Ontario Science Centre
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The Ontario Science Centre (OSC; originally the Centennial Museum of Science and Technology) is a science museum and organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The institution was proposed in 1967 as part of Toronto’s Canadian Centennial projects, and its original location opened to the public in September 1969. After decades of use, the original Don Mills Road site closed in 2024. The museum currently runs a small display space in Sherway Gardens mall, awaiting the creation of a permanent location.
The original site was located near the Don Valley Parkway about Template:Convert northeast of downtown on Don Mills Road in the former city of North York. The museum was built on the side of a ravine formed by a branch of the Don River.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It comprised a series of buildings at different levels on the steep hill, connected by long escalators. Large windows provided views of the surrounding forest. Exhibits included a simulation of the LEM landing on the Moon, a tic-tac-toe game played against a computer, and a simulated hot cell. The museum also had an outreach program which included touring vans that visited schools around the province.
By the late 1980s, many of the original exhibits were still in use. In 1996 a redesigned entranceway was opened, which contained an Omnimax theatre. Beginning in 2001, a redesign started, funded by a mix of public and private capital, which was completed in 2007.
In 2023, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a government plan to replace the Ontario Science Centre with a smaller institution on the Toronto waterfront.<ref name="Bozikovic">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Walton">Template:Cite web</ref> The following year in 2024, the government announced that the Don Mills location would close permanently after an engineering report identified a high risk of roof collapse.<ref name="cbc-closure"/> These two announcements drew public opposition and scepticism.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Jones2024"/>
History
Construction and opening
Planning for the Science Centre started in 1961 during Toronto's expansion in the late 1950s and 1960s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In August 1964, Premier of Ontario John Robarts announced the creation of the Centennial Centre of Science and Technology as a Centennial Project.<ref name="Bradburn">Template:Cite web</ref> Toronto architect Raymond Moriyama was hired to design the site. Construction started in 1966 with plans to open the Centennial Centre of Science and Technology as part of the Canadian Centennial celebrations in 1967.<ref name="Archives: Tourism in Ontario">Template:Cite web</ref>
However, construction was not completed in 1967, and the Science Centre did not open to the public until two years later, on September 26, 1969.<ref name="40 years of innovation">Template:Cite web</ref> The official opening was held on the morning of September 27 and attended by VIPs, followed by an opening to 30,000 invited guests in the early afternoon.<ref name="Bradburn" /> It opened to the general public on September 28, drawing 9,000 visitors.<ref name="Bradburn" /> Its advertising slogan at launch was "Come see what would happen if Albert Einstein and Walt Disney had gotten together."<ref name="Bradburn" />
The buildings and design were part of a wider change in Canadian architecture,<ref>Template:Cite web Last Updated: June 29, 2016</ref> and remain an example of the brutalist style.<ref name="Walton"/>
When it first opened, the Science Centre was known for its hands-on approach to science, along with San Francisco's Exploratorium and the Michigan Science Center in Detroit. The majority of the exhibits at the Science Centre were interactive, while others were live demonstrations such as metalworking. The Communications room contained a number of computerized displays, including a tic-tac-toe game, run on a PDP-11 minicomputer.
By 1974, it hosted around 250,000 students on field trips annually.<ref name=Omand>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Operations from 1990 to 2022
In 1990, the Ontario Science Centre announced a contract with Oman to design a children's museum. The Ontario Science Centre had agreed to boycott Israeli goods and services while under contract.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Ontario Science Centre later amended the contract to specify that all goods sold to Oman would be produced in North America.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The centre's Director, General Mark Abbott, was later fired for signing the original contract.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2001, the Centre began a project called "Agents of Change," which focused on innovation and renewed about 85% of the Centre's public space, including the creation of seven new experience areas. The Centre received $47.5 million in contributions from the government of Ontario, private sector companies, and individuals. The "Agents of Change" transformation was completed in 2007, culminating in the opening of the Weston Family Innovation Centre and the Teluscape plaza.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, the Science Centre received $500,000 from the Government of Canada to promote COVID-19 vaccine uptake among children and their families.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Facility decay, replacement plans, and closure
Due to structural decay, which required the closing of the pedestrian bridge leading to the exhibits, a shuttle bus line ran from 2023 until the Don Mills site's closure, bringing people from the main entrance to Level 6, the site of the main exhibit area at the bottom of a ravine.<ref name="Map">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The detour used Mercedes and Ford custom-built minibuses. No plans to repair or replace the bridge had been announced by the time of the site’s closure.
