The latest figures for the 2010/11 financial year are a new record, with 11,114 visitors, taking a free tour, up 16 per cent on the previous record of 9,543 visitors in 2009/10.
The number of visitors has more than doubled since 2005/06. Team Leader of the Discovery Centre, Rod Dowler said it is part of ANSTO’s mission to introduce more visitors, including potential scientists of the future, to the wonderful world of nuclear science and technology.
“What many people might not realise is that even if they are not using our life-saving radiopharmaceuticals, nuclear science is part of our every day lives. Nuclear science is applied to smoke detectors, computers, road maintenance, food packaging, and even aviation – just to name a few things.
“Year 9 and 10 students benefit greatly from a visit to ANSTO as these students are in the process of choosing their HSC subjects, and are formulating opinions of science in general,” Rod said.
“We have adapted our tours to be age appropriate, and to reflect the broad sweep of ANSTO research, with Biology and Earth and Environment Science excursions recently added to the traditional Physics, Chemistry and General Science tours.”
“Sharing the work done by the incredibly smart people here at ANSTO is a great opportunity for people to gain insight into the important research into environmental science, food security, and diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.”
The tours differ slightly but typically involve a presentation in our Visitor Centre, followed by visits to ANSTO's state of the art research reactor, OPAL, and then a visit to one of ANSTO’s accelerators, where visitors are encouraged to try the hands on exhibits.
Published: 06/07/2011