THE Science Museum has today taken another step towards winning millions of pounds by making its final application to the Big Lottery Fund's Living Landmarks: The People's Millions competition.

The £64m Inspired project is one of six schemes hoping to win between £25m and £50m, with the public deciding the winner in an ITV vote.

Inspired's aim is to make science interesting to everyone, while highlighting environmental challenges facing the planet.

The money would see a complete overhaul of the 545-acre site that would allow people to see up to 250,000 exhibits and learn about their place in human progress.

Visitors will be able to spend days immersing themselves in science, through designing and building robots, hot air balloons, or a solar-powered car, and enjoying interactive shows, acrobatics, and displays in cutting-edge arenas.

The Science Museum's national director Martin Earwicker said: "Our final application for Inspired is in and we can't wait to share our vision, win the vote and ultimately secure the funding for the future of the project.

"Inspired truly is a national treasure - housing irreplaceable pieces of science history and science future that belong to and should be accessible to everyone nationwide.

"Inspired is about making science fun and inspiring future generations of scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs to step up to the challenges of our world."

The Science Museum hopes to raise £17m from other sources.

The Living Landmarks committee will meet in the autumn to decide which projects will make it to the television vote.

Inspired is up against several schemes, including one in Sherwood Forest, one at the Eden Project in Cornwall and a bid to create an urban park in the Black Country. The programme will give a grant of between £25m and £50m and a smaller number of awards of between £10m and £25m.