Parramatta Powerhouse gets $30 million from Walker family, Western Sydney University
Parramatta Powerhouse Museum has been gifted a $30 million donation towards developing budding Australian innovators, scientists and entrepreneurs.
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The Parramatta Powerhouse Museum has secured a historic $30 million donation from the Walker Family Foundation and Western Sydney University to deliver programs that will deliver “world class immersive science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education experiences” for more than 10,000 high school students from western Sydney and regional NSW.
The foundation donated $20 million — the second largest donation to any western Sydney institution in history — and the remainder comes from the university to deliver the programs for students and teachers at the Lang Walker Family Academy.
The academy will educate students on STEM subjects and include overnight stays for regional visitors.
The announcement for the museum was made at Walker Corporation’s $3.2 billion Parramatta Square project on Friday.
Powerhouse chief executive officer Lisa Havilah said the academy programs would start in 2022 and involve schools from the Blacktown, Parramatta, Campbelltown, Liverpool, Bankstown and Penrith local government areas.
“There are hundreds of thousands of western Sydney and regional students who don’t receive the same exposure to arts and education programs that young people in other areas do,’’ she said.
“The Lang Walker Family Academy will deliver experiences for these young people that will not only spark their creativity but pave the way to genuine STEM careers in the future.’’
Arts Minister Don Harwin said the academy would be a “new home for science and technology, an internationally important museum in which to show the public more of the Powerhouse collection than has ever been possible before”.
“This commitment will fund access to a world-class, immersive STEM education experience for over 10,000 high school students from western Sydney and regional NSW every year.
“Powerhouse Parramatta is a museum built with ambition and a new cultural landmark not only for western Sydney but for all of NSW and Australia.’’
Western Sydney University will embed researchers in Powerhouse Parramatta including an annual scholar in residence and use museum spaces for STEM-related education opportunities.
The Walker Family Foundation has devoted $50 million to western Sydney over the past two years alone in education, culture, health and medical research.
The $915 million museum is due to be completed by the end of 2024.
It has been hailed as a major win for western Sydney but heritage advocates opposed the museum on the Phillip St site after the historic, heritage-listed Willow Grove was “relocated’’ to make way for the landmark, which has been labelled a “milk crate on stilts”.
Willow Grove is an Italianate 1870s property that was once used as a maternity hospital
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