WORK ON THE long-awaited National Children’s Science Museum is set to get under way next year.

The €37 million project will see the construction of a purpose-built museum aimed primarily at children aged 4-15 at the National Concert Hall on Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin city centre.

Planning permission was received for the project from An Bord Pleanála in September 2016.

In response to a parliamentary question, Minister of State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran said: “A design team is progressing into the detail design stage and it is anticipated that tenders will issue in 2020 with construction starting  in the latter half of 2020, which will take approximately two years to complete.”

A presentation given to Dublin City councillors outlined how it projects an annual attendance in excess of 150,000.

“It will have a particular focus on ensuring ready access for people from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds,” the board of the Exploration Station board said.

“Centres of this kind exist in scores of countries in all continents and are the fastest-growing type of museum worldwide,” it said. “Ireland stands out in the international community in not having such a resource.”

The work on the Children’s Science Museum will see it located in the north wing of the National Concert Hall which is itself set to undergo refurbishment. 

The museum will have over 200 purpose-built exhibits allowing visitors to “explore, investigate and discover in an informal way and at their own pace and level”. 

It’ll also have a planetarium incorporating a 15-metre dome and seating for 200.

Special programmes will be put in place for school children over the summer, as well as placements for students in transition year. 

Moran added that – to date – spending on the projects for the National Children’s Science Museum and National Concert Hall was €400,000. Between the two projects, they are set to cost in excess of €100 million.