The museum was established in 1981 as part of the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, which has a firm commitment to building a better and fairer society, providing more opportunities for those who need them most. The impressive building, combining Art Nouveau and contemporary design, has exhibitions, activities and services extending over six floors, clearly identified through colour codes and pictograms. In 2004 the building and exhibitions were expanded and completely refurbished, and in 2019 a new concept was adopted for the permanent exhibition layout. MICRARIUM opened in 2022, and CLIK in 2024.
CLIK is a learning space for children from the age of three. It was developed by the Foundation with support from international museum experts and the collaboration of science education experts at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. CLIK encourages experience-based learning through models that promote play, hands-on exploration and the excitement of discovery. It focuses on analogical and manual aspects and elements such as water and air, breaking away from current dynamics of interaction and learning with new technologies.
This approach has been highly rated by parents and teachers. 25 modules are split into four specific areas for light and colour, mechanics and construction, water and wind. These elements have huge educational value for working on concepts in physics, such as gravity, weight, forces and the properties of fluids. While the children experiment freely, museum educators are also involved, suggesting challenges to make individual or collective learning more dynamic. All activities at the museum have qualitative assessment systems to make sure they are meeting educational targets.
The judges’ comment
CosmoCaixa carries out highly professional work in the field of science literacy, with a well targeted, impressive variety of programmes and activities. It deserves our congratulations for its livelong achievement over 45 years, with its capacity to remain young and attractive, with constant renewal and change. Special praise is due to the Bubble Planetarium, which introduces children up to the age of five to astronomy.