Construction of the new children’s museum, Eureka! Mersey, will begin at the start of 2021, after achieving 95% of its funding. Eureka! Mersey will be the sister site to the children’s museum in Halifax. The new site is hoping to be open to the public by 2022, as a part of the Seacombe ferry terminal and the old Spaceport on the Wirral waterfront.
Eureka! Mersey will focus on making science, engineering, and technology subjects exciting and accessible to all. The £11.75 million project aims to extend the reach and impact of the attraction, through play and discovery-based learning.
The team are currently working with schools and youth organisations from the region, to ensure that they create a unique attraction that is relevant to the young people in the area. Their approach aims to build on the well-established methodology that has worked for the brand for over 20 years already. So far over 120 young people have been involved in designing exhibition content for Eureka! Mersey.
The museum is dedicated to give back to the community, and help rebuild the region’s visitor economy following the damage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayer of the Liverpool City Region said the new museum will “play an important role in inspiring our future scientists and engineers”.
Throughout lockdown, the museum team have been working remotely with partners to ensure that design and building plans stay on track. Chief Executive of Eureka! Leigh-Anne Stradeski said that it is critical to give “young people the opportunity to explore, discover and think again about their futures” as the UK rebuilds after the pandemic.
She continued, saying that “At a time when science is so important and with major global challenges ahead from both COVID-19 and climate change, Science Centres across the UK provide our regional cities and towns with crucial opportunities to access science in an approachable and engaging way, helping to inspire our next generation of scientists and engineers.”
Seddon Construction, K2 Architects, Urban Green, Real Studios, TACE, Sutcliffe and Playmaker Studio have been selected as the seven key partners to take the project further and bring the plans to life.
