Barcelona

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CosmoCaixa

C/Teodor Roviralta 47-51

The long and eagerly awaited revamp of the Fundació La Caixa’s science museum and planetarium, to create the biggest in Europe, was only partially successful. First off, its size is a little misleading: apart from a couple of spaces – the Flooded Forest, a reproduction of a bit of Amazonia complete with flora and fauna, and the Geological Wall – the collection has not been proportionally expanded to fit the new building. A glass-enclosed spiral ramp runs down an impressive six floors, but actually represents quite a long walk to reach the main collection five floors down. What’s more, for all the fanfare made by the museum about taking exhibits out of glass cases and making scientific theories accessible, many of the displays still look very dated.

On the plus side, the installations for children are quite excellent: the Bubble Planetarium pleases kids aged three to eight, and the wonderful Clik (aimed at ages three to six) and Flash (for ages seven to nine) introduce kids to science through games. Toca Toca! (‘Touch! Touch!’) educates children about which animals and plants are safe and which should be avoided. One of the real highlights, for kids and adults, remains the hugely entertaining sound telescope, which is situated outside on the Plaça de la Ciència.

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