Heureka

For the exclamation attributed to Archimedes, see Eureka (word).

Heureka is a science center in Vantaa, Finland, north of Helsinki. Its purpose is to facilitate the access to scientific knowledge and to develop the methods of scientific education. Its exhibits are largely hands-on and many of them are made for children. It also includes a planetarium capable of displaying digital panoramic films.

The Heureka science center

The symbol of Heureka: Neljä kuutiota ("Four cubes") near the main entrance

History

The planning of the center started in the main building of the University of Helsinki in 1982, and the decision to found the center was made the next year.

In 1984 the Tiedekeskussäätiö ("The Finnish Science Centre Foundation") was registered and Vantaa elected as the location. An architectural competition for the center was held between April and October 1985 and was won by an entry by Heikkinen - Komonen Architects.

Planning was completed in 1986. The cornerstone was laid in October 1987 and the construction ended a year later. The center opened its doors to the public on 28 April 1989.

Outdoors

The front of the entrance is tiled in Penrose tiling.

The surrounding grounds include a science adventure playground and a rock garden, displaying large and small samples of Finnish minerals found in nature, grouped by their appearance in different regions of Finland.

There is also a spring which supports a huge floating perfectly round granite monolith which can be made to roll even by the touch of a toddler, also providing an architectural echo of the concrete dome housing the Vattenfall Planetarium.

Facts about Heureka

The center is a member of three associations of science centers:

• ASTC (Association of Science-Technology Centers)
• ECSITE (The European Collaborative for Science, Industry and Technology)
• NSCF (Nordisk Science Centerförbundet)

References

• Douglas E. Graf, "Heureka: Formal Analysis", Datutop 18, Tampere, 1996.

External links

• The homepage of Heureka