Questacon - The National Science and Technology Centre is located in the southern shore of Lake Burly Griffin in Canberra. It was established in 1986, and developed by professor Mike Gove who was a physics lecturer, but was not opened until 1988 due to lack of location. Questacon's current building was a present from Japan to Australia to solidify good relations, with Japan inputting 1 billion to build it. This new building replaced an old school which was Questacon's previous place of residency. Questacon has more then 200 exhibits open to explore nowadays, and has attracted over 500,000 plus visitors. It has won tourism awards for it's engaging nature. As of December 3 2007, Questacon is part of the department of innovation, industry, science and research (known as DIIR).
Questacon, as of today, runs outreach programs which include Tenix Maths Squad, Questacon Science play, and Questacon Science squad that provide a range of activities in remote communities. Whilst there, our group was privy to a special presentation about the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, which was a nice touch out of the ordinary for Questacon. In all, Questacon is a place filled with knowledge which aims to bring science learning and interest to young children and adults alike, helping some develop their interest for the topic in the future.
- Emma K.