On April 18, 2023, Premier Doug Ford announced the provincial government's plan to relocate the Science Centre to a new facility on Toronto's waterfront, specifically the grounds of Ontario Place.<ref name="Bozikovic"/><ref name="Walton" /><ref name="Morrell">Template:Cite news</ref> This announcement was met with widespread public backlash due to concerns about potential downsizing and exhibit losses.<ref name="Bozikovic" /><ref name="Walton" /><ref name="Micallef">Template:Cite news</ref> Both the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario and the Toronto Society of Architects condemned the relocation plans,<ref name="Lam2023">Template:Cite web</ref> while the grassroots group Save Ontario's Science Centre organized rallies and campaigns to reverse the government's decision.<ref name="Donahue">Template:Cite web</ref> Toronto City Council also sought to keep the Science Centre at its original location.<ref name="Jeffords">Template:Cite news</ref>
In December 2023, the Auditor General of Ontario concluded that the government's decision "was not fully informed and based on preliminary and incomplete costing information, and had proceeded without full consultation from key stakeholders or a clear plan for the existing site".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On June 21, 2024, the Ministry of Infrastructure announced the immediate and permanent closure of the Don Mills location, citing an engineering report revealing water damage affecting 2-6% of the building's roofs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The report estimated that repairs would cost at least $22 million and take two years to complete.<ref name="torstar-closure">Template:Cite web</ref> Safety concerns about the roof material in question, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC),<ref name="Lam2024">Template:Cite web</ref> had caused the temporary or permanent closure of hundreds of buildings in the United Kingdom in 2023.<ref name="torstar-closure" /> While roughly 400 public buildings in Ontario contain RAAC, the Science Centre is currently the only one in the province closed due to these concerns.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Ford government expedited its plan to relocate the Science Centre to the waterfront, targeting a 2028 opening, with a temporary location slated for January 2026.<ref name="cbc-closure">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="cp-rfp">Template:Cite web</ref> This drew further criticism, including from Moriyama Teshima Architects, the firm founded by the Science Centre's original architect.<ref name="Jones2024">Template:Cite web</ref> Private donors, including Geoffrey Hinton, offered up to $1 million to fund repairs for the existing facility,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but the province did not respond to these offers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Temporary locations and original site uncertainty
By October 31, 2024, most of the exhibits had been moved to storage facilities in Northern Toronto and Guelph, while the animals and plants had been transferred to the Toronto Zoo and The Village at Black Creek. Temporary pop-up exhibits have since opened at Sherway Gardens and Toronto's Harbourfront Centre.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
In December 2024, the Auditor General of Ontario questioned the financial prudence of the relocation. Contrary to the Ford government's business plan analysis, which projected $257 million in savings over 50 years, the AG found that relocation costs have already exceeded the anticipated savings, reaching approximately $400 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In May 2025, Canadian Architect magazine reported that draft versions of the structural engineering report by Rimkus which were relied on by the Ontario government to close the centre had originally recommended routine repairs and not closure, up until May 2024.<ref name="Lam2025">Template:Cite news</ref> This revelation was added to earlier reporting from Global News that Infrastructure Ontario had been in frequent communication with Rimkus in the leadup to the public release of the report in June 2024, and led the magazine to conclude that the language describing the consequences of not doing the routine repair that was later used to justify the closure had been inserted after political pressure.<ref name="Lam2025"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Asof, more than a year after the closure, the plans for a replacement facility have been pushed back to 2029 without any solid plans for a temporary location. Employees have also reported issues regarding rodent problems at the Science Centre's exhibit storage building and new mailing address, working from home concerns, and staff demoralization from the closure's ongoing effects.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Asof, the area around the Science Centre is being developed for the upcoming Ontario Line, which will pass nearby in an overhead track. The station for the line and for Line 5 Eglinton that were originally to be known as "Science Centre station" have been renamed to "Don Valley Station". Security presence, as well as construction and repairs on the roof of the building have also been noticedTemplate:Clarify, all still with no clear plan from the province for what will become of the building.
