An artist's impression of the new Discovery Centre at Jodrell Bank, which is opening next week
By Jim Allen
Jodrell Bank, the UK centre for radio astronomy and the dramatic backdrop to January’s popular Stargazing Live BBC TV show, will be opening a brand new visitor centre on 11 April.
Based at the main Jodrell Bank site in rural Cheshire, in the shadow of the 76m-tall Lovell Telescope, the new Discovery Centre will contain two brand-new structures.
There will be a new entrance building, The Planet Pavilion, and a state-of-the-art Space Pavilion for exhibitions and events. For perfect views of the towering radio telescope, a glass-walled café has also been built on location (see image, below).
Budding scientists are the targets for the new centre, 10km from junction 18 of the M6 motorway. Its main aim is to inspire young scientists and connect them to cutting-edge research as it happens.
“The new Centre shows the live science that is taking place right here with new exhibitions focused on some of the big questions we’re trying to answer about the Universe,” said Tim O’Brien, reader in astrophysics at the University of Manchester.
Centre Director Teresa Anderson is delighted that the new facilities will be opening on schedule.
“It will be such a great experience for visitors," she said. “We’re really looking forward to welcoming lots of new people to Jodrell Bank over the next few months and years.”
The new visitors’ centre will be open Monday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Admission charges are adults £5.50, children 4-12 & concs £4, under-4s free. Jodrell Bank’s arboretum will remain closed until later this summer.
For more information, visit Jodrell Bank’s website.
