The History Of Spain's Science And Technology Museum In 1 Minute

The Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (MUNCYT) is Spain’s national network of museums dedicated to all things science and technology, with centers in Madrid, Coruña and Alcobendas. Officially opened in 1997, the foundations for the museum had been laid a long time before but were troubled by the end of the dictatorship in the late 1970s.
The idea for a center dedicated to Spain‘s technological and scientific advances had been proposed as early as the 1960s, and in 1975, this was formalized with the creation of the National Institute for Industry. However, the political and social climate at the time of the end of the dictatorship in the late 1970s meant that plans for the museum developed slowly as the country transitioned to democracy. It wasn’t until 1979 that the project was given new life when the patronage of the museum was established, and in 1980, the group acquired the disused train station known as ‘Estación de Delicias.’ Inaugurated in 1880, the station had been the first major train station to be built in the capital but was closed less than a hundred years later, in 1969.

© Jose Luis Cernadas Iglesias/WikiCommons

Today, the Madrid center of the MUNCYT is home to the museum’s main library, archive room and warehouse where some of the 15,000 pieces that form the museum’s collection are stored, including scientific equipment, technological equipment, transport vehicles, tools and machines from as far back as the 16th century. Much of the museum’s collection was gathered from schools, universities, research centers and factories in Spain, as well as donations and private collections. The pieces that form the collection belong to various fields including physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, agriculture, transport, astronomy, navigation, biology and more. Since 2014, the Madrid center is now closed to the public except upon special request. However, the Alcobendas center of the MUNCYT was opened in the same year and serves as the public face of the museum network. It hosts part of the main collection of the museum, including in the fields of cinema, photography and communication, as well as temporary exhibits and educational workshops which take place throughout the year.
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By Culture Trip Barcelona

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