Grounds
Building
Designed in the early 1960s, the original buildings are in the Brutalist architectural style. The building complex is made up of three main buildings connected by a series of bridges and escalators set in a parkland of over Template:Convert.<ref name="Omand"/>Template:Rp The buildings were constructed while avoiding removal or damage to the mature trees in the area, so that "the buildings seem to fit naturally into their environment".<ref name="Omand" />Template:Rp They follow the natural contours of the Don River ravine, into which the Centre descends. Ontario's only IMAX Dome theatre opened in 1996.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
The Great Hall is an event venue at the Ontario Science Centre and is home to Cloud, a massive, computer-controlled kinetic sculpture by Toronto installation artist David Rokeby, which consists of an array of blue and transparent squares that rotate in various ways to simulate the three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
For most of the time since opening in 1969, the Science Centre has hosted a demonstration amateur radio station.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Formerly located in the Hall of Space, the station was later relocated to Level 4 of the Centre, next to the elevator.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The station has the call sign "VE3OSC",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and licensed amateur radio operators volunteer there daily from 10 am to 3 pm.
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Buildings connected by escalator
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Front entrance lobby
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Valley Restaurant with large windows
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Amateur radio in level 3
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The Great Hall enclosed Cloud, a kinetic sculpture by David Rokeby; this installation has been removed.Template:Cn
Plaza
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Lotic Meander by Stacy Levy is an outdoor installation in polished and blasted granite and cast glass set into the solar terrace of the Ontario Science Centre. The work depicts the patterns of water as it moves through a stream bed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2007, the Ontario Science Centre unveiled the Teluscape Exploration Plaza, providing several interactive exhibits adjacent to the science centre's exterior main entrance.
FUNtain Aquatic Play
As originally built, the Science Centre had a large fountain area directly in front of the entranceway, located to create a traffic roundabout. The fountain virtually screened views of the building from the street, and provided cooling for the building.<ref name=Omand />Template:Rp The original water fountain has been rejuvenated to provide a more welcoming and accessible entrance to the Science Centre. The new plaza, named "Teluscape", was designed by Reich + Petch Architects and EDA Collaborative. It opened to the public on September 20, 2006, and is accessible 24 hours a day.
The new fountain is a hydraulophone, designed by installation artist Steve Mann. It is a hydraulic-action pipe organ which can be played by anyone walking into the space. Blocking the flow of any of the 57 water jets in the fountain redirects the water to a corresponding organ pipe, where it makes a loud sound as the water is forced out through the speaking mouth of the pipe. The lowest 12 notes in each pipe division of the organ are visible as pipes arranged in a circle. The North Division consists of stopped hydrapasons (similar to diapasons but running on water rather than air), whereas the South Division pipes are open at both ends (sound emerges from the ends rather than from a mouth as with the North pipes). The North organ console consists of 12 water jets, whereas the south console consists of 45 water jets.
The organ is supplied with water from three Pentair pumps, supplying water at a rate of Template:Convert, each by way of a Template:Convert diameter water line. Air is supplied from three Ingersol Rand four-cylinder air compressors, each is equipped with a Template:Convert motor. Since the instrument runs on both air and water, it may be regarded as a hybrid hydraulophone and pneumatophone, but because it is played by blocking water jets rather than air holes, it is principally a hydraulophone.
