Home > Research and Education > Project stories > Liepāja Nature House opens its doors to visitors

Liepāja Nature House opens its doors to visitors

On August 28, 2020, on Liepaja Island, Liepāja Science and Education Innovation Center (ZIIC) opened the Nature House, which will implement interest education programs in STEM and environmental sciences for preschool children with parents, pupils, youth and teachers.

The opening of the Liepāja Nature House is just the beginning of a three-year project “Development of the Innovation Center in the City of Liepāja” with the help of which ZIIC will create new interest education programs and complement the Nature House exposition. The plan is to create 15 interactive installations, a laboratory of environmental sciences, masterclasses, new interest education programs for students and teachers. The Nature House will offer every visitor an interactive exposition of environmental sciences and an open laboratory where they can study natural processes and get to know environmental science through a modern prism.

Environmental experts from the University of Liepaja, as well as cooperation partners from Norway – the Trondheim Science Center and Jærmuseet Regional Museum, will also participate in the implementation of the project.

“We are proud that together with our cooperation partners we have managed to wisely combine the things that are so important for Liepāja – nature and modern knowledge. May this place be a source of inspiration for each of us, where Liepaja and city guests can get to know the rich and diverse environmental science, strengthen their knowledge and understanding of what is happening around us, ”says Kristīne Pujāte, the head of ZIIC and Nature House.

New learning opportunities and an exciting environment for students will be provided by educators who are ready to learn new skills and approaches to teaching. In turn, the work of teachers will be significantly supplemented by exhibits, modern technologies and equipment, as well as educational programs, workshops, masterclasses.

The expositions of the nature house are still under development and the first exhibits will be available to visitors only in the spring of next year. Currently, until September 29, visitors will have the opportunity to get to know the invasive species of Latvia by viewing the Latvian Museum of Nature’s exhibition “Strangers in Our Nature”.

The exposition of the Nature House will be created within the project “Development of the Innovation Center in the City of Liepaja” financed by the EEA/N grant program “Research and Education”. Its total costs are 986,049 euros, of which 754,327 euros are co-financing from the Norwegian financial instrument, 133,116 euros – co-financing from the Latvian state budget, and 98,605 euros – co-financing from Liepāja City Municipality. Nature House is managed by the Education Board of Liepāja City Municipality.