Eureka! The National Children's Museum is an interactive

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

for children in Halifax,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, England, with a focus on

learning through play Learning through play is a term used in education and psychology to describe how a child can learn to make sense of the world around them. Through play children can develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain the self-confide ...

. It is run as an educational

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * 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 sha ...

and

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

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 fea ...

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 m ...

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

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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 rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

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

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

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

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and

Duke of Cornwall Duke of Cornwall () is a title in the Peerage of England, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch, previously the English monarch. The Duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created i ...

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 Timothy Mark Trelawney Hunkin (born 27 December 1950 in London) is an English engineer, cartoonist, writer, and artist living in Suffolk, England. He is best known for creating the Channel Four television series ''The Secret Life of Machines'', i ...

who created the

Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse ( ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Greek mathematics, mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and Invention, inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse in History of Greek and Hellenis ...

display at the entrance, and Satoshi Kitamura who provide illustration and cartoon signage for the museum.

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, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

, exploring the themes of health, well-being and the human body *Living and Working Together – A miniature town square (including a bank, fountain, eco street 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! 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