The fountain must be shut down and drained to avoid freezing damage during the cold season. On November 21, 2007, the aquatic play facility was temporarily switched from water operation to air operation, effectively becoming perhaps one of the first pneumatic-play facilities, where visitors can play among a fountain of air jets. In this mode of operation, the fountain becomes a wind instrument. The hydraulophone may not be operational during the winter months.
Template:As of, the hydraulophone has not been operational, due to algae buildup, leaks, and pump problems.
Exhibitions
The Science Centre has hosted many travelling exhibits since its opening. In 1982, the exhibition China: 7,000 Years of Discovery broke all attendance records and attracted more than 1.5 million visitors.<ref name=autogenerated1>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2003, the Strange Matter exhibition opened,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and the Body Worlds 2 exhibition attracted almost half a million visitors over five months when it came to the Centre in 2005.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> The exhibition Facing Mars ran in 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Centre hosted Harry Potter: The Exhibition, a collection of props from the film series in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Leonardo da Vinci's Workshop (2011) featured physical models of da Vinci's inventions, built from drawings in his Codices. It also included interactive touch-screen digital reproductions of his Codices, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Circus: The Exhibition ran in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Game On 2.0, a video game history exhibition, ran March 9 to September 2, 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In June 2014, the Centre welcomed The Science of Rock 'N' Roll, which explores how advances in science and technology have revolutionized music. The exhibition features eight areas that comprise different interactive components, historical artifacts, informational walls, documentary videos and more.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The exhibition was followed by In Knowledge We Trust (October 4 to December 7, 2014), which explored the role trust plays in making us willing to share or use the knowledge we receive.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
During summer 2015, the Centre hosted MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition, based on the popular television series MythBusters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On June 4, 2016, the Centre hosted a one-day exhibit promoting the Nintendo 3DS game Kirby: Planet Robobot, which also featured activities pertaining to the Kirby video game series and a visit by a performer in a full Kirby costume.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2017, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada, the Centre opened the exhibition Canada 150: Discovery Way, featuring Canadian stories behind transformational inventions and innovations.
Permanent galleries and exhibits
The science centre has several hundred interactive and passive permanent exhibits, featuring geology, the science of nature (in the west wing), astronomical science, how to play music and technology in the south wing, human anatomy, communication and bias, and some miscellaneous artifacts of science.
A Question of Truth
A Question of Truth is an exhibit that explores the methodologies, biases, and beliefs of scientific research setup in 2000. The exhibit provides visitors an opportunity to test controversial theories.<ref name=perm>Template:Cite web</ref>
AstraZeneca Human Edge
The AstraZeneca Human Edge replaced the original human anatomy gallery, opened in December 2013 with sponsorship from AstraZeneca. In addition to detailing anatomy, the exhibit explores the possibilities of the human body with activities to simulate the experiences of adventure-seekers, elite athletes, and extreme-sports enthusiasts. There are more than 80 exhibits in the hall, which were all developed and built by the Science Centre's staff with input from more than 120 neuroscience, physiology, bio-mechanics and sports medicine experts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The exhibit also features a climbing wall.<ref name=perm/>
Cohon Family Nature Escape
The Cohon Family Nature Escape is an outdoor exhibit, situated within the Don River valley to the rear of the science centre. The exhibit features a giant Baltimore oriole nest, concrete wall canvas for moss graffiti, and a playground slide made from a fallen 125-year-old eastern white pine.<ref name=perm/>
Forest Lane
Forest Lane houses a number of trees and tree trunks from across Canada. The exhibit includes a 464-year-old Douglas fir, with markings on its growth rings denoting notable world events during the tree's lifetime.<ref name=perm/>
KidSpark
KidSpark is a designated space for children eight and under to explore and learn through play. The exhibition was opened in 2003.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The exhibition also has a rolling ball machine built by George Rhoads, and a music studio.<ref name=perm/>
Living Earth
The Living Earth hosts simulated environments around the world, including rainforests, coral reefs, and caves, including live animals. It was opened in 1993.
