In Pilsen, the construction of a science center has begun; it aims to increase interest in technology

Plzeň - The construction of the Techmania science center, a unique regional technical museum, began today in the area of Plzeň's Škoda Holding. The project of interactive exhibits, initiated by Škodovka and the University of West Bohemia (ZČU), aims to attract secondary and elementary school students to study technical fields. The first third of the exhibition, costing 65 million crowns, will open by mid-next year. The center is expected to cost a quarter of a billion crowns by 2012, primarily funded by EU sources. CTK was informed about this by the project manager, Vlastimil Volák.
    The first phase of the reconstruction of the former Škodovka hall will be completed in December. The city and the region provided ten million crowns for it, while 34 million crowns came from the state budget. The donation of a former production hall valued at 50 million crowns and covering an area of 10,000 m² was crucial for the start.
    "The Techmania project was created in 2005 out of the need of Škoda Holding and ZČU, which are struggling with a shortage of technicians and a lack of interest in studying technical fields," added Volák. "Decisions about pursuing a career in technical fields are often made already in elementary school," said the personnel director of the holding, Josef Bernard.
    According to Volák, science centers are a proven way in the world to make science and technology accessible to children, youth, and the public, and to motivate them. There are around 800 in the world, with the most, a total of 42, in California, the center of global development. In the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, they exist in Hungary, Slovenia, and Estonia. A project is being prepared in Warsaw for 1.5 billion crowns. Projects in Prague, Brno, and Ostrava have not yet received the necessary support from public administration. The only center was opened a month ago as part of an amusement park in Liberec.
    In the first 3000 of the 10,000 m², an Edutorium will be created, where interactive exhibits will relate to the teaching of physics. Thus, every teacher will have the opportunity to present the material in a playful way, Volák stated. Today, the first two interactive exhibits were on display. One demonstrates the visible effect of the invisible, showing the propagation of sound in the air. Another shows how eddy currents are generated in a conductor moving within a magnetic field. The building will house historical locomotives, turbo machinery, engines, and a steam engine.