The UK's 28 Science and Discovery Centres (SDCs) have warned that some will close within 12 to 18 months without a £20 million injection of emergency funding. In a plea to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the network says it needs around £180 million over five years to modernise ageing buildings.
The centres, which attract more than 5.2 million people a year, were established 25 years ago under the last Labour government. Purpose-built with Millennium Commission and National Lottery funding, they include the Eden Project in Cornwall, Glasgow Science Centre and the science centre at Jodrell Bank, which recently had £2.8 million cut by the UK Research and Innovation department.
Funding blind spot
Because of the way they were established, the SDCs cannot access traditional funding streams used by institutions such as museums and libraries. There is also no single government department responsible for overseeing them, including Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Science, Innovation and Technology department, or the education department.
The centres have now reached crisis point due to ageing buildings with roofs, glazing, heating and cooling systems all failing and requiring replacement. Running costs have also soared.
'Real scandal'
Professor Damien Short, trustee and director at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales, said: "The real scandal is that Britain is in danger of losing nationally important science and environmental centres, not because people don't value them, but because Government can't decide which department is responsible for them."
He added: "The sector estimates an immediate requirement for £20 million to prevent serious damage across the UK's science and discovery centres, with around £180 million needed over the next five years to modernise ageing infrastructure. That sounds like a large number, but in Government terms it is actually a modest investment that protects hundreds of millions of pounds of previous public investment. We're not asking for special treatment. We're asking for equal treatment. Museums, galleries and similar institutions can apply for infrastructure funding. Science and environmental learning centres should be able to do the same."
Without support, the next 12-18 months will see some SDCs closing entirely.
Closure warning
Stephen Breslin, CEO of Glasgow Science Centre and Chairman of the Association for Science and Discovery Centres, said: "The situation is serious. Across the UK, many science and discovery centres were built around 25 years ago with Millennium Commission and National Lottery investment. Those buildings are now reaching the point where major infrastructure—roofs, glazing, heating systems and core mechanical and electrical services—needs significant renewal, just as operating costs have risen sharply. At the same time, most centres remain largely ineligible for the capital funding available to museums and comparable cultural organisations."
Mr Breslin added: "I know Andy Burnham has consistently championed the importance of culture, education and regional growth. Science centres sit right at the intersection of all three. I'd encourage him, and ministers across government, to work with our sector to develop a sustainable funding model that protects these nationally important assets, a key legacy of the last Labour Government, for future generations."
Reaching schools and building skills
SDCs are present in all four nations of the UK, reaching more than 5.2 million people each year, including 37% of all UK schools. The sites help develop Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) for future generations, and carry out cutting-edge scientific research.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said skills covered by the SDCs such as construction, coding, maths, manufacturing and mechanics are part of his new vision for an education system based on "parity between academic and technical" learning.
Voices from the sector
Linda Conlon, CEO of the Centre for Life in Newcastle, said: "Science centres are not asking for special treatment. We're asking for fair treatment. We help millions of people engage with science, develop future skills and connect with the opportunities of a changing economy. The question isn't whether that matters – it's whether our funding system properly recognises that value."
Victoria Denoon, CEO of W5 in Belfast, said: "The situation is growing more serious by the day for the 28 science and discovery centres, including W5, which are excluded from public infrastructure funds provided to comparable organisations like libraries and museums. Nationally, our sector body, the Association for Science and Discovery Centres, estimates that £20 million is needed in the current financial year to avoid damaging cuts to the sector. The risk of closure for some centres becomes greater the longer this structural funding gap remains unresolved. Over the next 5 years, the total infrastructure funding need across the 28 'excluded centres' is currently estimated at £180 million."
In the case of W5, audit, tax and advisory firm Grant Thornton found that every £1 of public investment in W5 generates £8.47 in return through benefits including education, skills development and community engagement.
Shaaron Leverment, chief executive of the Association for Science and Discovery Centres, said: "Government ambition to broaden participation in STEM without investment is pure aspiration. Any strategy that champions inspiring young people, building talent, opportunities and skills for the future, while allowing the infrastructure where this happens to quietly dismantle, is a strategy that undermines its own purpose."
