The interactive museum exhibit by Met4Tech (UKRI Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre for Technology Metals) is now on display at the iconic Eden Project in Cornwall.

The circular economy exhibit ‘The New Precious Metals’; Unearthing the Treasures in Our Everyday Tech’ interactive touring exhibit has been entertaining visitors in the Core Mezzanine at Eden since the autumn.

The 3.5m high exhibit allows visitors to try and solve the increasing demand for metal resources by either building more mines – or by repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing extracted precious metals.

Sarah Peake, Head of Content Curation for the Eden Project, said they were delighted to have the exhibit on site and that it was great to draw people’s attention to the need for a circular economy.

She said: “Visitors, especially children are loving interacting with the exhibit. We all have phones, laptops and other tech items these days, but we are often unaware of how these things are made and the impact that can have on the planet. The exhibit really helps people to think about how they can repair or refurbish their technology, reducing the need to mine for more metals”.

The interactive exhibit was launched in April 2024 at the Xplore! Science Discovery Centre in Wrexham and had previously been on display at Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro Cornwall.

Professor Frances Wall, principal investigator for Met4Tech and Professor of Applied Mineralogy at the Camborne School of Mines at the University of Exeter, said it was a privilege to have the exhibit hosted at such an iconic venue in Cornwall.

She said: “We are very grateful to the Eden Project for hosting our exhibit, which is a very apt site given it is a former mine and a beacon of sustainability. This ties in nicely with our project which is all about the future of mining materials and the need for greater circularity in the industry.”

Met4Tech brings together world-leading researchers to maximise opportunities around the provision of technology metals from primary and secondary sources, and lead materials stewardship.

It brings together researchers from the Universities of Exeter, Birmingham, Leicester, Manchester and the British Geological Survey.

For details on opening times for the Eden Project visit https://www.edenproject.com/visit/opening-times