| Ontario Science Centre | |
| Map Type: | Canada Toronto |
| Former Name: | Centennial Museum of Science and Technology |
| Location: | 770 Don Mills Road Toronto, Ontario M3C 1T3 |
| Type: | Science centre |
| Accreditation: | Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) |
| Visitors: | 900,225[1] |
| Ceo: | Paul Kortenaar |
| Chairperson: | John Carmichael |
| Architect: | Raymond Moriyama |
| Owner: | Government of Ontario |
| Publictransit: |
|
| Parking: | Paid parking on site |
The Ontario Science Centre (OSC; originally the Centennial Museum of Science and Technology) is a science museum organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its original main location, which was permanently closed to the public on June 21, 2024, was located near the Don Valley Parkway about 11km (07miles) northeast of downtown on Don Mills Road in the former city of North York. It was built down the side of a wooded ravine formed by one branch of the Don River located in Flemingdon Park.
On April 23, 2023, Premier of Ontario Doug Ford announced the Ontario government's general plan to replace the Ontario Science Centre with a smaller institution on the Toronto waterfront on the Ontario Place site, which is scheduled to open in 2028.[2] [3] The proposal has aroused significant opposition.[2] [3] [4]
An engineering report[5] released on June 21, 2024 found that 2-6% of the roofs were at high risk of collapsing during the winter and recommended repairs, but did not recommend closing the building. The same day, the Ford government announced that the site would be closed immediately and permanently, without attempting repairs due to the pending relocation. During construction of the new location, the centre will operate a temporary location and pop-up programming. The decision to close the Don Mills site instead of repairing it was met with significant opposition.[6]
Planning for the Science Centre started in 1961 during Toronto's massive expansion of the late 1950s and 1960s.[7] In August 1964, Premier of Ontario John Robarts announced the creation of the Centennial Centre of Science and Technology as a Centennial Project.[8] 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.[9]
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.[10] The official opening was held on the morning of September 27 and attended by VIPs, and was followed by opening to 30,000 invited guests in early afternoon. It opened to the general public on September 28, drawing 9,000 visitors. Its advertising slogan at launch was "Come see what would happen if Albert Einstein and Walt Disney had gotten together."
The buildings and design were part of a broader change in Canadian architecture,[11]
When it first opened, the Science Centre was a pioneer for its hands-on approach to science, along with San Francisco's Exploratorium and the Michigan Science Center in Detroit. Unlike a traditional museum, where exhibits are for viewing only, the majority of the exhibits at the Science Centre were interactive, while many others were live demonstrations (e.g. metalworking). The Communications room contained a number of computerized displays, including a very popular tic-tac-toe game, run on a PDP-11 minicomputer.
By 1974, it hosted about 250,000 students on field trips annually.[11]
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.[12] The Ontario Science Centre later amended the contract to specify that all goods sold to Oman would be produced in North America.[13] The centre's Director General Mark Abbott was later fired for knowingly signing the original contract.[14]
In 2001, the Centre embarked on a capital 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 2007, culminating with the opening of the Weston Family Innovation Centre and the Teluscape plaza.[15]
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.[16]
Due to structural decay, which required 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 main exhibit area at the bottom of a ravine.[17] [18] The detour used Mercedes and Ford custom-built minibuses. No plans to rebuild or replace the decayed bridge had been announced by the time of the site closure.
On April 18, 2023, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, announced the provincial government's plan to replace the existing Science Centre with a new facility on the Toronto waterfront. This location would be on the grounds of Ontario Place, a former theme park.[19] The relocation plan has triggered widespread backlash from many community and professional groups. The proposed new location would be substantially smaller than the current one, requiring the Science Centre to downsize and potentially remove certain exhibits.[20] Moreover, the relocation would force Line 5 Eglinton's yet-to-be-opened Science Centre station to change its name.[21]
The municipal government of Toronto strongly opposes the Ontario provincial demolition plans, and is investigating alternative ways to continue museum operations in the current location. The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO) and Toronto Society of Architects (TSA) have issued separate statements opposing the demolition of the original buildings.[22] A grassroots group called Save Ontario's Science Centre has held rallies and launched a letter campaign for the Ontario government to reverse its decision.[23]
In December 2023, the Auditor General of Ontario concluded that the government's relocation 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".[24]
On June 21, 2024, the Ministry of Infrastructure announced that the Science Centre's Don Mills location was to be closed effective immediately. An engineering report [25] made public the same day had concluded that 2-6% of the buildings' roofs had been compromised due to water ingress. The report included a recommendation to restrict access to occupied spaces below the compromised roof panels, followed by reinforcement or replacement by October 31. In addition to the emergency repairs, a full repair to the roofs would require at least two years of additional repairs at a minimum budget of $22 million.[26] Safety concerns about the roof material in question, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which constitutes 57% of the Science Centre's roof,[27] had caused the temporary or permanent closure of hundreds of buildings in the United Kingdom in 2023. Approximately 400 public buildings across Ontario contain the material; the OSC buildings are the only buildings in the province that have been closed over such concerns to date, and no other closures were anticipated at the time of the OSC announcement.[28]
Instead of repairs, the Ford government said it would focus on its previously-announced plans to relocate the centre to Ontario Place, with a scheduled opening date of 2028, and thus close the Don Mills facility immediately. The province said it would seek a temporary location to host the centre, with a current target opening date of January 2026.[29] [30] The decision to close the Don Mills site instead of repairing it was met with significant opposition by community leaders, Moriyama Teshima Architects (the architectural firm founded by the Centre's designer), and Ford's political opponents.[31] At least three donors with connections to science and technology, including Geoffrey Hinton, have made donation offers of up to $1 million to cover the costs of the emergency repairs, while Moriyama Teshima Architects offered to provide consulting services related to the repairs at no charge.[32] [33] [34], the province has yet to directly respond to these offers, but is releasing a report on July 11.[35]
Designed in the early 1960s, the original buildings incorporate Brutalist designs. The building complex is made up of three main buildings connected by a series of bridges and escalators set in a parkland of over 100acres. 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". They follow the natural contours of the Don River ravine, into which the Centre descends. Ontario's only IMAX Dome theatre opened in 1996.
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.[36]
For most of the time since opening in 1969, the Science Centre has hosted a demonstration amateur radio station.[37] Formerly located in the Hall of Space, the station has since been relocated to Level 4 of the Centre, next to the elevator.[38] The station has the call sign "VE3OSC",[39] and licensed amateur radio operators volunteer there daily from 10 am to 3 pm.
.