On Tuesday (2 July), Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh’s much-loved science centre and planetarium celebrates its 25^th anniversary. To mark the occasion, visitors on the day to Scotland’s largest interactive science visitor centre will receive a 25% discount on their admission ticket.

Opened by the late HM Queen Elizabeth in 1999, the £34m attraction with its striking white, ‘stratosphere’ tented roof, was the first Millennium project in the UK to open.

Today, Dynamic Earth welcomes over 300,000 visitors through its doors to experience the state-of-the-art planetarium and the immersive earth science galleries.  Many also come to Dynamic Earth to participate in the nationwide school science programme or to attend one of the 400+ annual conferences and events staged within the impressive 6300m² space.

Over the past 25 year, many famous faces have visited the science attraction, including astronaut Tim Peake, acclaimed Scottish actor Ewan McGregor and the comedian and astronomer Dara O’ Briain.

Designed by architect Sir Michael Hopkins and constructed on the site of the former Scottish and Newcastle Brewery who gifted the land, the Millennium Commission was a key founding funder (£15m) of Dynamic Earth.  City of Edinburgh Council, local enterprise agencies and generous donors also contributed significant finance.

Appropriately, Dynamic Earth sits in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags, where the rock formations informed much of the early research of James Hutton (1726-1797). A significant figure of the Enlightenment period, the discoveries of the Edinburgh-born ‘father of modern geology’ and, more widely, the contribution of Scottish science to the world, are celebrated within the attraction.

Dynamic Earth is a science centre like no other. Designed to engage and excite visitors of all ages, its interactive displays, exhibits and planetarium films take visitors on a journey through the Universe and tell the story of planet Earth from the ‘big bang’ to the present day.  The time machine is a family favourite, there’s a shaking floor to simulate an earthquake, while an eruption of molten lava captures the power of a volcano.  Another themed experience, Edinburgh’s only iceberg, is also a firm favourite in the summer!

Recently relaunched, the very popular planetarium boasts one of the highest resolution, 360-degree screens in Europe. Introduced by Dynamic Earth’s expert astronomers, the spectacular short films take the audience to the outer reaches of space, take a deep dive to the bottom of the ocean and even give the audience a thrilling moon landing.

Mark Bishop, CEO of Dynamic Earth, commented: “Dynamic Earth exists to bring the fascination and delight of science into people’s eyes.  I fondly remember first visiting the centre with my young family way back in 2004. The plasticine model my daughter created after being inspired by her visit sits proudly on my desk.

“In addition to showcasing the wonders of the world, we are also highlighting the perils human activity is placing on our fragile planet. We are increasingly seeing visitors take away from their Dynamic Earth experience a powerful wish to play their part to protect Earth. We are here to promote understanding and empathy that leads to action. Every visitor is a potential problem-solver of the future for the greatest issue of the age, climate change”.

“Our 25^th anniversary gives us a chance to celebrate what has been achieved through the collective effort of our staff and many supporters. It’s also an opportunity to look to the future. We are keen to become a key visitor hub for Holyrood Park, to further increase our Scotland-wide educational outreach activity and to become a key Edinburgh Festival venue.

“However, our response to the climate emergency is going to be the defining theme of what we do.  We will always bring alive the fun of earth science and increasingly we want to encourage every visitor to play their part in protecting the tiny, pale blue dot that is our only home, planet Earth.”