The exclusive design Science and Innovation Promotion Centre “Science Island” that is currently under construction on the Nemunas Island has already received a Christmas gift — on Wednesday Kaunas City Municipal Administration formally signed a cooperation agreement with the Polish company Trias Avi on the installation of an interactive exhibition. The winners of the public competition have great worldwide experience. They will start creating the exhibits now and will install them in the museum spaces next year.

Unique throughout Europe

The museum, covering 11.5 thousand square meters of space, will accommodate permanent and changing expositions, a unique virtual projection space, STEAM laboratories, cafés and an administrative part. Here children and even their parents will be able to apply theoretical knowledge in practice.

140 exhibits are planned to be installed in the permanent exhibition space, while temporary exhibits are planned to be replaced once a year.

“This centre is not only for Kaunas, but for all Lithuania. We believe that investment in the promotion of science will reveal the potential of the growing generation and contribute to the overall prosperity of the country. We want children’s creativity and abilities to be developed here. Students from all over the region will carry out various studies and tests in laboratories. There will also be a planetarium which we believe will be one of the most modern in the region.

So far, we have only been able to envy the Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw or the AHHAA of Tallinn. Practice shows that such museums also promote tourism among neighbouring countries. Therefore, such an object has all kinds of benefits. We are trying to make sure that by the end of next year the museum will be able to accept the visitors,” says the Mayor of Kaunas Visvaldas Matijošaitis.

The new science museum on the Nemunas Island is expected to attract about 300 thousand visitors a year. The exhibition will be created and implemented by a Polish company, whose exhibits can be found at the Copernicus Science Centre, the National Bank’s Money Centre in Warsaw and the modern epicenter of science in Białystok. On Wednesday, at the Center for Science and Innovation a contract of 5.3 million Euros was signed with the winners of the public competition.

“We are delighted to be part of the “Science Island” project, especially since it is the first science center in Lithuania. As we are responsible for both design and creation, we can already say that it will be an exclusive object on the European scale. We have been on the Polish market for 26 years, and over the last few years we have focused on science centres, museums and exhibition spaces. During that time we created more than 50 exhibitions.

We are also active worldwide in providing state-of-the-art multimedia solutions for multinational companies in Europe and the United States,” says Dawid Polasik, Commercial Director of the Polish company Trias Avi, responsible for creating the project and exhibition on the “Science Island”.

Congratulating Kaunas on the construction of the new object, Marcin Wojczynski, Vice President of Trias Avi noted that there is a fundamental difference between the museum and the science centre, as in the latter the visitors can touch the exhibits.

Will be decorated with the features of Modernism architecture

The authors will divide the exhibition in the museum into 7 permanent themes: about the human body and health, food, nature and the environment, waste and pollution, energy, transport and communication. Each space will stand out in its individual form and with its own exhibits.

The spaces of the Science Center will also have a special part of the exposition dedicated to the youngest   visitors (3-6 years), adapted to their cognitive needs. Here children will get acquainted with science through games, sensations, colours and shapes.

“We want children to be interested in science before they start learning. The aim of all the exhibitions is to make one fall in love with science. We are planning a virtual projection space — the dome is equipped with a digital exposition, where visitors will not only be able to travel in space, but also learn about other sciences. This object will become the heart of the promotion of science”, said Aistė Lukaševičiūtė, Head of Science and Innovation Promotion Centre.

The exposition will be decorated in the Modernist architecture style which occupies an important place among the main architectural themes in Kaunas. The scenography was inspired by the city’s most recognizable Modernistic buildings: the Central Post Office, Military officers’ club,  Žaliakalnis Funicular, M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, Vytautas the Great War Museum, Bank of Lithuania and others. The colours of the exhibition will be consistent with the architecture of the interior.

According to the creators of the exposition, a visit to the scientific center will stimulate various emotions of visitors — joy, adrenaline, relaxation, vigilance.

End of construction – next year

The A++ energy performance class building was designed by SMAR Architecture Studio, an international award winning Spanish and Australian architects. The technical part is being implemented by the team of architect Gintautas Natkevičius.

More than two-thirds of the construction work has already been carried out on the island of Nemunas. Almost all monolithic structures — poles, walls, overlays, floors are installed. There are also about 1.700 sq. m. of outdoor displays installed. The plan is to fully insulate the roof before the end of this year.

An exclusive 21-metre diameter “turning disc” design will become the main decoration of the Science and Innovation Centre which will be completed next year.

The total value of the project is about 35 million EUR including VAT. The construction of the Science Centre will cost up to around 26 million EUR. The remaining part of the amount will go for expositions and other internal installation works.

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