Glasgow Science Centre is redesigning itself from the inside out to become a genuinely inclusive community hub, not just a place where science happens. The problem is that many science centres, despite good intentions, still feel unwelcoming or irrelevant to large parts of their local population. People from diverse backgrounds, different age groups, or those with disabilities often face barriers—physical, social, or cultural—that make engaging with science harder than it should be. Connect aims to dismantle those barriers systematically, not through one-off events but through permanent organisational change. If successful, the centre will become a permeable civic space where people naturally gather, rather than a destination they must make a special effort to visit. The built environment, reception areas, and exhibits will all be redesigned around user needs. A new community learning and engagement programme will serve Glasgow’s diverse neighbourhoods directly. The result is a science centre that functions more like a public square than a museum—reducing the effort required to participate in science and making personal advancement through scientific enterprise feel attainable to everyone, not just the already-interested.
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Connect is a transformational change programme that will bring greater inclusion and diversity into the core of GSC’s strategy, practices and actions. It will make us more relevant to more people and will reduce the effort required to engage with us. Connect will capitalise on our existing strengths, enabling us to better respond to the learning needs of Glasgow's broad and diverse population. Connect will deliver: - a programme of organisational change that will underpin and drive all developments; - an enhanced needs-led Community Learning and Development engagement programme, serving diverse communities across the city; - an on-going programme of inclusive cultural science events attractive to the broad population; - transformation of GSC’s built environment to be permeable and attractive, a community and civic outdoor space that is welcoming and relevant; - a user- centred design of the reception areas to make them more social, functional and engaging; - new exhibits promoting GSC’s unique philosophy for accessible science communication, creating a continuum of experience in the community, the public realm, reception areas and the Explore! Gallery. Connect will challenge entrenched thinking, shift perceptions and help catalyse change: both internally and externally. It will help GSC to look outward; creating the time, space and environment to grow meaningful relationships, generate new insights and co-create innovative and bespoke learning opportunities. Connect will establish GSC as a vital and welcoming community hub; a powerful advocate for personal advancement and scientific enterprise.
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