The much-awaited science interactive museum turned out to be a sour experience for many who were turned away at the door on the opening night.
Several people complained that after spending lots of time in traffic to get to Kalkara, they were told they could not enter the new facility. Contacting this newspaper after being turned away, visitors expressed their disappointment that after eagerly waiting for the open day event to get a glimpse of the recently-refurbished Villa Bighi, they had to return home.
But Malta Council for Science and Technology executive chairman Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando said no visitors had been turned away from the “opening event” which was held in the restored plaza in front of historic Villa Bighi despite the inclement weather conditions.
“The activities went on till about 11.30pm when we were forced to stop due to the strong winds. Some of the activities, such as the observation sessions by the Malta Astronomical Society, which were to be held in the more exposed part of the complex, were cancelled for health and safety reasons. The exposed areas bore the brunt of the gale force winds on the evening,” Dr Pullicino Orlando said when contacted yesterday.
Some of the activities were cancelled for health and safety reasons
He insisted that Esplora had never indicated that the exhibition hall would be open to an unlimited number of people. On the contrary, all adverts specified that free admission to the halls would be on a “first come, first served” basis.
“We were very enthused by the public response and ended up admitting three times the visitors originally planned into this area in our efforts to satisfy the overwhelming demand. It would have been irresponsible of us to admit more than that amount for logistical reasons. We are aiming at quality, not quantity,” he said.
He added the team was now looking forward to tomorrow when its doors will be open to the public.
He added: “We strongly encourage anyone who wishes to visit our centre to book beforehand on 2540 1900. Esplora is a state-of-the-art interactive science centre, not a fun park. We can only admit a limited number of visitors at any given point in time to ensure that the experience is a five-star one. We have 250 state-of-the-art exhibits spread over 20,000 square metres of exhibition space. This makes us one of the largest science centres in Europe.”
Dr Pullicino Orlando also urged visitors to see and experience exhibits and move on as this limited the number of people who could be allowed into the exhibit halls.