The Southside entrance to the Life Science Centre, currently undergoing a major refit. Image courtesy: Life Science Centre.

Work has begun on Newcastle’s Life Science Centre, which is to undergo a £4.5m refit.

The museum, which will be closed for essential works until November 12 2005, will completely renew its permanent exhibition space as part of a two-year project.

Linda Conlon, director of the Life Science Centre, said: “It’s an exciting time for us. The first major signs of change for the centre will start when work on a new permanent exhibition begins this week."

“During the two weeks of closure a lot of work will be going on behind the scenes to remove parts of our existing exhibition in preparation for the new elements," she continued.

Opened in 2002, the Life Science Centre promotes public understanding of science. Courtesy: Life Science Centre.

The new permanent displays will explore human life – past, present and future – how we have evolved and how we might adapt to changes in the future.

The first phase of the new permanent galleries will open in Easter 2006 with the final phase opening a year later in 2007.

Work has also started on a high-tech dome theatre for CGI (computer generated imagery) shows, also scheduled to open in Easter 2006.

The first new galleries will be opened at Easter 2006. Image courtesy: Life Science Centre.

The interactive shows scheduled for the theatre have been created especially for the Life Science Centre. They will allow visitors to choose where they visit on a fact-finding mission across the solar system.

The museum will reopen to the public again on Saturday November 12 2005 with the launch of Skating@Life, an annual open-air skating rink located in Times Square.

Funding for the redevelopment of the permanent galleries has come from a number of sources including Rediscover, the Wellcome Trust and the Wolfston Foundation.