Kosice, October 4, 2013 - Today, the Steel Park entertainment and technical center was officially opened, which was founded with the aim of supporting creativity within the Kosice - European Capital of Culture 2013 project. It is a result of cooperation between the city, the steelmaking company U. S. Steel Kosice and three academic institutions - the Technical University of Kosice, Slovak Academy of Sciences, and Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice.

The goal of the founders is to popularize scientific disciplines and technical schools among young people in a creative form. A unique exhibition, intended for children aged seven and over, includes over 50 exhibits on three floors with a total exhibition area of 800 m2. In the factory environment, the visitors will not only learn the "steel story", but they can also experience a number of physical processes, including mining raw materials in an interactive sand-pit, using a geological drill, walking on a footbridge in magnetic shoes, separating scrap metal by controlling an electromagnetic crane, or climbing a vertical pole with the use of their own strength. They can enjoy robotic football, speaking handles, a 3D cinema, and a lot of other original exhibits stimulating creativity and deepening knowledge, as well as responsibility for their own safety and protection of the environment.

The symbolic key to the creative factory was handed over to the City Mayor Richard Rasi by the President of the Company George F. Babcoke, who said on this occasion: "The steel story can only take place in a city whose identity is linked with the manufacture of steel products. Today, the Steel Park is ready for life as a developing organism whose future form will be based on how Kosice citizens respond to this story. The Steel Park is a display-window of the creativity and ability of people from Kosice. It will never be completed, since there will always be something to add, because there will always be something we do not know today which will be invented in the arts and in technology in the future." The hand-over of the exhibition to the City of Kosice took place in the presence of the Vice Chairman of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic, the Chief Executive of the Kosice Self-Governing Region Zdenko Trebula, and representatives of the academic institutions and the European Capital of Culture.

The creative factory called Steel Park in the premises of Kasarne/Kulturpark on Kukucinova Street in Kosice is open to the public every day from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., although schools and other larger groups can also arrange a visit between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The admission of children aged below 15 years is only possible when they are accompanied by an adult person. Current information is available at www.steelpark.sk.

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Further information:

Jan Baca
spokesman
U. S. Steel Kosice, s.r.o.
Tel.: +421 55 673 4476
Fax: +421 55 673 0330