Dynamic Earth (originally known as Our Dynamic Earth) is a

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

visitor attraction and science centre in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, and is Scotland's largest interactive visitor attraction. It is located in Holyrood, beside the

Scottish Parliament building The Scottish Parliament Building (; ) is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood, within the World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 ...

and at the foot of

Salisbury Crags Holyrood Park (also called the King's Park or Queen's Park depending on the reigning monarch's gender) is a royal park in central Edinburgh, Scotland about to the east of Edinburgh Castle. It is open to the public. It has an array of hills, lo ...

. It is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

under Scottish law and is owned as The Dynamic Earth Charitable Trust. The centre was opened by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in 1999. The project is located close to where Scottish

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. 1726 – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, Agricultural science, agriculturalist, chemist, chemical manufacturer, Natural history, naturalist and physician. Often referred to a ...

lived and worked in the city in the 18th century. The attraction's aim is to "consistently be the most fun place to play, learn and work... which presents the story of the planet - how it was created; how it continues to evolve, the prospects for mankind and the effect of hazards both natural and manmade."

History

The exhibition was funded by the

Millennium Commission The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...

in association with The Heritage Lottery Fund and the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

as part of an urban regeneration project for former industrial land in the Holyrood area. The location was previously on a site which was latterly a gas-works and part of the old Holyrood Brewery. The brewers

Scottish & Newcastle Scottish & Newcastle plc was a brewing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, which expanded from its home base to become an international business with beer volumes growing almost tenfold. The company was listed on the London Stock Exc ...

donated the site for public use in 1988, although the brewery did not vacate the site until the mid-1990s. The exhibition cost around £34 million to design and construct (out of a budget of £150 million for the entire area) and was the first major United Kingdom millennium attraction to open. Other exhibitions funded by the Millennium Commission include the

Glasgow Science Centre Glasgow Science Centre is a visitor attraction located in the Clyde Waterfront Regeneration area on the south bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II opened Glasgow Science Centre on 5 July 2001. It is one of Scotland's ...

, the Falkirk Wheel and the

Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millen ...

in London. The centre was officially opened by

in 1999.

Design

Dynamic Earth from the Radical Road - geograph

The building's structure consists of a steel mast-supported membrane stretched over a steel skeleton. It was designed by architects Michael Hopkins and Partners. The design incorporates the original wall that formed the outer perimeter of the Abbey Brewery ale stores that were formerly on the site. The building was intended to show a relationship between nature and artifice and comprises three features: # a fabric roof set on a terrace, housing a two-storey exhibition space and the entrance forecourt # a large entrance area, designed to have the feel of an outdoor area whilst being completely enclosed # an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

at the front of the attraction, which is used for outdoor events and gathering points for tours of the facility.

Features

The facility is designed as an immersive experience with a high level of interactivity. Permanent features of the museum include an

iceberg An iceberg is a piece of fresh water ice more than long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". Much of an i ...

, an earthquake experience and the Deep Time Machine which allows visitors to travel through the creation of the Earth through multimedia and 4D techniques. The venue also is home to a digital 360° Planetarium. In an interview with the Press & Journal, former chief executive of Dynamic Earth John Simpson, said: “The new equipment will offer visitors an amazing experience within our ShowDome and will inspire even more children and families about Earth and space sciences with an in-house planetarium and a mobile planetarium to reach families all over Scotland.”

Reception

Dynamic Earth was determined by

VisitScotland VisitScotland, formerly the Scottish Tourist Board (), is a national tourism organisation for Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and ...

(formerly the Scottish Tourist Board) to be a 5 star world-class visitor attraction. The building itself has also won a 2001 RIBA Regional Award from the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

and a

Civic Trust Award The Civic Trust Awards scheme is a British awards scheme to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. It was established in 1959, and is the longest-standing built environment awards scheme in Europe. The ...

in 2000.

Visitor Numbers

As with many other Science Centers and Exhibitions constructed around the time including the

Millennium Experience The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millen ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and The Big Idea in Irvine, initial visitor numbers proved to be overly-optimistic. The Millennium Experience in London received roughly half of their expected visitors and was deemed a failure, whilst The Big Idea closed after only three years in operation after failing to cover operating costs. In 2007, Dynamic Earth stated that, since opening, the attraction has received over 3 million visitors. In the year 2006 it received 202,500 visitors, of which 46,500 were visits by school parties. In order to increase revenue, Dynamic Earth developed three new income sources to complement their visitor attraction in the mid-2000s. These included providing corporate hospitality, hosting meetings and events (including weddings) and educational experiences to allow school trips and group visits from around the country.

References

External links

Dynamic Earth websiteVisitScotland - Dynamic Earth
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1999 Buildings and structures in Edinburgh Education in Edinburgh Buildings and structures celebrating the third millennium Museums in Edinburgh Geology museums in Scotland 1999 establishments in Scotland Science museums in Scotland Geology of Scotland Science and technology in Edinburgh Buildings by Hopkins Architects Charities based in Scotland