibit from the Exploratory, a giant acoustic guitar, was moved to the Deutsches Museum in Munich where it remains on public display as of 2021.[7][8]
References[]
- ^ Reed Business Information (1983). New Scientist. Reed Business Information. pp. 484–. ISSN 0262-4079.
- ^ Barry Fox (23 December 1989). "Review of 'The Exploratory'". New Scientist.
- ^ Braddick, Oliver (26 May 2010). "Richard Gregory obituary". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- ^ "About". www.exploratory.org.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ "The Exploratory – History". www.exploratory.org.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
- ^ "The Exploratory - History". www.exploratory.org.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ "The Exploratory - Exhibits". www.exploratory.org.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ Museum, Deutsches. "Deutsches Museum: Giant guitar". www.deutsches-museum.de. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
External links[]
- Science museums in England
- Museums in Bristol
- Defunct museums in England