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FRIENDS OF DYNAMIC EARTH: LOOKING BACK ON 25 YEARS
Dynamic Earth marked it's 25 year anniversary on July 2nd 2024. To celebrate this milestone, we gathered some friends together - from supporters to patrons, to our team and trustees. We asked them to share some of their favourite memories of Dynamic Earth with us.
To celebrate 25 years of Dynamic Earth, we invited some friends from over the years to share their stories with us.
Dynamic Earth marked it’s 25 year anniversary on July 2nd 2024. To celebrate this milestone, we gathered some friends together – from supporters to patrons, to our team and trustees. We asked them to share some of their favourite memories of Dynamic Earth with us.
Professor David Sugden – Patron of Dynamic Earth
“Could we have a chunk of glacier ice as the main point of interest? If so, how could we stop it melting? How long would it last if it was stored in a vacuum container? Could British Antarctic Survey give us Antarctic ice on a regular basis? Could Salvesen’s with their polar background manufacture ice for us on a regular basis? Why not grow ice in situ? I vividly remember the initial stunned silence and then the excitement as we explored this last idea. And now the ‘Iceberg’ proudly dominates the gallery. Twenty-five years later, it has been touched by thousands of visitors.
As Professor of Geography in Edinburgh, I was involved as an advisor for the polar section of Dynamic Earth. Along with others interested in environmental education, I remember a sequence of constructive meetings with Sandy Crosbie, Stuart Munro and the consultants. We were all excited about what could be achieved”
“Could we have a hands-on display about the Antarctic Ice sheet and climate change? This question was asked at one meeting. We approached Alun Hubbard, a research student in the Department of Geography. He had just created an advanced model of ice-sheet behaviour and he developed it to show the extent of Antarctic ice at different levels of global warming. Although the final scale of the hands-on display is small, the model highlights the sensitivity of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to global warming, carrying the risk of raising global sea level by 2-3 m. More encouragingly, the model shows the relative stability of the larger East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Both these implications are central to international research today.”
Eleanor Evans & Eoin Devane – Patrons of Dynamic Earth
“Coming to Dynamic Earth when it first opened as a 10 year old, eager to explore this incredible new building that was “Scotland’s millennium dome”. Being blown away by the interactive exhibits like the earthquake plates, rain in the rainforest and huge block of ice. Coming back again and again to “D-ya-Magic Earth” with my little brother, who loved the soft play and digging for dinosaur bones there. As a lifetime lover of science, geology and palaeontology it was such a wonderful place to keep visiting and learning from.”
“Coming with my school to learn more about which Universities to apply to, particularly Oxbridge colleges, and how their application processes worked. This ultimately set me on the path to studying Natural Sciences at Cambridge, specialising in Physics and continuing to gain a PhD in Medical Physics at Cambridge as well.”
“Choosing Dynamic Earth as where me and my husband would get married, as a science themed venue with a stunning mountain backdrop with Arthur Seat was perfect for us. Working with all the dynamic Earth team to still make our wedding happen in July 2020 due to COVID, giving us an incredible and romantic day that we won’t ever forget.”
Andrew McMillan- Patron of Dynamic Earth
“Most of the [above] photos, whilst not of the opening of Dynamic Earth in 1999, were taken by me later that year. They show scenes at the launch of ‘Scottish Geology Week’ on 10 September 1999. Kids from Edinburgh’s primary schools were invited along to Our Dynamic Earth. They had prepared a mosaic of land and sea. In one pic you can see the Scottish Parliament foundations.”
“When the shop opened, Bridget remembers purchasing a small gorilla (probably the first sold!), named Grumpy. Alas, many years later Grumpy disappeared in mysterious circumstances, but about six years ago Hermione came to the rescue and found her (a much larger) replacement!”
Martin – Former Technical Manager
“These days, the Covid-19 lockdown seems like a distant dream I had in another lifetime, but it did leave me with some profound memories, many of them at Dynamic Earth. Four years ago… there was a small group of people coming to Dynamic Earth to perform some essential tasks.”
“Between all the social distancing and hand sanitiser, there were some enjoyable things; standing alone on Top Deck listening to the sound of the wind passing over the roof with no cars on the road, police sirens, school groups or dome announcements, just the wind. Finding out there were Peregrine Falcons nesting on the Crags then buying some binoculars to watch them from the terrace without another soul around, and supporting the We Make Events campaign.”
“Once restrictions were eased we installed the new planetarium and did loads of maintenance work on the attraction and the building as a whole. It was probably the most rewarding time in the nine years I have spent at Dynamic Earth. The camaraderie with the small team allowed into the building, and the satisfaction of completing the huge amount of work needed to get us ready for re-opening, was fantastic.”
Mark Bishop – CEO of Dynamic Earth
“For my Dad’s 80th I brought him to a Festival showing of the sell-out Dark Side of the Moon. Alastair, our lovely Planetarium Manager, organised a massive round of applause to celebrate my dad’s Big Day. And then we had 43 minutes of immersive sounds and images as Pink Floyd did their thing – a year on and he’s still talking about how Dynamic Earth was the best way to celebrate this birthday milestone!”
