Science Museum to charge for Wonderlab
End of free entry at renamed Launchpad gallery
The renovated Launchpad gallery at the Science Museum, London, which was previously free to enter, has been renamed Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery, and will cost £8 for an adult, £6 for a child, and £22.50 for a family ticket when it opens in October.
The gallery has undergone a £6m redevelopment, and will feature interactive exhibits, artworks, live demonstrations and immersive experiences led by the museum’s explainers.
The renovated gallery is 60% larger, and according to the museum, the ticketed entry marks “a new, sustainable funding model”, which will ensure that “many more school groups can visit the UK’s foremost gallery for free”.
The gallery is sponsored by energy companies Statoil and URENCO. The gallery was also supported with a loan from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and Simon and Kate Reid.
Ian Blatchford, the Science Museum Group's director, said: “Ensuring our visitors understand the science that shapes our lives and inspiring the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians are at the heart of our mission, Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery embodies that core purpose, providing the spark of curiosity for the young people of today to wonder the world better.”
Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery opens on 12 October. Entry to the Science Museum’s permanent collections remains free.
The gallery has undergone a £6m redevelopment, and will feature interactive exhibits, artworks, live demonstrations and immersive experiences led by the museum’s explainers.
The renovated gallery is 60% larger, and according to the museum, the ticketed entry marks “a new, sustainable funding model”, which will ensure that “many more school groups can visit the UK’s foremost gallery for free”.
The gallery is sponsored by energy companies Statoil and URENCO. The gallery was also supported with a loan from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and Simon and Kate Reid.
Ian Blatchford, the Science Museum Group's director, said: “Ensuring our visitors understand the science that shapes our lives and inspiring the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians are at the heart of our mission, Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery embodies that core purpose, providing the spark of curiosity for the young people of today to wonder the world better.”
Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery opens on 12 October. Entry to the Science Museum’s permanent collections remains free.