Green light given for planetarium and science museum in Dublin city centre

An Bord Pleanála approved the project after dismissing appeals lodged against it on the grounds that it would encroach on the walled Iveagh Gardens and protected structures on the historic Earlsfort Terrace site.

The museum, to be called the National Children’s Science Centre, would be housed in the existing unused north wing of the National Concert Hall complex and an adjoining new building.

It would have 9,500 square metres of exhibition and event space over four floors in total with a landmark dome at the top for the planetarium.

It would allow space for more than 200 permanent and temporary exhibits, interactive experiments, demonstration areas, a lecture hall and cafe.

Exhibits would be based around six broad themes: the digital revolution, smart cities, food and water, energy and decarbonisation, consumption and production, and humans and demography.

The museum is a government initiative first proposed in the 2000s but not progressed at that time because of the economic crisis.

The Oireachtas Education Committee said last year the facility was needed as a matter of urgency given the importance of supporting STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – in school and third level curriculums.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) manages the National Concert Hall and Iveagh Gardens site on behalf of the state and the designs have been drawn up by the agency’s in-house architects.

It is understood that the state would fund the construction of the museum at a conservative cost estimate of €50 million.

However, a charity has been set up to oversee the project with a board of trustees drawn from the public, private and academic sectors, including Ali Hewson, Professor Luke O’Neill and Professor Brian Ó Gallachóir.

“National Children’s Science Centre will serve as a national beacon of interactive learning, featuring an extensive outreach program,” a website developed for the project in recent weeks says.

“Our exhibitions, both physical and digital, will tour nationally, supported by a dynamic online presence through our website and app.”

The OPW has been contacted seeking details of the next steps.

Actor and writer, Pom Boyd, who lodged an objection to the development, posted her disappointment on social media platform, X, but said: “The battle is not over.”