Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos

What Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos does

Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos is a private non-profit interactive science center headquartered in Lagos, Algarve, Portugal, and a member of the national Rede de Centros Ciência Viva network. The center operates a permanent exhibition on the sea and regional geology, complemented by guided geology and paleontology tours to the dinosaur footprint sites at Praia da Salema and Praia Santa. It targets three primary customer segments — families and general public walk-in visitors, primary and secondary schools booking structured educational visits, and scientific tourists — through a freemium model with general admission free on most days and paid add-ons such as the Pack Família workshop bundle (€21).

The underlying technology and content portfolio comprises two flagship digital platforms: PaNReD, launched in 2023, which transforms Algarve's natural heritage into digital educational resources including web documentaries, digital narratives, challenges, virtual role-play scenarios, e-books, and 3D modeling of dinosaur tracks; and Scitour, also launched in 2023, a scientific tourism project that documents natural and cultural heritage across the Barlavento Algarvio region. Content production is anchored by formal collaborations with five academic and research institutions — Universidade do Algarve, Universidade de Lisboa (FCUL/IDL), Universidade do Minho, CCMar, and ICArEHB — alongside the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), the ECSITE European network, and a travel partnership with CP (Comboios de Portugal).

The business model combines walk-in admission revenue, paid family workshop packages, school-visit bookings, birthday-party services, and project-based co-financing (including the Bilheteira Solidária, a daily free-entry allocation for low-income visitors). The center employs approximately 23 staff and is governed as an independent legal entity within the broader national Ciência Viva network, with no disclosed venture, private equity, or institutional investor ownership.

Name

Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos

Legal name

Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos

Website

https://lagos.cienciaviva.pt

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos is a Portuguese non-profit interactive science center in the Algarve offering hands-on exhibits, family workshops, school programs, and scientific tourism focused on regional geology, paleontology, and marine biodiversity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Science Museum and Educational Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Geotourism & Geology/Volcano/National Monument Tours (THAAAEAG), Earth Science & Geoscience Programs (EDAMABAI), History, Heritage & Museum-Focused Study Tours (THAKAGAN)

Keywords

• Interactive science exhibits
• Science education workshops
• Scientific tourism excursions
• Geological heritage tours
• Marine biodiversity education

Headquarters

HQ city

Lagos

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. General Admission: Free entry on most days with free admission on specific dates (January 29 - anniversary, May 16 - National Scientists Day, November 24 - National Scientific Culture Day). Regular hours: Monday-Sunday 10:00-18:00.
2. Family Tickets and Workshops: Pack Família (Family Pack) combining museum entry with a choice of workshops including Monster Slime, Robot Programming, 3D Pens, Sand Worlds, and Bath Salts for 21€.
3. Bilheteira Solidária: Solidarity ticket program providing free daily entries (3 tickets per day) for individuals or families in need, ensuring science access for displaced persons and those without means.
4. Educational Visits and Workshops: Booked school visits and workshops for organized groups, including birthday parties with science activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos operates a permanent interactive science exhibition focused on the sea, geology, and paleontology of the Algarve coast, complemented by ticketed family workshop packs, guided geology and paleontology field tours, seasonal science programs (Ciência Viva no Verão), school educational programs, science-themed birthday parties, scientific tourism excursions, and digital educational platforms (PaNReD and Scitour) delivering content on regional natural heritage.

Product overview

Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos operates as a science center and museum offering a unified portfolio of visitor experiences and digital educational products. The core offering centers on the permanent interactive science exhibition complemented by ticketed family workshops and seasonal programs like Science in Summer. The center has developed two major digital platforms: PaNReD (Património Natural em Recursos Didáticos Digitais) and Scitour, which deliver digital educational content including web documentaries, interactive quizzes, digital narratives, virtual role-play simulations, and e-books exploring regional natural heritage. Additional services include guided geology and paleontology tours, science club activities, scientific tourism excursions, birthday packages, and the solidarity ticket program for accessibility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PaNReD: Património Natural transformado em Recursos didáticos Digitais (Natural Heritage transformed into Digital Educational Resources) - a project developing digital educational content about Algarve's natural heritage including geology, paleontology, biodiversity, and landscape.
• Scitour

