The Oxford Trust has received the keys to its brand-new Beard-built science education centre and adjoining innovation hub at Stansfeld Park in Headington Quarry.
From September 2019, the £13 million Science Oxford Centre (SOC) and Wood Centre for Innovation (WCFI), will welcome primary-aged children from across the region to experience a wide range of STEM-inspired activities in its exhibition zone, workshop and woodland.
Beard has been the Trust’s construction partner on this unique development that will also be home to some of the region’s most exciting new high-tech businesses and entrepreneurs. The stunning, purpose-built innovation centre is named after the Trust’s patrons Sir Martin and Lady Audrey Wood who founded Oxford Instruments, the University’s first spin-out, in 1959 and are prolific philanthropists in the fields of enterprise, the environment and education.
Image: L-R: Steve Burgess, CEO of the Oxford Trust, Kenneth Hale, Beard project manager and John Boyle, chairman of the Oxford Trust with the keys to the new £13m science centre (photo credit: Ed Nix).
“We’re delighted to be handing over this cutting-edge learning facility that is set to inspire and educate future generations of talented scientists, business innovators and entrepreneurs who are so essential to a successful and thriving economy,” says Dean Averies, Beard regional director. “Our construction team is proud to have played a part in the delivery of this important scheme which will add significant value to Oxford and the wider community.”
A UK ‘First’
The Science Oxford Centre will be the UK’s first integrated indoor-outdoor science education centre for primary and early years children. The centre will deliver exciting curiosity-based activities that combine both natural and physical sciences. At its core will be the Exploration Zone, a hands-on science exhibition that challenges children to explore, experiment, observe and share their discoveries through scientific play. The exhibits encourage higher-order thinking skills – essential for any future scientist, medic, engineer or coder. The surrounding 15-acre woodland area, complete with ponds, walkways and grassland, will offer young people a unique opportunity to explore and enjoy outdoor, as well as indoor, STEM activities.
The Science Oxford Centre will be the UK’s first integrated indoor-outdoor science education centre for primary and early years children.
“Our mission – as established by Sir Martin and Lady Wood back in 1985 when they founded the Trust – is to encourage the pursuit of science and enterprise and it has been a long-held dream to develop a site that helps us do just that.
Steve Burgess, CEO of the Oxford Trust says: “Our mission – as established by Sir Martin and Lady Wood back in 1985 when they founded the Trust – is to encourage the pursuit of science and enterprise and it has been a long-held dream to develop a site that helps us do just that. These two new centres will enable us to inspire more young people about science and add capacity to Oxfordshire’s dynamic innovation ecosystem.”
On the eastern edge of Oxford, the centre will be accessible to primary schools across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Pre-opening visits will begin from May and the centre will be fully open for the start of the autumn term 2019.
‘Economic engine’
The Wood Centre for Innovation (WCFI) will provide 25,000 sq ft of purpose-built office space and support for start-up and grow-on science and tech companies. The new centre is located close to the city’s growing health and data sciences quarter around Old Road Campus, clinical research facilities at local hospitals and Oxford Brookes University, positioning the centre’s high-tech business residents at the heart of transformational research and discovery.
WCFI has meeting rooms for up to 20 people, video and conferencing facilities, an on-site café and an outdoor eating area. It is twinned with the Trust’s central Oxford innovation centre, OCFI, and will be managed by Oxford Innovation (OI).
The innovation centre will act as the ‘economic engine’ for the site: income will be reinvested to fund the core activities of the Science Oxford Centre, as well as the management of the surrounding woodland area. The strength of the Trust’s business model for the site is that it is self-sustaining and supports both ends of the science ecosystem, from inspiring young children about the wonders of science to helping science start-ups to develop and grow.
The site also boasts a café and flexible 100-seat theatre venue that will be a fantastic resource for the local community and schools as well as hosting business and public events.
The official handover of the building was marked by the unveiling of a specially-commissioned sculpture by local artist, David Harbour, which celebrates Oxford Trust patrons Sir Martin and Lady Audrey Wood’s 90th birthdays and their contribution to science and innovation in Oxfordshire.