PROFILE
ROBERT FIRMHOFER
Copernicus, Poland’s fi rst science centre, is about to add to its six exhibitions with a 16m domed planetarium, just in time to host Ecsite. The director, Robert Firmhofer, tells Kathleen Whyman how Copernicus has become a symbol of modernisation for the country
e a sy
onvincing people that Poland needed a science centre was a challenge because no one knew what a science centre was,” recalls Robert Firmhofer. “They’d never even seen an inter-
active exhibit so couldn’t appreciate how effective and important they are in aiding understanding and learning.” Firmhofer is now the director of
Copernicus, one of the most advanced science centres in Europe. Presenting science as part of culture, using social sci- ence and humanities, the centre opened last November with fi ve galleries, a Robotic Theatre and a rooftop garden. It has since added another gallery aimed at young adults and a convention centre, and will be opening a domed planetarium and surrounding park in June, with a soft open- ing at Ecsite in May. Four laboratories will open in September for physics, robotics, chemistry and biology. In its fi rst four months of operating it
received 250,000 visitors, far exceeding the predicted annual attendance of 400,000. It’s clear that not only did Firmhofer suc- ceed in convincing people that the country needed a science centre, he also convinced people to visit in their droves, but how? “It all started in 1997 with a science picnic in the city, “ Firmhofer says. “I was
the editor-in-chief of science in the public media for Polish radio for many years. I was approached by the physicist Lukasz Turski to arrange an event that would take scientists out of their laboratories and lecture halls, away from their PowerPoint presentations, into a neutral site to engage with people through simple, interactive experiments rather than lectures. It was a completely crazy idea, which is perhaps why I liked it from the beginning.”
Fifteen years on, the Science Picnic has become an annual one-day event, and now attracts 100,000 people and 1,000 scien- tists from 20 countries.
After the success of the fi rst event, Firmhofer and Turski knew that they had to build a science centre in Poland. Every year, after each picnic, the two men would approach the mayor of Warsaw proposing the concept. Their persistence paid off and in 2003, the mayor of Warsaw at the time – the late Kaczynski who went on to become president – and the Minister of Science agreed to establish this project and pro- vide government fi nances for it.
THE DESIGN
Work began on developing the science centre and planning its exhibits and pro- grammes straight away. An international design competition was launched and
“Convincing people that Poland needed a science centre was a challenge because no one knew what a science centre was”
22 Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78