Work on the new National Interactive Science Centre – Esplora – is continuing on schedule ahead of its planned opening in December.

Spread over 22,000 square metres at the former Royal Navy hospital within the Villa Bighi Complex in Kalkara, the science centre features indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces and interactive exhibitions celebrating and showcasing science and technology, including a purpose-built planetarium.

It will form part of a global community of 3,000 similar centres.

Malta Council for Science and Technology chairman Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando said the €26 million project, financed in part by the European Regional Development Fund, aimed to promote science among a new generation of young people.

“We need to increase the uptake of science subjects to ensure the country has people with the skills and training to take up the new opportunities that are being created,” he said.

 “The success of this project hinges on the engagement it creates among those who visit.”

Parliament secretary for research and innovation Chris Agius said the project would also restore dignity to a historic area that had long called out for regeneration.

He added that society was often not aware of the vital work being done by University researchers, and that the national science centre was a step towards bringing that work closer to the general public.