BS And how would you compare it to other science centres. ((Pause while
a mobile phone rings))
HW Right, well, there is a very broad spectrum of science centres
around the world. The, the scene in the UK is oddly distorted by the Millennial
Centres and is still settling down. I used to think that Techniquest was,
a bit like a children's museum that did science. In that the accessibility
of the experiences that we offer to everyone is paramount in what we do. So,
we always start where the visitor is. They're always something for the whole
family to do here. Whether we're, you know. When a family goes round Techniquest
we don't have toddlers where the little kids go, and the bigger kids nag the
hell out of their mother and father because they want to go somewhere else.
There's always something all the way round for the family to go round as a
group, and do it. So we're designing the experience for the people who're
having it. In the UK, a lot of the Millennial Centres were funded by organisations
with an agenda, which was not about what they wanted to do, what they wanted
for the public. They wanted the public to understand or sympathise with themselves
so they, produced things in a particular way. Almost every centre, was going
to be, the new future of "Hands On" and these pretensions were, weren't rooted
in the visitor. Whereas we didn't have the opportunity or the money to be
pretentious in that way. We had to do what the visitors wanted. And it's always
the best way to do things.
