Revitalisation of the Children's Science Centre

The popular science park VIDA! science centre has been operating at the Brno Exhibition Centre for more than ten years. It serves mainly to promote and popularise science for children and has become a very popular and visited place for hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. The planned integrated solution for the revitalisation of the Children’s Science Centre will expand and make its offer more attractive. Elements that no longer reflect current trends will disappear, and exhibit elements that have become badly damaged and deteriorated over the years will be given a second chance. The new exhibits will focus mainly on the development of sensory and cognitive functions to create an inspiring environment for children, their parents and adult companions. Six exhibition zones will be created in the VIDA! science centre. In the next stage, a space for toddlers is planned, including a rest area and an infant corner.

The project for the revitalization of the children’s center is subtitled “learning by discovery”. The name itself suggests what the aim of this revitalisation is, namely to promote an experiential form of education. The inspiring environment motivates children to learn through personal experience. The new exhibition has been designed in collaboration with a child psychologist and architects so that young visitors can fully develop their sensory and cognitive functions, habits and basic key competences in various areas, whether it is polytechnic, science or social education.

The project creates educational zones focused on different topics, which will bring them more engagingly to children’s eyes so that they can perceive them comprehensively. Children will be able to experience the following six parts of the exhibition: Rocket, Motor, Water World, Farm and Garden, Profession and Senses. They will contain a large number of modern elements to support the development of key competences. This will create a total of 72 exhibits for children to learn with. In addition to the exhibits, visitors will also encounter an improved navigation system and a rest area with infopoints.

In the second stage of the revitalization, spaces for the little ones will be created, which will be designed for children up to two years old. There will be a toddler zone, a rest room, parking for strollers and a nursing corner for mothers with children. This part will be implemented after the completion of the first phase.

The project is expected to start at the end of 2024 and work will continue until January 2027. The total cost of the project will amount to more than CZK 36 million, with the subsidy from the ITI covering almost CZK 26 million. The project support will connect formal and non-formal education and improve its capacity in the Brno Metropolitan Area. The aim is also to popularise interest in science and technical fields among children.