EDUCATION | WATER TREATMENT PLANT TOURS

EPCOR Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant

Group Tours

January 2008 has seen the launch of this exciting new Discovery Centre. We are offering tours to groups wishing to see how the plant operates.

At the Discovery Centre, you will:
- Experience the treatment plant in action
- Investigate the environmental issue and remediation
- Get hands-on with ‘real’ science

What does it cost?
The fees are $6.50 per student (6 – 11 years), $8 per student (12 – 18 years), $10.50 per adult and $8 per senior citizen.

What group size can I bring?
The lower limit is 10 paid visitors. We can be slightly flexible with the upper limit of 30 people.

Can I combine parts of the Museum tour with parts of the Discovery Centre tour?
No. At this time, we are only doing full tours. However, if you are interested in gold-panning at the museum, we offer this at $3.50 per person. Explain this when booking.

How long does it take?
You will be at the Discovery Centre for around 1 hour, and around 1.5 hours in total, allowing for registration at the museum, bathroom breaks and travel with the guide to and from the Discovery Centre. If you book gold panning, this will add around 30 minutes to your booking.

What happens on the tour?
You will meet your guide at the Museum. If you are traveling by bus he/she will travel with you up to the Discovery Centre where you will hear an introduction to the tour. If your group is traveling by car, the guide will lead your ‘convoy’ there.

Please note that if you are travelling by bus, it is your bus that will be taking the students to and from the facility. If you have a double group doing both the Museum and Discovery Centre tours, the bus will need to be there to swap the students between places. You’ll go to the viewing platform to hear how the facility works, experiencing the sights and sounds of the plant in operation* before heading in to the Discovery Centre.

Once inside, depending on size, your group will be split into groups where they will explore three interactives and associated displays. The interactives have been specially designed to mimic the processes that actually happen at the facility.

- Acid Rock Drainage – use chemistry to precipitate the metals from the water (as sludge)
- Filter Press – use a filter press to remove the metal sludge from the water, leaving crystal clear water behind
- Hydropower – generate electricity with a mini-Pelton wheel to light bulbs with different efficiencies (LED, fluorescent, incandescent, halogen)

Afterwards, you’ll travel back down to the museum with the guide, where if you wish, you can visit our Gift Shop and of course use the bathroom facilities.

* We cannot guarantee that the plant will be operating at all times; on occasions, EPCOR staff must close down operations, e.g. after a power outage, or for maintenance. If your visit coincides with a lime delivery, it may mean doing the platform tour from inside (due to noise levels).

We’re a group with a special interest in the water treatment operations. Can we miss out the Discovery Centre so that we can learn more about the plant operations?
Yes this is possible. For special interest groups who want to learn about the water treatment process in depth, a plant tour can be arranged with an EPCOR operator. Call us to discuss your needs and we will liaise with EPCOR for you.

This is a working plant with chemicals and machinery. Is it safe?
Yes, absolutely. This is a modern plant, operating under strict safety regulations. Your group will only be on the designated viewing platform and in the Discovery Centre. The guide will give simple safety instructions before the tour. In the unlikely event of an operational issue where there is a risk to people, EPCOR staff will cancel the tour.

We do use polluted water and chemicals (a man-made polymer) in the Discovery Centre – it’s the best way to show how the plant works, and lets your group get hands-on with real science. Naturally we provide protective goggles and gloves, and talk about safety before their use.

How do we get to the EPCOR site?
As you meet your guide at the museum, this is not something you need to consider. If traveling by bus, the guide will direct the driver when you leave the museum. If car-pooling, the guide will lead the convoy there. Please note that if you are travelling by bus, it is your bus that will be taking the students to and from the facility. If you have a double group doing both the Museum and Discovery Centre tours, the bus will need to be there to swap the students between places.

What facilities are at the EPCOR site?
This is a working plant, so facilities for a tour group are minimal. The Discovery Centre is up a flight of outdoor stairs and so is not wheelchair accessible. There are two washrooms (female & male) and a coat rack. To have lunch whilst on your visit, you will need to coordinate this either at the museum or elsewhere in Britannia. Call us to discuss options.

You’re a museum that focuses on history. Are you competent to deliver a tour focusing on science?
Good question. Yes we are. Our Education team includes an experienced science educator who has thought very carefully about the content and delivery of this programme, and of the training of the guide(s) for this programme.

Is there anything else I should know?
We are currently in the pilot stage of this programme development, so would love to hear your feedback. We’re convinced you’ll be pleased with the Discovery centre, but know that with any pilot project, there’s room for fine-tuning.
Your group will be outside (on the viewing platform) for 5 to 10 minutes at the beginning of the tour.