Science Factory ( no, Vitenfabrikken) is a museum and science center located at

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway and together, the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sandnes lies ...

, in

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

, Norway.

Background

The Science Factory opened in May 2008. It is a science museum with exhibitions about

mathematic Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

, and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

. The history of Sandnes also well as regional history also showcased in the museum. In June 2013 a new exhibition called 100% energy was opened. As a part of the exhibition, the Science Factory has their own

Tesla Coil A Tesla coil is an electrical resonant transformer circuit designed by inventor Nikola Tesla in 1891. It is used to produce high-voltage, low-current, high-frequency alternating-current electricity. Tesla experimented with a number of different ...

. In the weekends and summer there are shows and educational workshops. The Planetarium is located in the center of the Science Factory. The Science Factory also has a

Foucault pendulum The Foucault pendulum or Foucault's pendulum is a simple device named after French physicist Léon Foucault, conceived as an experiment to demonstrate the Earth's rotation. A long and heavy pendulum suspended from the high roof above a circular a ...

(named after Jean-Bernard-Leon Foucault) weighing 60 kg and is 11,17 meters long. There is an observation terrace located on the fourth floor featuring two

telescopes A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...

. The Science Factory is the largest department of the regional museum, Jaermuseet, which is headquartered in

Nærbø Nærbø is the largest village in Hå municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The village is located in the district of Jæren, about half-way between the town of Bryne and the village of Varhaug. The village sits about south of Norway's four ...

. Jærmuseet is also responsible for running several other local museum facilities in various parts of the region of

Jæren Jæren is a traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway. At about , Jæren is the largest flat lowland area ...

. Jærmuseet is the regional science museum for the municipalities of

Randaberg Randaberg is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren, at the northern end of the Stavanger Peninsula. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Randaberg. Randaberg ...

Sola Sola is a municipality and a Seaside resort in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Solakrossen. Other villages include Tananger, Hålandsm ...

Gjesdal Gjesdal is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ålgård. Other villages in Gjesdal include Dirdal, Frafjord, Gilja, Gjes ...

Klepp Klepp is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kleppe. Other villages in Klepp include Klepp stasjon, Orre, Orstad, Polle ...

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

and

Hå Hå is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is the southernmost municipality in the traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Varhaug. Other villages in Hå include Brusand, Hæen, ...

. Jaermuseet received the Museum of the Year 2009 award in Norway (''Årets Museum 2009 i Norge'') and also the ''Luigi Micheletti Award 2009'' for best technological museum.

Exhibitions

Abel's Sketchbook

Abel's Sketchbook (''Abels skissebok'') is an interactive exhibition that shows the relationship between art, technology and science. The name is inspired by the famous

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

Niels Henrik Abel Niels Henrik Abel ( , ; 5 August 1802 – 6 April 1829) was a Norwegian mathematician who made pioneering contributions in a variety of fields. His most famous single result is the first complete proof demonstrating the impossibility of solvin ...

, who was born at

Finnøy Finnøy is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Stavanger Municipality. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The a ...

Ryfylke Ryfylke is a traditional district in the northeastern part of Rogaland county, Norway. The district is located northeast of the city of Stavanger and east of the city of Haugesund and it encompasses about 60% of the county's area. It includes ...

not far from

. The exhibitions is based on the art and industry in the region of Jæren. Topics include: * The

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...

* Cultural influence * Materials (

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

fiber Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...

and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

) * Tools *

Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

Logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

Planetarium

In the middle of the building the

planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

looms above the café. It is a large dome-shaped projection screen where you can see the stars, planets and galaxies. In addition to the guided tours of the starry sky, several educational movies about different topics are shown. There are films in Norwegian and in English. There are 57 seats, and was when it opened (2008) as one out of five planetariums in the world using a combined Skymaster ZKP 4 optomechanical projector and Spacegate system from

Carl Zeiss Carl Zeiss (; 11 September 1816 – 3 December 1888) was a German scientific instrument maker, optician and businessman. In 1846 he founded his workshop, which is still in business as Carl Zeiss AG. Zeiss gathered a group of gifted practica ...

Other Exhibits

*Krossen Havremølle is an exhibition that features

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...

processing and how important that has been to the region.''Krossens havremølle'' (Jærmuseet)
*"Øglænd in 150" is an exhibition over 2 floors which shows the history of the company Øglænd. One floor is dedicated to the production of clothing, the other of bicycles and motorbikes. *There are several new additions to the exhibitions, including the most recent one - a domino course and marble run.

Reviews

In 2012

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

wrote this about the Science Factory: ''"The Science Factory: My favorite place by far, the Science Factory is in nearby Sandnes and serves as a high-tech playpen for kids of all ages. Stargaze in the planetarium..."''

References

External links

The Science Factory website

Volunteers at the Science FactoryUMOE PlanetariumJaermuseet website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Science Factory Science museums in Norway Buildings and structures in Sandnes Museums established in 2008 Museums in Rogaland