Clean Energy Beneath Our Feet launches at Glasgow Science Centre
A new interactive exhibition has launched at Glasgow Science Centre, inspired by the work of the UK Geoenergy Observatories.
23/02/2022 By BGS Press
The UK Geoenergy Observatories team has launched a new exhibition at Glasgow Science Centre.
The Glasgow Observatory is one of two new facilities that will help shed light on how underground heat resources could warm our homes and businesses.

Visitors can learn about how resources below the ground have powered our homes, towns and industries in the past, and what’s coming up in the future.
The exhibition is called Clean Energy Beneath Our Feet and is on display now in Glasgow Science Centre’s Powering the Future zone.
Visitors can learn about how resources below the ground have powered our homes, towns and industries in the past, and what’s coming up in the future.
The exhibition was created by Glasgow Science Centre for the UK Geoenergy Observatories project.

The interactive exhibition has launched at Glasgow Science Centre and will tour science centres, museums and festivals throughout the UK. BGS © UKRI.
The UK geoenergy observatory in Glasgow has 12 boreholes that are collecting data and acting as laboratories so that we can understand whether the warm water in abandoned mines could be used to power Glasgow or other cities. It was commissioned by UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and was delivered by BGS, which runs the site and manages its data. A second observatory is proposed in Cheshire.
If we’re going to reach our net zero goals by 2050, we need a huge supply of clean energy.
This interactive exhibition examines just that and shows the major role that the subsurface will come to play in our future.
Visitors can interact with the science and technology that will shape energy in the future, touch a rock sample we took from 137 m below the surface of Glasgow and learn about the world-class science that’s taking place at the Glasgow geoenergy observatory in the east end.
Alison Robinson, NERC Deputy Executive Chair.
The new exhibition will be of interest to anyone keen to find out more about the use of geoenergy.
We designed it with the UK Geoenergy Observatories team so that it can travel to other science centres, museums and festivals in the UK, but for now it’s on show at Glasgow Science Centre.
Robin Hoyle, director of science at Glasgow Science Centre.
The Glasgow Observatory is part of a £31 million investment by the UK government through the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Find out more about the Glasgow Observatory by taking a virtual tour.
Relative topics
Related news

One year on: reflections on the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption
18/01/2023
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Volcano in January 2022 has highlighted a global unpreparedness for the impacts from large-scale global events.

New geological map of the Maltese Islands published
19/12/2022
The new map, commissioned by Malta’s Continental Shelf Department, is the first update for almost 30 years.

Work complete on 1000 solar panels at BGS
07/12/2022
More than 1000 energy-saving solar panels have been installed at BGS’s headquarters in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire.

Updated radon map for Great Britain published
02/12/2022
The UK Health Security Agency and BGS have published an updated radon potential map for Great Britain.

UK Geoenergy Observatories: time zero for net zero
30/11/2022
The BGS-led UK Geoenergy Observatories project is shining a light on the subsurface’s potential to provide geothermal energy.

BGS scientists on board research vessel in Japan in major marine research collaboration
25/11/2022
Experts from BGS’s marine team are part of a major international marine research collaboration to understand more about earthquakes associated with the Japan Trench.

BGS Strategy: public consultation
18/11/2022
We would welcome responses from anyone interested or involved in the geosciences as part of the wider consultation on our new BGS Strategy

BGS supports development of a local land-use framework for Devon
10/11/2022
The framework will help to identify data improvements to support more joined-up decision making about land use in Devon.

Deep-sea mining evidence review published
31/10/2022
The deep-sea mining independent evidence review report was commissioned by the UK Government to inform its policy in relation to deep-sea mining.

Parts of UK listed among world’s most important geological sites
25/10/2022
Parts of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have been named among 100 of the world’s most important geological sites by UNESCO and international scientists.

Film trilogy wins award and shares experiences of 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption
24/10/2022
A collaborative film trilogy co-directed by BGS Volcanologist, Dr Anna Hicks, has won the overall ‘Dynamic Earth’ Theme Award at the Earth Futures Festival 2022.

BGS joins European Geothermal Congress to highlight UK’s geothermal potential
21/10/2022
The European Geothermal Congress will discuss how the geothermal sector can help with the energy crisis.