The building of the Space Knowledge Center in Cēsis, Cīrulīšu Street 63, has been put into operation. It is a new, sustainable and energy self-sufficient building, where active work is currently underway on the construction and arrangement of the knowledge center’s expositions. It is planned that the center will be available to visitors already in July this year.
“It will be a unique regional educational center that will interest students in science and technology subjects. On the other hand, educators will have the opportunity to learn new teaching methods, and families will have the opportunity to meaningfully spend time together. We expect that the center will attract more than 100,000 tourists during the year,” says Jānis Rozenbergs, chairman of the Cēsi County Council.
The building is designed with low energy consumption (15 kWh/m 2 per year), and the main heat carrier is a heat pump with a total capacity of 70 kW. Two pellet heating boilers with a total capacity of 120 kW have been installed for hot water production. Underground tanks have been built next to the building, in which the rainwater collected on the roof of the building will be purified, and then it will be fed to the sanitary facilities for re-use in the building. Solar panels are also installed on the roof, which will provide enough electricity for all the needs of the information center. Smart management and control solutions for both electricity and heat are operating in the building. A parking lot with 53 spaces has been created at the information center, as well as four rapid charging stations for electric cars on both sides – for eight cars and one bus.
The main and largest exhibit of the Space Intelligence Center will be a two-story replica of the International Space Station, named “The Ear”. On the first floor of the space station, you will be able to get to know the everyday life of an astronaut while on a mission in space, while the second floor of the space station will be connected to the mission control center – visitors in pairs will have the opportunity to play several space missions by themselves.
The content of the exposition on the first floor of the Space Knowledge Center will be oriented towards visual experience. Upon entering the center, visitors will have the opportunity to examine how energy is produced by walking on the largest kinetic floor in Europe. Next, visitors will be able to walk through the tunnel of the history of human exploration to get an idea of how science, engineering and the interest in space have developed, starting from prehistory, . On the first floor, it will be possible to view various models of space-related objects: rockets, robots, rovers, satellites, rocket engines, etc. For the convenience of visitors, the information center will also have a cafe and a souvenir shop.
The content of the second floor – interactive and based on performing various tasks – is intended for the theme of natural sciences and technologies. Part of the second floor exhibit will be about the colonization of Mars. Self-made exhibits will show the visitor how cleaning up organic waste can provide vital resources for long-term survival, how to produce electricity, oxygen and fuel while on another planet, while avoiding radiation and other limiting factors.
The third floor is intended for more active activities – there will be an opportunity to experience how astronauts train, there will be a play corner for the smallest visitors and a gallery of space objects.
The installations and interest education lessons are created with the support of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein within the European Economic Area and Norway Grants programme “Research and Education”.
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