Ghana Museums needs GH¢10m to complete science building

The Ghana Museums and Monument Board (GMMB) needs about GH¢10 million to complete its main science building in Accra for science exhibitions, its Executive Director, Dr Zagba Narh Oyortey, has said.

He, therefore, appealed to individuals and organisations to partner the GMMB complete the facility, as it works on sourcing funds from other avenues to make the Museum of Science and Technology (MST) operational.

The MST project, which is the only one of its kind south of the Sahara, with the exception of the MTN Science Museum in South Africa, was started in 1965 but has stalled due to several challenges, including funding.

Mr Oyortey said this at a press briefing on the premises of the museum’s board to launch a “Scientific Heritage and Acculturation Week” (SHAW), scheduled for September this year.

Revival of project

The GMMB Director said it was in fulfilment of the new Science, Technology and Innovations (STI) Policy launched in 2012 that the Ghana Museums had since July 2013 renewed its effort to revive the MST in Accra.

He said a joint working committee comprising different stakeholder institutions had proposed, among other things, to hold scientific and technology exhibitions to promote the concept.

That, he said, had birthed the SHAW, an educational programme targeted at engaging the public to appreciate scientific concepts and adopt them as part of their socio-cultural lifestyle.

National STI policy

The Director of the Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI), Dr George Owusu Essegbey, said the STI Policy was meant to address the ambition of Ghana to harness its scientific resources and use them to drive its national development process.

He said the policy connected with various sectors of the economy such as agriculture, health and energy and had so far identified for collaboration, 19 sectors and thematic areas, including the Science, Technology and Innovation, Education and Trade ministries to harness the country’s science and technological capabilities.

The Science Museum

The Principal Curator of the MST, Mr B. Agyiri Sackey, said currently there was an ongoing demonstration  at the uncompleted science museum on the Jubilee Oilfield of how oil was formed naturally, the process of exploring for oil in deep seas and the prospects of oil held for Ghanaians.

Writer’s email: Edmund.Asante@graphic.com.gh