Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre is an interactive science communication facility in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, Australia. It is a museum with more than 200 interactive exhibits related to

science and technology Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

. The National Science and Technology Centre hosts the Questacon Science Circus which is a science outreach program.

History

Questacon is an interactive science centre that began as a project of the Australian National University (ANU), in spare space at the Ainslie Public School in Canberra. It opened with 15 exhibits and was staffed by volunteers and by the ANU physics lecturer Professor Mike Gore AM. It inspired him to develop Australia's first interactive science centre, based on the

Exploratorium The Exploratorium is a museum of science museum, science, technology museum, technology, and art museum, arts in San Francisco, California. Founded by physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer in 1969, the museum was originally located in the ...

in San Francisco. The name 'Questacon' combines two words— 'quest' meaning 'to discover' and 'con' meaning 'to study'. Professor Gore went on to become the founding Director of Questacon and in 2015, he received an Australia Day honour for his service to science. Questacon's current building was given to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

for the 1988 Bicentenary, and was opened on 23 November 1988. The Japanese government and business contributed ¥1 billion, half of the capital cost of A$19.64 million. Questacon was formerly housed at the Ainslie Primary School. The current director is Jo White. She commenced in the role in November 2022, having moved from the Australian Institute of Botanical Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. Their previous director, Professor Graham Durant AM, retired in August 2021 after holding the role for 19 years.

Galleries

As of 2023, there are 8 galleries: * The Foyer has a Robot, the Clockwork Universe, the Cam Wave and the Questacon Shop. * Fundamentals explores classic science exhibitions. * Awesome Earth looks at

natural disaster A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community brought by natural phenomenon or Hazard#Natural hazard, hazard. Some examples of natural hazards include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides ...

s and geology, featuring a Tesla coil and an earthquake simulator. * The Q Lab has a dynamic experiment space and includes the Questacon Beehive exhibit. * The Shed contains experimentation with ideas, tools, science, technologies, and art. * MiniQ is designed for children between the ages of 0 and 6. Exhibits include a water play area, a construction zone, and a quiet area. * Excite@Q showcases spectacular scientific phenomena including BATAK and the Freefall slide. * Born or Built showcases technology, AI and robots in how they influence the future. * The Moon Gallery has displays interactive media about the moon and is a quieter space to relax after a big day. * The Science Garden is a collection of outdoor exhibits. It features the NKRYPT exhibit (see more below), installed in 2013 to mark the 100th anniversary of Canberra. Questacon has around 500,000 visitors per year. The galleries are staffed by 200 paid staff, as well as a team of about 60 volunteers.

Science theatre

The centre features several performance spaces used for presentations to the general public and student audiences by Questacon's in-house theatre troupe, the "Excited Particles". The Excited Particles also perform puppet shows for young children.

NKRYPT

''NKRYPT'' is a sculpture installation outside the Questacon building installed in that consists of eight laser-etched stainless steel poles that each carry an encoded message. This outdoor exhibit was installed during the Centenary of

in 2013. A prize was offered to the first person to solve one of the puzzles.

Questacon Technology Learning Centre

The Questacon Technology Learning Centre is located at the Royal Australian Mint's former administration building in Deakin and houses more than 80 staff members. All of the outreach programs and exhibition developers, including researchers, designers, electronics, metal, and wood shop staff are based there. There are also an exhibition area, and spaces for technology workshops and holiday programs.

Outreach programs

In addition to the exhibitions in Canberra, Questacon runs the ''Questacon Science Circus'' and ''Engineering is Elementary'' nationally and ''Q2U'' in the Canberra region. Past outreach programs run by Questacon include the '' Tenix Questacon Maths Squad'', '' NRMA Roadzone'', '' NRMA Tomorrow's Drivers'', ''Starlab'', ''Questacon Smart Moves'', ''Questacon Science Play'', ''Questacon Science Squad'', and a number of programs in remote Indigenous communities.

Questacon Science Circus

The ''Questacon Science Circus'' is an outreach program of Questacon and is the most extensive science outreach program of its kind. Every year, the ''Science Circus'' engages with more than 100,000 people, travels 25,000 kilometres, runs professional development courses for 600 teachers, and visits about 30 remote Indigenous communities as well as

hospitals A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergency ...

, nursing homes and special schools. The ''Questacon Science Circus'' is a partnership between Questacon and the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

. The ''Science Circus'' won the Prime Minister's Award for Community Business Partnerships in 2006. Fifteen or sixteen science graduates staff the ''Science Circus'' as it travels, bringing lively presentations of science to towns and schools. The ''Science Circus'' supports the teaching of science and technology by running practical and fun professional development workshops for teachers. While working for the ''Science Circus'', each presenter also completes a Masters of Science Communication Outreach through the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at the

. Coursework includes studies in print media, program evaluation and exhibition design. Every year the ''Science Circus'' presenters graduate from the course and a new team are selected. The first team graduated in 1988 and there are now over 300 ''Science Circus'' graduates. Graduates have contributed to programs on

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

Radio, the Diffusion Science Radio Show, Cosmos Magazine and The Mr. Science Show podcast.

Photographs

File:National Library, Treasury and Questacon (437590364).jpg, National Library, Treasury and Questacon File:Questacon - panoramio.jpg, Questacon Building (Photo by Ché Lydia Xyang) File:The Astonomer.jpg, The Astronomer sculpture by Tim Wetherell File:Einstein sculpture at Questacon in April 2008.jpg, Einstein sculpture in the Science Garden File:Lightning simulator questacon.jpg, Lightning Simulator (Photo by Flagstaffotos) File:Clockwork universe by Tim Wetherell.jpg, Clockwork Universe sculpture by Tim Wetherell File:Water responding to different frequencies.jpg, Water responding to different frequencies (Photo by Flagstaffotos) File:Ski boots.jpg, Shell Questacon Science Circus

References

External links

Official website

Current Exhibitions & Shows

Shell Questacon Science Circus Official Site
{{authority control Museums in Canberra Science museums in Australia Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia National museums of Australia 1980 establishments in Australia Museums established in 1980 Association of Science-Technology Centers member institutions