Inspire

The Aim of INSPIRE

"To promote and encourage the discovery and enjoyment of science by all members of the community using hands-on exhibits and related activities."

Achieving Our Aim

As well as providing over 40 hands-on exhibits, INSPIRE has linked with schools and local research institutes to provide the following:

• Exploring Science - Hands-on exhibitions covering specific scientific themes.
• The Science Squad - A programme of science shows using an extraordinary range of live experiments.
• ScienceWorks - INSPIRE is the East Anglian base for the distribution of National Curriculum linked schools packages made by Science Projects.
• Special Needs Visitors - INSPIRE is accessible by all members of the community.

Who Are We?

INSPIRE is part of the Science Projects Federation, an educational charity dedicated to the exploration of science through hands-on techniques.

Over the last 10 years the Science Projects name has become well known throughout the world for its’ travelling science centre - The Discovery Dome. Science Projects has also created the ScienceWorks school’s programme and has built hands-on exhibits for many other science centres. The Discovery Dome trailblazed a path for hands-on science and created a demand for permanent centres in its wake, and it was Science Projects intention to set up and run at least some of these centres.

In 1995 this idea became a reality, with Science Projects opening centres where the Discovery Dome had made a major impression on its previous visits - Norwich and Herstmonceux, Sussex.

INSPIRE in St. Michael’s Church, Norwich and The Herstmonceux Science Centre, housed in historic buildings formerly occupied by the Royal Observatory, are the first of a network of community based science centres throughout Britain which, it is hoped, will expand to five centres. These will either be run entirely by Science Projects or in partnership with other organisations, bringing hands-on science to many other areas of the country.

Why Norwich?

INSPIRE came to Norwich for a number of reasons.

Norwich is a culturally vibrant city and greeted the Discovery Dome with enthusiasm in the late 1980s.

Also the Norwich City Council Leisure Strategy outlined an intention to encourage the development of "...a multifunctional.. children’s activity attraction.. having high play value and educational content."

When approached about the possibility of meeting this need with INSPIRE, the reaction of the council was very positive and they assisted us in obtaining a building to house the centre.

St Michael Coslany - The Home of INSPIRE

St. Michael’s Coslany is one of Norwich’s finest Medieval Churches. Now redundant, it is in the care of the Norwich Historic Churches Trust, which looks after 32 former churches throughout the City, leasing them to organisations like INSPIRE for appropriate new uses.

There has been a church on the site of St Michael’s since the 11th century, acting as the parish church of Coslany ( the name comes from Costr’s - meaning Pig Man’s - Island).

The earliest part of the existing structure of St. Michael’s dates from the years leading up to 1428, but much of it derives from the extravagant rebuilding which took place between 1500 and 1512 but was halted when funds ran out leaving the south aisle unfinished. However, the building contains excellent examples of flushwork which is a form of patterning in the walls where a framework of stone encloses flint infill - a method of building largely confined to East Anglia where it was popular due to the region’s shortage of building stone. This flushwork was added to during the Victorian restoration of the church in 1884, which also reinstated the blocked east window and restored the church’s scissor brace roof.

The conversion of the church, initially into a martial arts hall and now into INSPIRE, has left the majority of the church’s outstanding features, such as the spectacular 18th Century memorials, accessible to the public while giving the building a new lease of life as an active venue for public use.