This is what the Inspired centre could look like. Courtesy Science Museum

Jeremy Clarkson and a whole raft of public figures have spoken out to support the creation of Europe’s biggest museum in Swindon.

The Science Museum currently has its stores for large items at its Swindon branch and plans to develop it into Inspired, a huge interactive museum site.

The project is one of the six candidates bidding for a £50m grant from the Big Lottery fund through its Living Landmarks programme, with the winner being decided by a public televised vote later in 2007.

“It’s a truly jaw dropping experience,” said journalist and broadcaster Clarkson after visiting the Swindon stores. “Just to the left of the creaking, rusted door, tucked away in an unlit corner, is the Blue Steel missile, Britain’s first nuke.”

“And parked behind it is a two-stage Polaris rocket. In another hangar there are miles of racks stacked from floor to ceiling and stuffed with everything that was ever important. Honestly, I half expected to find the Ark of the Covenant in there.”

The Science Museum hopes to create large new gallery spaces. Courtesy Science Museum

“It’s properly spooky and what made it even more eerie is this: I was the only person there. The plan is to change that with the lottery cash so they can build an architectural wonder where all the quarter of a million exhibits can be displayed properly.”

Only eight per cent of the Science Museum’s collections are on view in its main London museum at any one time, with the rest held in storage.

The large objects are housed at its 221 hectare (545 acre) Swindon site with artefacts ranging from a Lockheed Constellation airliner to early computers, the huge Wood printing presses, rare bicycles, MRI scanners and even the world’s very first hovercraft.

Inspired plans to display many of these large items as well as provide activities like designing and building robots, hot air balloons or solar-powered cars along with staging interactive shows plus displays in large-scale indoor and outdoor arenas.

Comedian Dom Joly joined Clarkson in supporting the bid: “The Science Museum Swindon is a veritable treasure trove – loads of great stuff that isn’t currently in the London ‘branch’,” he said.

As well as exhibitions there will be lots of hands-on experiments and activities. Courtesy Science Museum

“The whole site needs to be developed and opened up to the public as quickly as possible. I never thought I’d say this but…it could just put Swindon on the map.”

The project is scheduled for completion in 2010 and is expected to cost £64m in total. It plans to be environmentally friendly using renewable energy and a super-insulated structure that will blend in with the surrounding countryside.

It is hoped that the centre will help to inspire the next generation of aspiring scientists, engineers, inventors, creators and designers. Other well-known figures supporting the lottery bid include Johnny Vaughan, Alex James, Trevor Baylis and Adam Hart Davis.

The Science Museum Swindon will be shoring up public support for Inspired at a two-day Festival of the Future taking place at the site on August 25 and 26. The Intel mock-Martian landscape will be on show, fitted with a roving buggy and cameras which the public can navigate, which will be joined by interactive science shows and live experiments giving a taste of what Inspired will be like.

Other projects vying for the £50m lottery cash include Sherwood: The Living Legend Project (featured as an ICON news story) see here, The Eden Trust’s The Edge development, Somerset County Council’s Waterlinks proposal, The Black Country as an Urban Park, and the Connect2 local transport scheme.

Go to the Inspired website for more details of the project and how to show your support.