Science museum faces closure: is euskadi losing a vital resource?

A quiet dismantling is underway in the Basque Country: Kutxa Fundazioa is poised to shutter Eureka! Zientzia Museoa, a beloved Science center in San Sebastián, under the guise of a relocation. While framed as a strategic move, the reality is a devastating reduction in scale that threatens to leave a critical void in Science education and public engagement.

The shrinking of a scientific hub

For 25 years, Eureka! has served as a vibrant nexus for scientific discovery, boasting over 8,000 square meters of interactive exhibits, a planetarium, an observatory, and a year-round calendar of educational activities. Now, that expansive space is slated to shrink to a mere 500 square meters within Tabakalera’s ATENEA space – a shared area that won't be exclusively dedicated to Science. The shift, announced five years ago and set to materialize this June, represents far more than a simple relocation; it's a dismantling of a vital institution.

The implications are stark. Eureka! isn’t just a museum; it's the primary Science outreach center for Euskadi, a region increasingly recognized for its scientific innovation. Thousands of schoolchildren, families, and educators have benefited from its rigorous, accessible, and engaging approach to Science education. To suggest this is merely a ‘relocation’ is a deliberate obfuscation of the impending loss.

The numbers tell a compelling story. Each year, Eureka! engages tens of thousands of schoolchildren with unique educational resources, many of which are virtually impossible to replicate within the confines of a standard classroom. Its disappearance would leave Euskadi scrambling to find comparable resources, forcing institutions to look to cities like Barcelona or A Coruña for inspiration—a humiliating prospect for a region striving for scientific leadership. While Kutxa Fundazioa has historically played a crucial role in Eureka!'s creation and development, the time has come for public institutions to step up and assume responsibility for preserving this invaluable asset.

Euskadi's commitment to scientific advancement is evident in its cutting-edge research centers, investment in innovation, and a clear policy focus on scientific progress. Yet, allowing the demise of its premier science outreach center represents a profound contradiction. A science museum isn't a luxury; it's an essential educational, cultural, and strategic investment. The current trajectory feels like a betrayal of that commitment.

A growing chorus of voices, articulated in a Change.org petition, is demanding intervention. The calls are clear: halt the closure, explore public or mixed funding models, initiate transparent dialogue with all stakeholders, and, most importantly, ensure that Euskadi maintains—and strengthens—a science museum worthy of its ambitions. Whether these appeals will sway Kutxa Fundazioa or other decision-makers remains to be seen. But the silence surrounding this gradual erosion of a crucial cultural and scientific asset is deafening.

The potential loss of Eureka! serves as a cautionary tale: even in regions lauded for their scientific prowess, institutional support for public engagement can be surprisingly fragile. Let’s hope that before June, a lifeline can be thrown to this irreplaceable resource, one that ensures that science remains accessible and inspiring for generations to come.