AM2 19th October 2016 Issue 63

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19 OCTOBER 2016 ISSUE 63

London Science Museum debuts £6m Wonderlab London’s Science Museum has launched the latest part of its museum-wide transformation, with the debut of its new £6m (US$7.3m, €6.6m) permanent exhibition gallery – Wonderlab. Featuring live demonstrations and immersive experiences, Wonderlab is the UK’s largest interactive science gallery. The new space features a range of more than 50 exhibits, all centred around “the wonder of science and mathematics”, with a team of science communicators on-hand to explain how the science works. The gallery is also home to three live demonstration areas and a 120-capacity showspace,

The Wonderlab’s ‘Flash Bang Whallop’ show in the new showspace which the Science Museum says was inspired by the Royal Institution’s world-renowned Faraday Theatre.

Among the exhibits on display in the new gallery, visitors will be able to ride a giant rotating model of the

solar system to understand why we have seasons, learn about the forces of friction with a slide installation, and take part in live science shows featuring electricity, rockets and lessons about space. The evolution of the Science Museum is now well underway, with Wonderlab the latest part of its £60m (US$73.1m, €66.3m) masterplan. Through the masterplan, around a third of the world-renowned museum will be transformed by 2019, with funding raised through a combination of generous donations and grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund. More: http://lei.sr?a=T8V4r_A

South America’s largest aquarium to open next month After being delayed by almost a year, Rio de Janeiro’s R130m (US$40.6m, €37m, £33.4m) aquarium – the largest in South America – is about to open its doors. Initially scheduled to open in late 2015 – in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio – the aquarium will now open to the public on 9 November at the heart of Rio’s revitalised Port Zone. The aquarium had already been delayed thanks to construction issues, with a March 2016 deadline also missed. Marine biologist Marcelo Szpilman – who is CEO of AquaRio – helped to design the 22,000sq m (237,000sq ft) aquarium, which houses 8,000 marine animals from 350 different species across 28 tanks. The

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development is designed to be eco-friendly, with plans to fully rely on solar energy production within a decade. The aquarium, which has been privately financed through partners and corporate sponsors, is expecting close to three million visitors on an annual basis. AquaRio has teamed up with the Research Center of Marine Biology at the University of Rio and will work to conserve endangered species and return them to Brazilian waters. The vast majority of fish on display have been caught from Guanabara Bay in the state of Rio de Janerio. Once open, the aquarium will employ around 250 people. More: http://lei.sr?a=Z4H5D_A