The gallery will be housed at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
Singapore: Bengaluru, India, will be the first Asian city to house a science gallery, designed on the model pioneered at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland's leading research university. A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to the effect was recently signed by the Science Gallery International (SGI) and the Karnataka State Government, India. The gallery is expected to hold innovative and ever-changing science programs and showcase new innovations and developments in science.
The MoA was signed by Mr Srivatsa Krishna, IAS, secretary to Government, department of IT, BT, S&T, Karnataka, India and Dr Chris Horn, the chairman of SGI. The event also saw participation of eminent delegates from the Indian government like Mr SR Patil, minister IT, BT, S&T and the Irish minister Mr Damien English and the CEO of SGI, Dr Micheal John Gorman.
The gallery will be a major flagship project to enhance public engagement with science. The gallery will be housed at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. An estimated investment of Rs 25 crores is targeted towards setting up the gallery which is expected to be open by 2018 and welcome 4, 00,000 visitors every year.
In his opening speech, Mr Srivatsa Krishna, said, "The gallery will provide enormous opportunities to engage the youth with the world of science and innovation and keep them abreast of today's scientific issues and help in unraveling the new discoveries in the field of science."
Mr SR Patil called the initiative a step in the right direction to solve global scientific challenges. Speaking at the event Mr Patil added, "The lead academic partner will be the Indian Institute of Science with collaborating academic partners like the National Center for Biological sciences and the Shristi School of Art, Design and Technology."
Prof. Anurag Kumar, director, IISc, said, "The science gallery will help in showcasing Indian research at a global stage. The gallery will help in spreading scientific temperament in the youth." SGI has planned to set up eight science galleries across the globe by 2020. The Global Science Gallery has received funding support from Google and the Cordover family Foundation.
