A NEW multi-million pound science education centre for Oxford children is a step closer to opening.

Yesterday, the Beard construction team who have been building the £13m hub in Headington handed over the keys to the charity that will run it – the Oxford Trust.

Located in woodland at Stansfeld Park next to the Eastern Bypass, the trust say the Science Oxford Centre will be ‘the UK’s first primary education science centre that combines exciting indoor hands-on exhibits, workshops and shows with outdoor activities’.

Read also: Derelict riverside hotel could soon reopen

Oxford Trust spokeswoman Georgina Matthews said: “Our new centre aims to inspire the next generation of scientists and innovators; giving young people the chance to explore and enjoy quality hands-on science activities both inside and out.”

thisisoxfordshire:

Inside the centre, children are promised ‘a wide range of engaging science-themed activities’, including ‘an exciting discovery zone full of interactive exhibits, a bright and flexible teaching space and a theatre’. Outside, they will be able to explore a 15-acre ‘wildspace’ – a mix of woodland, ponds and grassland that is 'perfect for learning about ecology and botany as well as the physical sciences'.

Read also: School pupils prepare to go on strike again

A café at the science centre will be available for use by everyone, including the local community.

The site will also be home to ‘some of the region’s most exciting new high-tech businesses and entrepreneurs’ in the purpose-built Wood Centre for Innovation, named after the Oxford Trust’s patrons Sir Martin and Lady Audrey Wood.

It is all due to open later this year. Look out for updates at theoxfordtrust.co.uk