Scottish Executive deputy first minister, Jim Wallace, has announced a £5.1m funding package for four Scottish science centres.

The investment follows a consultancy study, which concluded that the four centres, Stratosphere in Aberdeen, Our Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, Sensation in Dundee and Glasgow Science Centre, could not survive without public funding.

The agreement is part of a two-year package, which is expected to include further contributions from the Millennium Commission and local authorities.

The Glasgow centre will also benefit from a further £1.9m from Scottish Enterprise this year. The organisation is also considering investment in the other centres for next year.

The funding will be distributed periodically over the next 24 months as the centres prove their needs and meet targets set out in agreed business plans and will be used both to support revenue and to pay for new exhibits.

Scotland’s fifth science centre, The Big Idea in Irvine – which was closed in August last year and remains held in receivership by the Millennium Commission – will not be part of the package after the study decided that it should not be reopened as the likely number of visitors would not justify the level of support required.

Other science-related centres, or new science centres which may be set up within the timescale of the new package will not qualify for funding.

Wallace said: “We recognise that the centres – like those elsewhere in the world – cannot fund themselves through visitor and private sector revenue alone. The substantial interim funding recognises the undoubted public benefits provided by the centres.

“Science and innovation are two of Scotland’s key strengths, vital ingredients for economic growth and to achieve the aims of Smart Successful Scotland.”

In 2003, the four centres attracted 584,000 paying visitors between them and a further 109,000 children visiting as part of school trips. Details: www. Scotland.gov.uk