Eureka! The National Children's Museum is an interactive

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

for children in Halifax,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...

, England, with a focus on learning through play. It is run as an educational

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

and

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organisation. Eureka! is based on the North American model of

children's museum Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums fe ...

s, aimed at families with children aged 0–11 and encourages hands-on inter-generational learning.

History

A Brush Class 31 awaits departure with the 0835 train to London at Halifax

The Museum for Children was formally constituted as a registered charity in 1985 by

Vivien Duffield Dame Vivien Louise Duffield, (née Clore; born 26 March 1946) is an English philanthropist. Life and career Vivien Louise Clore was born to Jewish parents. Her father was millionaire businessman and philanthropist Sir Charles Clore and her mo ...

who was inspired to create the museum after visiting a children's museum in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

in the United States. The museum is intended for children aged up to 12 with accompanying adults, and it was established with £9 million funding, £7 million of which came from the Clore and Duffield foundations with the rest from grants and private donations. It is located on former

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

land next to Halifax railway station. Eureka!'s location was suggested by

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

who thought the empty site particularly suitable for the museum and believed that it can serve as a stimulus for the regeneration of Halifax. King Charles III opened the museum on 9 July 1992 when he was

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

and

Duke of Cornwall Duke of Cornwall is a title in the Peerage of England, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning British monarch, previously the English monarch. The duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created in England and was established by a ...

and was its patron until 2002. The building design was led by Ken Moth of the architectural practice

Building Design Partnership Building Design Partnership Ltd, doing business as BDP, is a firm of architects and engineers employing over 900 staff in the United Kingdom and internationally. History BDP was founded in 1961 by George Grenfell-Baines with architects Bill Whit ...

(BDP), and the exhibition designs were produced by an in-house team as well as a diverse group of designers who produced various elements of the museum – co-ordinated by Richard Fowler. Design groups included Imagination (the Me and My Body gallery) and Conran (original gift shop) and individuals included Tim Hunkin who created the

Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scienti ...

display at the entrance, and Satoshi Kitamura who provide illustration and cartoon signage for the museum. Eureka! celebrated its 25th birthday in 2017 by launching the Eureka! Stories website and opening the Spark Gallery, a flexible exhibition space which launched with the European premiere of the interactive art exhibition digiPlaySpace, created by

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

Galleries

The museum has four main galleries: *Spark Gallery – Opened July 2017 as part of the museums 25th anniversary celebrations; it is a flexible exhibition space *All About Me – Opened in March 2013; a £2.9 million gallery, lead funded by the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glax ...

, exploring the themes of health, well-being and the human body *Living and Working Together – A miniature town square (including a bank, fountain, garage and shops) and house *SoundSpace – An interactive gallery encouraging children to discover the science of sound and music, with the help of Orby the Alien *SoundGarden *Desert Discovery *The Beach – possibly the largest outdoor sandpit in the North of England. *The Wonder Walk – An outdoor sensory trail

References

External links

Eureka! website

Eureka! Stories website20 of the best indoor family activities
– The Guardian, 13 October 2018

– The Independent, 10 November 2011
Eureka! on the Charity Commission website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eureka! (Museum) Children's museums in the United Kingdom Museums in Halifax, West Yorkshire