What makes Łukasiewicz Centre stand out among other science expositions? Excellent presentations related to aviation, extremely rare and fascinating exhibits as well as relaxation areas where you can listen to the sounds of forest and dream about a trip to the stars. This is an exciting place for those curious about the world and its mysteries, open to those aged between 3 and 100+ years.
The building of the Podkarpackie Łukasiewicz Science Centre faces the Rzeszów Airport and attracts attention from a distance with its impressive silhouette. In front of the bright-coloured façade there is a purple red aircraft - the historic An-2, manufactured at the State Aviation Works in Mielec. It is a reference to the heritage of the Central Industrial Region, the historical cradle of engineering and construction industries in this area.
The centre provides inspiration just like Ignacy Łukasiewicz, the inventor of the kerosene lamp, who also developed the technology for refining crude oil almost 200 years ago and started the world's first oil drill in Bóbrka in the Subcarpathian region, giving rise to this hugely important industry. In the 19th century, in our region, there were hundreds of oil wells with pumpjacks working tirelessly. You will see a model of such a pump at the beginning of your adventure in the Podkarpackie Łukasiewicz Science Centre - this is a warm-up before you take a leap into the fascinating world of experiments.
The expositions arranged on three floors, with a total surface of 3,000 square metres, include about 200 interactive exhibits. Equipped with buttons, levers, joysticks and touchscreens, they show how the laws of mathematics, physics and chemistry work in the world around us, and how our civilisation has used them to construct simple machines and technological wonders without which we cannot imagine everyday life today.
You are going to explore all these areas of knowledge during a tour of the expositions entitled: Aviation, Nature, and Living, as well as the accompanying interdisciplinary exhibition, and a presentation entitled Educational Toys – Young Discoverers.
Each exposition features intriguing exhibits that invite you to have fun. During the tour you can observe interesting phenomena and learn more about a particular subject matter - how much, depends on your curiosity and the time you spend with each interactive exhibit.
The youngest visitors are especially attracted by the Educational Toys – Young Discoverers exposition, which was designed for inquisitive children. At the Nature exposition, everyone wants to cuddle up to a giant bison, press their ear against its soft fur and listen to its voice and catch that moment in a photo. You can ‘play frogs’ and learn to recognise the voices of more than 20 birds. You can find out what tunnels are made by moles or shrews. You can examine various amphibians and reptiles, or pick up a stone to see what worms live underneath.
Even an 8-year of child will feel like a real scholar when he or she views the Ebola virus through an electron microscope and takes a look at the astonishing tardigrades, the world's most resistant invertebrates, which can survive for up to 100 years without water. Hundreds of these unusual creatures were even sent into space by scientists, and it turned out they could survive there, as well. Visitors to Łukasiewicz Centre do not have to fly into space to get a taste of extraterrestrial adventure. Right here, they can take a ride in a Mars Exploration Rover or get into a space capsule. Those wishing to explore equally inaccessible places can use a bathyscaph and descend into the oceanic depths of the Mariana Trench.
The flight simulator at the Aviation exposition will provide a truly thrilling experience. You can also see here a scale model of the Rzeszów airport and a baggage scanner. A large map shows, in real time, a multitude of dots corresponding to airplanes which are cruising around the Earth. You can have a good view of aircraft structures, learn about the principles of aerodynamics and build an aircraft wing. The most entertaining attraction in this section is the special track for flying paper airplanes, where whole families can have fun.
Since the Podkarpackie Science Centre is located in a region known for its vast green areas, it certainly comprises an ecology related exposition. Here you will complete a water consumption test, see the process of wind formation, and you will design a city of the future. It is only at the Łukasiewicz Centre that you can fill up a car with a few different fuels and check how far it can go on a full tank. If you are concerned about the natural environment, you would also want to live a healthy lifestyle. So you should visit the “Living” exposition and take a while at the table to design the best menu for yourself, check how loud you can shout and find out what sounds can an old person hear. Future doctors have an opportunity to perform a bloodless surgery.
Owing to the size of the expositions at the Podkarpackie Science Centre ‘Łukasiewicz’ you can spend a whole day here. From time to time, you can take a break to have a bite or to relax in the special areas located on each of the three floors.
You can come back here many times and enjoy the various educational options. There are five thematic programs with classes in such disciplines as biology and ecology, chemistry, physics and robotics. The FabLab is a place where you can improve you manual and creative skills. In some FabLab classes the participants have for instance built birdhouses and worked on perfume composition. Because at the Łukasiewicz Centre visitors do not only explore the mysteries of the universe, but they can also discover their talents. What is yours?