Building the Centre

‘The Children’s Discovery team is seeking funding support to build a major Science and Technology Discovery Centre

Will the Children's Discovery Centre be like Questacon?
Why Build a Novel Facility in Western Sydney?
What Will be in the Galleries?
How Much Will the Centre Cost?
Where Should We Find the Funds?
Governance .. Who Will Own Children’s Discovery?
Ongoing Operations ..Why We Will Succeed.
What is the Preferred Location for the Centre?
Children’s Discovery Activities … Are Children Just Playing?
Will Children’s Discovery Be Integrated With the Education System?
What Could We Look Like?

What is Children’s Discovery? <Back>

It is a Science and Technology Discovery Centre where children learn by experiencing – by constructing, experimenting, investigating.

Will the Children's Discovery Centre be like Questacon? <Back>

There are strong similarities, but also major differences. Most Questacon exhibits are targeted for late primary/secondary age students, typically exemplify scientific phenomena and tell students what to notice. In 2006, Questacon installed Q space, a hands-on activity for younger children and it has been a great success, increasing family membership and attendances.

Children’s Discovery will cater for pre-school to end-of-primary students. A major difference from Questacon is that all of our learning activities are hands-on, encouraging self-discovery and team work (often with parents). Many activities are team or project based, requiring perseverance over time. We will feature technology incorporating scientific principles. We will have a special focus on environmental issues (including global warming), and water and energy efficiency. We will collaborate with Questacon and other organisations with complementary aims.

Children’s Discovery Activities … are children just playing? <Back>

Children’s Discovery is intended to be a bridge between the formal lessons of school and a leisure activity. Children will “learn by doing” in informal but highly imaginative surroundings. It must be a place where they want to spend their time in collaborative activities with their parents and other children. The school related activities will be more formal.

Children’s Discovery will be a place where children meet their friends and make new ones while exploring the world. It will be fun, and they will want to come back frequently. Their experiences will introduce them to science, technology and the trades in ways that will stimulate their imagination. This is a key step in addressing Australia’s skill shortage in these fields.

Why build a novel facility in western Sydney? <Back>

Sydney , alone among the capital cities of Australia, does not have a Science Centre. In USA and Western Europe, every major city has a children’s museum like this – Chicago for example has 2, which attract over 0.75 million people/year. There is a pool of children in western Sydney who could be drawn into scientific and technical employment by inspirational experiences at Children’s Discovery. This would benefit the western Sydney community as well as the nation.

What Will be in the Galleries? <Back>

The major activity settings in Children’s Discovery are called Galleries. This is a convention adopted by the American Children’s Museum Association. They resemble stage settings. Galleries are the heart of the operation. We have constructed four travelling Galleries which have been used for school holiday programs (Build It, Tour through the Tummy, Rat Racers, Kid’s Dig), We vary the galleries over time to change the learning experiences. Commercial Sponsors will have an interest in supporting galleries in their fields of work eg. energy and water retailers. Government Sponsors might support skills development or apprenticeship activities.

How Much Will the Centre Cost? <Back>

This is a major project to develop a major children’s attraction in Sydney, which will draw over 0.25 million visitors/year. The likely cost of the project, including some start-up funding is $25 million.

Where Should We Find the Funds? <Back>

We are seeking funds from all levels of government.

We are seeking Federal capital funding as this is the right level of government to provide leadership on skills training and the development of our country’s human resources. This centre in our largest city can be the model for similar facilities in other capitals. Children’s Discovery is part of the national basic educational infrastructure.

We will also gain funding support from local government in the form of land, parking and site infrastructure. We will be seeking State government funding to meet our annual operating needs relating to meeting our community service and educational objectives.

We will be seeking corporate funding to support the galleries. There will be naming rights available for the galleries and for the Centre. We expect that these will be very eagerly sought by businesses.

Finally, and very importantly, we are seeking private philanthropy to help support this critical institution.

Governance .. who will own Children’s Discovery? <Back>

It is proposed that Children’s Discovery be owned and operated by a Not-for-Profit Company Limited by Guarantee. The Board would include a Commonwealth Government representative. Present CDML Directors have considerable, successful business experience. The facility will be operated along business lines, with service obligations to cater for the disadvantaged - State funding will be sought for this purpose.

Ongoing Operations ..why we will succeed. <Back>

There are no similar facilities in Sydney and independent research that indicates that there is a very significant demand for these services. The attendance predicted for Children’s Discovery (0.25 million by year 4) is very conservative. It is likely that it will be significantly exceeded, yielding more revenue than budgeted.

Generally speaking, Science Centres are set up as part of the operations of Museums or educational establishments with considerable overheads. Children’s Discovery will be operated with the involvement of local volunteers, including retired teachers, with consequent reduction in operating expenses compared with other comparable institutions.

We will recover half of our operating costs from entrance fees and business activities such as shop sales and birthday parties. This is significantly more than other Australian museums.

An independent survey has indicated that we will receive substantial support from local businesses.

What Is the Preferred Location? <Back>

We have identified a number of key success factors concerning the location of the facility. These were used to select Blacktown Showground as the preferred site. The suitability of the site will be a large component of the success of the operation.

Will Children’s Discovery be integrated with the Education System? <Back>

The activities at Children’s Discovery will be mapped to the NSW school curriculum. All schools in NSW, public and private, will be encouraged to participate on a regular basis. Special arrangements will be made for country schools. Teacher in-service mentoring programs will be developed. Teachers training at all universities and TAFE colleges will be offered work experience.

Children’s Discovery will act as a western Sydney hub for all organisations interested in promoting an interest in science and technology. It is proposed that Questacon and CSIRO Education base their extension staff serving western Sydney and beyond in our premises. We envisage a great deal of collaboration and sharing of resources. We will host exhibits and visits from other museums and publicise their activities. Our extended opening hours will allow science and technology education to happen on weekends.

WHAT MIGHT CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY LOOK LIKE? <Back>
Click on the rooms in the museum

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