National Science Centre, Delhi

The National Science Centre established in 1992, is a science museum in Delhi, India. It is part of the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), an autonomous body under India's Ministry of Culture. It stands close to Gate no 1, of Pragati Maidan overlooking the Purana Qila.

National Science Centre
From top:
  • The National Science Centre
  • Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao inaugurating the Centre
  • A penny-farthing bicycle gifted by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
Established1992
LocationBhairon Road, India India
Coordinates28.6132428°N 77.2453003°E / 28.6132428; 77.2453003
Typescience museum
Visitors521260 [As on 31 March 2010][1]
DirectorNarayan Ramdas Iyer
Curator
  • Vijay Shankar Sharma
  • Raj Mehrotra
  • Divya Tawra
  • Asish Mandal
  • Vanlalchhanhima
Websitenscd.gov.in

History

The National Science Centre is the northern zonal headquarters of the National Council of Science Museums. The coming to power of Rajiv Gandhi saw a fresh impetus for science popularisation. With Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai already operating Science Centres, a need for a big Centre in the Nation's capital in Delhi in the north was felt, and work started in earnest in 1984. It was inaugurated on 9 January 1992 by the then Prime Minister of India, P.V.Narasimha Rao and is situated between the Gate Nos. 1 and 2 of the Pragati Maidan exhibition grounds, on the Bhairon Road, across Purana Qila, Delhi. The building was designed by noted Indian architect Achyut Kanvinde.[2]

Galleries

The museum contains seven permanent galleries. From the top floor, these are, in order: Our Science and Technology Heritage, opened in October 2009; Human Biology; the History of the Earth; Fun Science, containing a penny-farthing bicycle gifted by Rajiv Gandhi and a number of other interactive exhibits; Information Revolution; Emerging Technologies; and Water, Elixir of Life, which was opened in December 2010.[3]

A 360 degree view of the Our Science and Technology Heritage gallery.

See also

References
  1. Activity report 2009-10. NCSM
  2. An Architecture of Independence: The Making of Modern South Asia Archived 3 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine University of Pennsylvania.
  3. KAPIL SIBAL INAUGURATES EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES GALLERY AT NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTRE Ministry of Science & Technology, 21 July 2007.
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