In a first for Esplora, Malta’s premier science centre destination, an art exhibition has been opened to the public to deepen the understanding of water and its essence to life. The Bil-Qatra il-Qatra exhibition will run until Saturday 17th June 2017.

The exhibition is a result of a collaboration between HSBC Water Programme – Catch the Drop and Esplora – as led by the Chairman of the Malta Council for Science and Technology Dr. Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando – to attract the attention of the curious minds, and to ignite enquiries into the STEAM fields which embrace science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, together with art. All the artworks presented in the exhibition are a product of an educational process mentored by the Art Department within the Catholic Education Secretariat.

The HSBC-Esplora partnership sees the development of especially-designed visual aid signs on hand washing. Visual aids are an effective tool for those on the Autism Spectrum Disorder and are effective for children of all ages to be able to learn the essential life and social skills that they have yet to grasp. The visual aids have been approved by the Autism Parents Association and ADHD Malta, and have been placed in all the hand washing areas of Esplora. Plans are afoot to use the visual aids in other high traffic places in Malta and Gozo.

Further, a new colouring book has been developed featuring the well-known mascot of HSBC Water Programme – Catch the Drop, Harvey the Lifestyle Dog. In the book, Harvey visits the captivating world of Esplora as well as continues his previous attempts to save water. The colouring book is available to visitors for free until the stock lasts.

Meanwhile, Esplora will dedicate a permanent space in its Eco-Life zone to an exhibition of challenging but fun games based on the theme of water. The games were developed by the students of the Institute for the Creative Arts of the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) in collaboration with HSBC Water Programme – Catch the Drop. The interactive games will be available on touch-screens at Esplora.