January
With support from the Community Foundation for Calderdale, Eureka! and SureStart Centres in Calderdale gave hundreds of families the opportunity to visit the museum free of charge.
February
Eureka! was awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom quality badge, a national accreditation recognising our expertise in delivering good quality teaching and learning experiences at the same time as managing risk effectively.
March
Against stiff competition from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the National Media Museum, Eureka! was named Unique Venue of the Year at the Insider Yorkshire Business Tourism Awards 2009.
April
Eureka! welcomed its five millionth visitor in April 2009 and celebrated its 17th birthday in the summer.
May
A touring exhibition organised by the International Year of Astronomy 2009 made its one and only appearance in Yorkshire at Eureka! and showcased spectacular images of space.
We launched a new exhibit known as the Power Wall with the support of TNEI and funding from Yorkshire Forward.
June
A master plan for the Halifax site was launched that included the creation of an outdoor playscape, extended facilities and new links to the town centre to support the overall regeneration strategy for Halifax. This was a key part of the national strategy for Eureka! that involves extending our reach to as many children as possible in the UK.
July
The July Project, Calderdale’s festival for children and young people, saw over 10,000 people attend two weeks of events for the third year running. Run as a partnership event with Square Chapel Centre for the Arts and Calderdale Council, with sponsorship from HBOS, we went on to win the award for “Best New Charity” at the Evening Courier Community Awards.
August
With funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Ingenious grant, “Robots Explore the Universe” was developed as an interactive programme of workshops that over the summer entertained hundreds of children and their families.
September
Eureka! re-launched its groundbreaking exhibition, Mission: Active Future as part of the Government’s Healthy Towns initiative giving over 3,000 primary school children the chance to switch onto a healthier lifestyle through a unique, interactive experience.
October
The bank in Eureka!’s Town Square was transformed with support from Halifax Retail Bank and is now an even more exciting place for children to spend time learning through play.
November
BBC Children in Need came to Eureka! to televise the regional events on the evening. An amazing evening saw circus performers, Dr Who characters, giant chickens and scuba divers descend on Eureka! and help raise millions of pounds. Eureka! was able to highlight its charitable remit and gain over 20 minutes of major PR coverage.
December
Funding from the Big Lottery Fund, Awards for All, will enable us to take a healthy living workshop on the road to children in Leeds and Sheffield. At the same time our business development team launched Eureka! Explores to deliver exciting after school workshops to school children in the region.