Science Arcade
The Science Arcade is amongst the oldest exhibits at the science centre, having been a permanent fixture in the building since its opening in 1969. The Science Arcade houses a number of "arcade-styled" games.<ref name=perm/>
Space Hall and the Planetarium
The Space Hall was refurbished in the late 2000s and features meteorites from Mars and one of the few Moon rocks on public display in Canada. The Ontario Science Centre also holds Toronto's only operating public planetarium, since McLaughlin Planetarium was closed in 1995.
Weston Family Innovation Centre
The Weston Family Innovation Centre is an exhibit designed to encourage experimentation, and features exhibits that allow visitors to prototype a new type of shoe, and to test their aviation abilities.<ref name=perm/> The Weston Family Innovation Centre houses Pipe Dreams by Bruce Shapiro, a bubble art installation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Gallery
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Rock Paper Science Hall (Level 6)
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The Living Earth (Level 6)
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A raccoon at the Cohon Family Nature Escape. The outdoor exhibit is located behind the science centre, within the Don Valley.
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Shergottite, a Martian meteorite
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Science School
The Ontario Science Centre Science School (OSCSS) offers grade 12 University Preparation courses in STEM subjects: physics, biology, chemistry, calculus, and advanced functions. All students also complete an interdisciplinary studies credit in science communication while enrolled with the OSCSS. The credits are issued by either the Toronto District School Board or the Toronto Catholic District School Board, which also fund the program so it is available at no cost to students from anywhere in Ontario. While at the Science Centre, students earn practicum hours through volunteering and interacting with visitors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Governance
As a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Science Centre is overseen by trustees appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, who selects<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> not fewer than sixteen and not more than twenty-six trustees, and designates one of them as chair and another as vice-chair.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Meetings are held four times a year, and trustees serve for a term not exceeding three years but may be reappointed for one or more terms.
Affiliations
The Ontario Science Centre is affiliated with the Canadian Museums Association (CMA), Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), and Virtual Museum of Canada. The Ontario Science Centre is a member of the international Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC).
Cultural references
Ontario Science Centre was used by David Cronenberg as a location for his 1970 film Crimes of the Future.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Media
The Ontario Science Centre was featured on the Rick Mercer Report in 2016.<ref>Archived at GhostarchiveTemplate:Cbignore and the Wayback MachineTemplate:Cbignore: Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> In his CBC news satire program, Rick Mercer visited numerous scientists' exhibits, took part in a wildlife conservation show, and partook in a psychological fear study during a workshop there.
The Grand Hall of the centre was used as an airport terminal in episode 5 of the miniseries Station Eleven.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>The creative team of the series expressed their desire for the building to be saved in the aftermath of its closure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The controversy surrounding the closure and politics behind it would be portrayed in a May 2025 episode of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, with mention of the closure of a science centre called "The Toronto Centre of Science."<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>
See also
References
External links
- Template:Official website
- Opening of Teluscape, 2006 Sept. 20th, including audiovisual recording of the water pipe organ
- How to play in/on the Science Centre's South fountain
- "Ontario Science Centre", part of Centennial Ontario, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website
Template:Toronto landmarks Template:Museums and galleries in Toronto Template:ONGovDept Template:Authority control
- Pages with broken file links
- Brutalist architecture in Canada
- Canadian Centennial
- Crown corporations of Ontario
- Museums in Toronto
- North York
- Science museums in Canada
- Raymond Moriyama buildings
- Museums established in 1969
- Science and technology in Toronto
- Association of Science-Technology Centers member institutions
- Amateur radio
- 1969 establishments in Ontario