IS – Immaginario Scientifico – Science Museum

Immaginario Scientifico is an innovative science museum based in Friuli Venezia Giulia, with two locations: in Trieste and Pordenone. More than a traditional exhibition venue, it is conceived as a dynamic space for exploration, where visitors become active participants in the process of discovery.

Founded in 1986 on the initiative of physicist Paolo Budinich, a key figure in the Trieste Science System, Immaginario Scientifico aims to make science accessible and engaging. From its very beginnings, the project stood out for its original exhibition methods and for an educational approach based on direct experience.

Through hands-on exhibits and multisensory installations, visitors are encouraged to touch, manipulate, and directly experiment with scientific phenomena and concepts. The visitor experience is thus shaped in a personal and progressive way: each installation sparks curiosity, wonder, and reflection, enabling an understanding of science through action and interaction.

In this context, the museum goes beyond its traditional conservation role to become an informal learning environment, where emotion and knowledge are closely intertwined. Wonder, play, and discovery become essential tools for activating cognitive processes and fostering a direct and conscious relationship with science.

Immaginario Scientifico is a founding member of ECSITE (the European Network of Science Centres and Museums), which today brings together over 300 members across Europe.

Since 2013, it organises the local selection for FameLab, the international competition for young science communicators.

Since 2018, it is partner of the SHARPER – European Researchers’ Night project, an initiative involving hundreds of cities across Europe.