Ankara to host largest science center

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek (L) and TÜBİTAK Chairman Yücel Altunbaşak sign the protocol for the center.

Turkey’s capital of Ankara is planning to construct the country’s largest science center, according to the local mayor.

“The science center will introduce people of all ages to science and technology and will allow visitors to discover and experiment, said Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Melih Gökçek, adding that the venue’s planned green spaces would make it one of Ankara’s most sought-after areas.

The science center will be made possible by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBİTAK). 

The research council has allocated 60 million Turkish Liras for the construction of the center, 30,000 square meters of which will be indoors while another 45,000 square meters will in an open area.

Gökçek and TUBİTAK Chairman Dr. Yucel Altunbasak signed the preliminary protocol for the center on July 30.

The mayor said there were currently 2,402 science centers in the world and that it was necessary to increase the number of such centers in Turkey. The science center is expected to be built by the end of 2013.