NSCF Conference 2020

We take great pride in welcoming you to attend the Nordic Science Center Conference 17 – 19 November 2020, organized by the NSCF board in cooperation with The Visualization Center, in Norrköping, Sweden.

In 2010, The Visualization Center opened it’s doors for the first time. The scope was grand; create the first fully digital science center in Scandinavia and perhaps the world. Now, 9 years later, we’ve fulfilled and even surpassed the original vision with a multitude of fascinating and thought-provoking exhibitions, dome productions and events throughout the years.

One of the most significant happenings in our 9 years of existence is of course the grant we received for the WISDOME project from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation in 2017. The grant made it possible to update our dome theater to true state-of-the-art, making it the first 8K stereoscopic dome in the world, with unrivalled contrast, colours and resolution.

In the same grant, we secured funding to expand and reshape our production unit with the mission to create no less than five new dome productions over an 8 year period, including educational materials and immersive installations.

These WISDOME productions aren’t your average “3D movies”, but part real-time, interactive fulldome shows on topics such as the science behind visual effects, molecular biology, artificial intelligence, climate issues and space exploration. Already we collaborate with agencies such as SMHI to visualize climate changes, and NASA to highlight innovative research from our solar system by “landing” in real-time on Mars (using actual data translated into 3D imagery), doing fly-bys over Pluto and visiting most places in the known Universe one could wish for.

As we draw near to 2020, the next step to build on these successes come into focus: we are opening up the top floor – previously an office space – for visitors and groups by creating an Open Data Lab based on the concept of ”Exploranation” – a combination of Exploration and Explanation where visitors themselves can access and explore the same data as the scientists use.

 This environment will be open for everyday visitors but can also be used and enhanced together with an educator to take full advantage of the installations and data presented in the lab.

In 2020 we also celebrate our 10th anniversary which of course is a great milestone for us. We are confidently looking forward to the next ten years with the aim to keep raising the bar and to distribute knowledge and passion for the sciences chiefly among our audiences.

We hope to see you all at The Visualization Center in Norrköping for the 2020 edition of the NSCF Conference 17 - 19 November. By then our first Wisdome production will be finished, as well as the Open Data Lab, so there’s some really exciting stuff to look forward to. Well met!