Products and services

• Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos (Permanent Exhibition) The main interactive science exhibition combining science and technology in a fun and educational manner for visitors of all ages, with themes focused on the sea and regional geology of the Algarve. Open Monday-Sunday 10:00-18:00 with free admission on most days.
• Bilhete Família + Oficina (Family Ticket + Workshop) Combined family admission ticket with choice of one hands-on science workshop from options including Monstros Viscosos (Monster Slime), Programar Robôs (Robot Programming), Canetas 3D (3D Pens), Mundo das Areias (Sand Worlds), and Sais de Banho (Bath Salts). Priced at €21 per family pack.
• Ciência Viva no Verão (Science in Summer) Seasonal summer science program running from July 15 to September 15 each year, offering science activities and workshops for families and groups during school holidays as part of the national Ciência Viva network.
• Circuitos Ciência Viva Science tourism routes connecting educational sites and natural heritage locations across the Algarve region, promoted as part of the national Ciência Viva network.
• PaNReD (Património Natural em Recursos Didáticos Digitais) Digital educational resources project transforming natural heritage topics (sustainability, geological heritage, biodiversity, natural landscapes) into innovative digital teaching content including virtual tours, digital lessons, challenges, virtual role-plays, e-books, and web documentaries accessible via the dedicated PaNReD platform.
• Scitour Scientific tourism research project exploring and developing natural and cultural heritage of the Barlavento Algarvio region as a science tourism product, covering geology, paleontology, archaeology, and marine biodiversity.
• Guias de Geologia e Paleontologia Urbana Guided geology and paleontology tours to dinosaur tracks and geology of Praia da Salema and Praia Santa areas, including urban geology and paleontology guides of Lagos.
• Clube de Ciência (Science Club) Regular science club activities for children and families featuring hands-on experiments and discoveries, offered as a recurring program of the center.
• Turismo Científico (Scientific Tourism) Science tourism activities and excursions exploring natural and cultural heritage sites in the Lagos region, including geological and paleontological sites.
• Escola Ciência Viva de Lagos Science school program promoting active and experimental science teaching and school success, integrated with the center's educational offering for primary and secondary schools.
• Aniversários com Ciência (Science Birthdays) Birthday party packages with science-themed activities and workshops for children, organized by the science center as a private event offering.
• Bilheteira Solidária (Solidarity Tickets) Solidarity ticket program providing free daily entries (3 tickets per day) for individuals or families in need, ensuring science access for displaced persons and those without means.
• Web Documentários (Web Documentaries) Digital documentary series exploring Algarve's natural heritage including dinosaur fossils, Jurassic corals, marine fauna, and geological formations, hosted on the PaNReD platform.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Rede de Centros Ciência VivacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentro Ciência Viva de Lagos is a member of the national network of science centers, the largest network of interactive science centers in Portugal. The network was created 27 years ago by Minister Mariano Gago to promote scientific and technological culture.
• ECSITEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean network of science centers and museums, providing international collaboration and best practice sharing among science communication organizations across Europe.
• Estratégia Nacional de Educação Ambiental (APA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Portuguese Environment Agency's National Environmental Education Strategy, promoting environmental awareness and sustainable practices.
• CP - Comboios de PortugalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Portuguese national railway company providing travel benefits for visitors to science centers. Customers receive advantages on train travel when visiting Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos.
• CCMar - Centro de Ciências do MarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarine sciences research center collaborating on the SciTour project for marine biodiversity documentation and scientific tourism development.
• UALG - Universidade do AlgarvecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Algarve collaborating on SciTour project for tourism research and development of scientific tourism products for the Barlavento Algarvio region.
• ICArEHB - Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human BehaviourcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch center collaborating on archaeology components of the SciTour project, documenting the archaeological heritage of the Barlavento Algarvio region.
• Município de Vila do BispocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipality of Vila do Bispo partnering on the SciTour project, providing local support and integration with regional tourism development initiatives.
• FCUL & IDL - Faculty of Sciences University of Lisbon & Instituto Dom LuizcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Lisbon collaboration providing paleontology expertise through consultants Carlos Marques da Silva and Mário Cachão for the SciTour project.
• UMinho - Universidade do MinhocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Minho collaboration providing geology consulting through expert José Brilha for the SciTour project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês (Visitor Operations): Portugal's only national park with geotourism, geological heritage interpretation, and visitor-center programming. Comparable in the geological heritage and natural tourism angle, though managed by ICNF/government rather than as a private science center.
• Oceanário de Lisboa: Lisbon-based marine-life aquarium and education center. Overlaps with the Lagos center's marine biodiversity programming and school audiences but is a larger commercial visitor attraction in a different Portuguese geography.

Emerging players

• GeoPark Naturtejo (UNESCO Global Geopark): Portuguese UNESCO Global Geopark offering geotourism experiences including guided geological and paleontological tours. Most comparable peer to the SciTour platform in terms of combining regional geological heritage with tourism product development.
• Museo Geominero (Instituto Geológico y Minero de España): Madrid-based geology museum specializing in mineral, fossil, and geological heritage collections. Directly comparable focus on paleontology and geological tourism but primarily an exhibition venue with limited hands-on workshop programming.

Direct peers

• Pavilhão do Conhecimento - Ciência Viva: Lisbon-based flagship of the same national Rede Nacional de Centros Ciência Viva network. Directly comparable as a sister interactive science center with similar family/school/tourist audiences, workshop programming, and educational mission under identical branding.
• Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência: Lisbon's national natural history and science museum, with overlapping collections in geology, paleontology, and marine biology, plus comparable educational programming for schools and families. Closest direct competitor for natural heritage interpretation.
• Imaginarium - Centro de Ciência Viva: Porto-based interactive science center in the same Ciência Viva network. Operates with similar family workshops, school programs, and permanent exhibitions, making it a directly comparable peer for visitor programming and operational scale.

Broad incumbents

• Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie: Paris's largest science center and a European benchmark for interactive exhibits, school programs, and digital educational content. Much larger in scale but operates the same blended model of physical exhibits plus digital learning products.
• NEMO Science Museum: Amsterdam's flagship interactive science center and ECSITE member. Comparable in mission (interactive exhibits, school programs, family workshops) and visitor scale, though substantially larger; serves as a benchmark for European science center operations.
• Deutsches Museum: Munich's renowned science and technology museum. Comparable in core mission (interactive science education, school programs, regional heritage emphasis) though substantially larger and globally recognized, with similar workshop and exhibition formats.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centro-ci%C3%AAncia-viva-de-lagos

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos