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Full Description
The story of the revolutionary Ontario Science Centre, its iconic exhibits, and the people who made it all happen.
A Centennial project announced by Premier John Robarts in 1964, the Ontario Science Centre upended the traditional museum instruction — Don't Touch — and created a whole new category of visitor attraction. Its designers, scientists, and craftspeople developed a way to explain science to the public by building mechanical devices for visitors to touch. Exhibits like the bicycle generator, and iconic demonstrations like the electricity show that made your hair stand on end, even those long escalators in that landmark building beside a Toronto ravine inspired generations of young people to pursue careers in science.
The Ontario Science Centre also changed the way that traditional museums and art galleries now interpret their collections to the public, and helped create an industry around this thing called interactivity. Its legacy is the contribution that it made to the public understanding of science. That work is even more remarkable when you consider that it was created inside a government institution, under a cloud of senior managers of varying competencies, and politicians with changing agendas who closed its doors in the summer of 2024.
Contents
Please Touch Everything
The 60 Years of the Ontario Science Centre
One. In the Beginning (1964-1969)
A Gift to the People
The First Employees
The First Reorganization
The First Scientists
They Develop Interactive Exhibits
For the Building in the Park
Two. The Opening in September
This is Going to Be a Fun Place
A Different Approach
Other Centennial Projects
Three. What Happened Next (1969 - 1974)
Running an Institution
The White Lab Coats
Taking Science on the Road
Four. The Tuzo Years (1974 - 1985)
In Praise of Hands
A New Ministry
The First Cut in Funding
Changing Retail Narratives
Exhibits in a Recession
The China Show
Chafing With Restrictions
The Thing About 1984
Five. Years of Turmoil & Change (1985-2000)
Planning and Hiring
The Disruption
An Uneasy Calm
More Changes
Six. Under One Leader (2000 - 2014)
Shows That Travelled
The New Direction
Engaging With Communities
Those Blockbuster Shows
Selling to the World
Seven. The Later Years (2014 - 2022)
A Government Man
A Profession and Its Organizations
A Triumph for Science
Eight. In The End (2023-2024)
The Idea of a Move
The Community Fights Back
The Final Blow
Packing Up and Leaving
And So
Appendix: What a Visitor Saw
Acknowledgements
