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| Established | 28 March 1992 |
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| Location | 2 Booker St, Spotswood, Melbourne, Australia |
| Coordinates | 37°49′54″S144°53′38″E / 37.831582°S 144.89394°E /-37.831582; 144.89394 |
| Type | Science Centre |
| Accreditation | Asia Pacific Network of Science & Technology Centres (ASPAC) |
| President | Leon Kempler |
| CEO | Lynley Crosswell |
| Owner | Museums Victoria |
| Website | Scienceworks |
Scienceworks is ascience museum inSpotswood, a suburb ofMelbourne,Victoria. It is one of three museums operated byMuseums Victoria.[1] Displays and activities offered by the museum include hands-on experiments, demonstrations, and tours.
Scienceworks is housed in a purpose-built building "styled along industrial lines" near the historic Spotswood Pumping Station,[2] constructed in 1897, whose steam engines form an associated exhibit.[3] The pumping station forms part of the museum complex.[4]
Scienceworks opened on 27 March 1992, and was opened by then-PremierJoan Kirner.[5][6] Its first permanent exhibitions wereInventions,Energy,Travel andMaterials.[5][3] The Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks opened in 1999.[5] The planetarium was the first in theSouthern Hemisphere to have a digital star projector, as well as digital projection capabilities.[7]
From 1997–2013, the 1883 clock tower fromFlinders Street station was also located at the museum.[8] The clock had been moved toPrinces Bridge station in 1905 andSpencer Street station in 1911, where it remained until sold into private ownership after the station redevelopment of 1967.[9] The clock restored with an electric movement is now located at the Southern Cross station.[8]
In 2018, theCSIRAC (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Automatic Computer) was transferred from theMelbourne Museum to theThink Ahead exhibit.[10]
The "lightning room" is a 120-seat auditorium that presents demonstrations aboutelectricity, featuring a giantTesla Coil, capable of generating two million volts of electricity, producing three metrelightning bolts.[11] The Melbourne Planetarium is housed on site.[12] On Friday nights, movies are shown in the planetarium.[13][14]
There are two types of exhibits at Scienceworks. Temporary exhibits run for a specific period of time, such as theRescue exhibition, which ran from 26 March to 5 October, 2014.[15][16]
Permanent exhibits at Scienceworks includeThink Ahead (opened 5 December 2013),[17] which is about advances in science and the speculative future,[18] andSportsworks (opened <2000),[5] which is about the science ofsports and the movement of the body.[19]Beyond Perception: Seeing the Unseen (opened 2018)[20] is about invisibleforces.[21]Ground Up: Building Big Ideas, Together (opened 4 December 2017)[22] is a sensory exhibit for babies to 5-year-olds.[23]
