Technopolis in Mechelen is a technology & science center for all ages, though best enjoyed in a family group. The greenfield site opened in 2000 and now attracts a quarter million visitors per year. A single visit might not suffice, as there is a lot to explore, and a temporary exhibition area that changes regularly.
For smaller children, there are a number of areas to learn and play. For example:
- a water playing area, that is always crowded
- a lever to lift a car
- an exhibit to measure the water content in your body
- experiments with sound and music
Technopolis shows over 280 exhibits covering the wide field of science, but not straying beyond. Unlike the Pass or Cité des Sciences, Technopolis does not attempt to explain the ethical, environmental, economic or social consequences of technology deployment. Through this focus, it achieves much better coverage of its field.
To achieve the difficult task of scientific communication, Technopolis operates by the principle of the Trojan horse, i.e. always to present science in an attractive package, such as a story or experiment.
The 280 exhibits can be grouped into 7 themes, all based on our daily surroundings:
- Air and wind: land a plane in a flight simulator built in the cockpit of an airplane. Or apply a ventilator to various wind turbine configurations, to observe their difference in efficiency
- Structures: build various structures for a bridge and observe their stability, ...
- Waterside: build a dam, ...
- Home: sleep on a ball pool or a bed of nails, and judge for yourself which is more comfortable, ...
- Invisible: the worlds of electricity, sound, …
- Space travel: check your weight on different planets. How hot is the sun? …
- Action/reaction: play with potential and kinetic energy with an enormous ball chute, or ride a bicycle 5.2 meters above ground
