Every province to have science center: minister

Science, Industry and Technology Minister Nihat Ergün, who has recently visited Universal Studios in Los Angeles, says Turkey should also build big movie studios. AA photo

Turkey will open science centers in every province by 2013, the 100th anniversary of the modern republic, according to the country’s Science, Industry and Technology Minister Nihat Ergün.

“Technology firms will directly finance some sections of these science centers,” Ergün told the Anatolia news agency during an official visit to the United States.

Ergün visited Universal Studios in Hollywood and Exploratorium science center in San Francisco on the second and third day of his visit to the U.S.

There are currently 380 science centers in the U.S., 250 in Europe and 300 in China, the minister said.

Commenting on the importance of such institutions, Ergün said Intel’s CEO Paul Otellini was employed in the science center in San Francisco when he was 16, while Twitter founder Jack Dorsey was still at the board of the facility. Over 300 people work at Exploratorium, which enjoys an annual budget of $33 million