The Copernicus Science Centre opened with the "Big Bang"

"May the only such explosions happen to people in Poland and in the world" - the Prime Minister said, referring to the title of the inaugural show. "It is a great, wonderful thing and I am delighted to think that I will come here with my children and my grandson" - he added.

"What is the Copernicus Science Centre? It is not a simple question, and it does not have a simple answer" - said director of the Center Robert Firmhofer.

"It is a space for learning about nature, man and his civilization. It arouses curiosity, stimulates the imagination. This Centre helps children understand the world, and allows adults to experience a childlike curiosity. It is a place that connects, not divides" - said Firmhofer.

He explained that in the Centre visitors can see how science and technology are changing our daily life for the better, how they make life more interesting, safer and more comfortable.

"Two years ago it was a stubble, and today we have San Francisco" - said the President of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz during the inauguration. As she explained, the first such centre in the world was established in San Francisco.

"Our civilization is based on the acquisition, exploration and self-improvement. If we manage to convince our children that science is not boring, Poland win the race of civilization" - emphasised Gronkiewicz-Waltz.

She reminded that Prof. Łukasz Turski, one of the originators of the Centre, did not stop only at the idea. "He managed to get people from various political organisations to sit at one table and create the beginning of this project."

The President of Warsaw reminded that signatories of the agreement on building the Centre were the then President of Warsaw Lech Kaczyński, Minister Krystyna Łybacka and Professor Michał Kleiber.

"In 2010 this Don Quixote idea (of building the Copernicus Science Centre - PAP) became reality. Here and now we can all see how our ideas about the world correspond to what the modern science says" - said Chairman of the "Copernicus" Programme Board Prof. Łukasz Turski.

He expressed the belief that all visitors leaving the Centre will have fresh, big ideas. "The history of the twentieth and early twenty-first century taught us that Don Quixotes win. This Centre was built by Don Quixotes" - said Prof. Turski.

The inaugural "Big Bang" was watched by few thousand spectators. They saw the story of the origins of the universe and the history of science. The show was directed by Peter Greenaway and Saskia Boddeke.

Immediately after the show the Centre was first made available to the public. On the following weekend (6 and 7 November) the "Copernicus" the entry to the Centre was free.

Since the opening, the Centre visitors can perform experiments in five permanent exhibitions: "Roots of Civilization," "LightZone", "On the Moove", "Humans and the Environment" and a special gallery for children "Buzzz!"

In the coming months, more galleries will open: Re:generation, Robotic Theatre and the Discovery Park located around the Copernicus Centre and on its roof. In May 2011, multimedia planetarium will launch. After opening all "Copernicus" galleries visitors will be able to experiment on 450 exhibits.

CNK is a three-storey building with an area of nearly 20 thousand sqm. It is estimated that the Centre will have half a million visitors per year.

The cost of building the Centre amounted to PLN 365 million, of which PLN 207 million came from the EU funds. CNK is a joint initiative of the Capital City of Warsaw, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Ministry of National Education. (PAP)