After a long wait, the science gallery at King’s College London (KCL), has begun construction after planning permission was confirmed.
The gallery, aimed at promoting science to 15-25 year olds, will become KCL’s flagship culture initiative. It was first proposed by KCL and Science Gallery Network in early 2012 and is predicted to attract 250,000 – 350,000 visitors per year.
The science gallery itself is part of a multi-nation project, started by Trinity College Dublin with the construction of their science gallery. Along with KCL, other science galleries are being built to supply the University of Melbourne in Australia and the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. The aim of the Science Gallery Network, supported by Google, is to establish eight science galleries around the world by 2020.
Located at Boland House in the Guy’s Hospital Campus of KCL, a one-minute walk from London Bridge Station and the Shard, Science Gallery London will be part of the £12 million redevelopment of Boland wing. The science gallery will bring a café, theatre and performance space, shops and the redevelopment of the courtyard.
The £12 million has been raised through several sources: £3 million has been raised through the Wellcome Trust and £4 million from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity, organisations that both focus on supporting health and development of hospitals. The last £5 million has been provided from Shard Funding LTD. KCL has given this project a priority status as part of its £500 million ‘World questions | King’s answers’ campaign, which aims to use the money to develop departments and research of health and science at KCL.
Jenny, a KCL receptionist, said “We’ve just been granted planning permission so it will be on the corner where the McDonalds is, well was because they stripped it out as soon as we got planning permission. We’ve started to build it, it will be complete around spring 2017.”
Science Gallery London website explains, “Unlike other cultural venues, Science Gallery London will have no permanent collection but a changing programme of content reflecting big social issues, with installations and events crowd-sourced through an open call process. Development of the programme will be supported by the Leonardo Group – inspirational people drawn from the creative community.”
Tom, 24, a KCL medical student said “I think that with the changes happening to London Bridge, the science gallery will only add a new thing to do in this area. I can see London Bridge becoming a lot more interesting over the next couple of years.”
