The Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw is one of Poland's few modern and interactive museums Courtesy of the Copernicus Science Centre

The Copernicus Science Centre, a modern institution designed to interest people in science, opened with a Big Bang last Friday. Literally.

That was the name of the center’s inaugural show, an exploration of “the beginning of the Universe, the triumph of the human mind and the search for answers.” Thousands were expected to watch the spectacle, which was scheduled to be repeated over the weekend.

The Copernicus Science Centre, set in a prime location on the west bank of the Vistula River in Warsaw, puts scientific discoveries and the laws of nature in the spotlight. It houses interactive exhibits organized in themed sections such as “The roots of civilization” and “The light zone.”

Most importantly, as a modern, interactive museum – a rare breed in Poland – it raises hopes for the future.

The science center occupies a two-storey building with 15,000 sqm of space. It houses permanent and temporary exhibitions, labs, workshops, a conference center, cafes and restaurants as well as offices, a garage and a workshop on a subterranean level. Further work will include a multimedia planetarium within a boulder-shaped building with an observation deck (to be opened in 2011) and a “Discovery Park” surrounding the building (under construction), which includes open-air experimentation stations, an outdoor art gallery and an amphitheater.

The architectural tender for the center’s design was won in December 2005 by RAr-2 Laboratorium Architektury Jan Kubec, a Ruda Śląska-based architectural studio. The design was chosen largely for the harmony it struck with its surroundings.

“The whole project is an experiment ... and proof of how open Warsaw is as a city, a city where dreams come true,” architect Jan Kubec recently told Gazeta Wyborcza.

Construction, carried out by Warbud, took two years; King Sturge was chosen as the building’s manager in mid-October. Approximately zł.207 million of the zł.365 million investment was provided by the European Union.