They closed the Science Center before I could say goodbye

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The Ontario Science Center opened on September 26, 1969. It was a Friday. I was eight weeks shy. So you can forgive my young self for later thinking it was built specifically for me. Just a short bus ride from my home in Scarborough, the Science Center was a teacher, sometimes babysitter and, in a strange way, even a friend.

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Of course, school taught me chemistry, physics, mathematics. But the Science Center provided the miracle. It started with that incredible building, designed by renowned architect Raymond Moriyama, who died just last year at the age of 93.

The style was mostly brutalist – think lots of thick concrete – but it was also unexpectedly airy, with vast rooms and high ceilings. A long pedestrian bridge, once decorated with royal blue carpets, offered wonderful views across the Don valley. Three escalators featured inserted bird calls and the real thing outside the windows, reminding visitors that here was a rare man-made structure that insinuated rather than imposed itself on the landscape, emerging into the environment rather than above it. It was a weird philosophical theme, great for a site dedicated to the power of science.

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And oh, the science he possessed. On the upper levels, the halls of Earth, Space and Molecule. A huge world map would pop up in three dimensions to show the relative rainfall in different locations. A tongue-in-cheek video examined all the weird chemical additives in modern foods. You could sit in a booth that would “freeze” your shadow on the wall; drink chemically pure water; and watch a laser burn through a piece of wood.

Those long escalators led to even more themed rooms. Canadian Resources, with miniature models of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Far North community of Inuvik. Transport, where you could test your steering wheel reaction times, watch a hydrofoil model lift off the water and learn about the Canadian-made Mosquito fighter aircraft. Communication, flanked by a pair of parabolic dishes that would carry a whisper to someone across the room.

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Then there was the Science Arcade – half classroom, half playground. Here you’d find bicycle-powered radios and lights, soundproof rooms that housed theremins, drums and synthesizers, and a warped room that made you appear to grow to ridiculous heights as you moved through it.

I remember fine-tuning my motor skills there by tracing a star shape while looking at it in a mirror and learning how to estimate the exact passage of 60 seconds. (I’m still pretty good at it.)

Tiny theaters dotted the Science Center, offering all sorts of incredible facts. IBM’s “Mathematics Peepshow” introduced topology, symmetry, and doubling power. (Put one grain of wheat on the first square of a chessboard, two on the second, four on the third, then eight, 16, 32, and so on, and you will eventually have enough wheat to stretch to to the star Alpha Centauri and back, several times.)

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The movie Powers of Ten unlocked the relative dimensions of things in the universe, from the structure of the atom to that of galaxies. Clay or The Origin of Species wasn’t really science, but it featured fun claymation backed by a groovy jazz quartet. Not everything has to teach you something.

But the Science Center taught. This building was where I discovered the Doppler effect, orbital mechanics, optical illusions, chaos theory, water filtration, genetics, fractals, biofeedback, harmonic resonance, papermaking, relative motion frames, logic gates, holography, electroplating, rubber manufacturing , digital data preservation (the BBC’s Domesday Project, not to mention CDs) optical fibres, spectroscopy, multiplexing, cosmic background radiation and an early chatbot called ELIZA, circa 1985. You typed something and she said a variant “Tell me more! “

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Many of these memories are from the early days of the Science Center, and not all of the exhibits were there at the end. But I’ve enjoyed many of the changes over the years and brought my kids to explore the OMNIMAX theater offerings, KidSpark, the lush rainforest, the tunnel of silence (what a treat for a parent!), the paper airplane wind tunnel , state-of-the-art materials and the human biology room. Temporary exhibits over the years have included a Star Trek show, MythBusters, weather science, and a display of retro video games that clearly influenced my oldest child, whose room is now full of them.

Things change. But if you had told me during one of my many visits to the Science Center in the 1980s that it would be closing suddenly in the mid-2020s, I would have shook my head and asked if it was due to the fallout from the atomic wars. . And if you had then said no, it was because of the potential roof collapse from the heavy snow – on the first full day of summer, no less – I would have scoffed at you and called you crazy. I mean, I’m not an engineer, but I’ve spent many hours in the Engineering Room. Find a way to fix this iconic location, for the love of science. Keep it there so future generations can explore the land, the building and the knowledge within. Can he build a subway line to it?

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Also, a city like Toronto without a science centre? They might as well tell me the planetarium is closing too. (It did, in 1995. And while its shell remains on Queen’s Park, weathered and peeling, there are no immediate plans to revive it. The Science Center is slated to be revived at Ontario Place, but not before 2028.)

The Ontario Science Center closed on June 21, 2024. It was a Friday. I was just shy of 55 years old. So you can forgive the old me for thinking it was done to me on purpose. Just a short drive from my home in Toronto, the Science Center was a teacher, sometimes babysitter, and in a strange way, even a friend. And I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.

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