3 ms·

> claim the roof of the science centre is at risk of collapsing.. the same year that he is proposing to move the science centre to Ontario Place.. "to support a

> claim the roof of the science centre is at risk of collapsing.. the same year that he is proposing to move the science centre to Ontario Place.. "to support a private foreign spa company".. allows public infrastructure to fall apart in order to advance private interests.. "Closing a world-class science and cultural institution is heartbreaking".. "The [province] could have invested in revitalizing the Science Centre, but instead it's using our public money to concoct a sham business case against this important community hub" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Science_Centre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Science_Centre When it first opened [in 1969], 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. Over 50 years, the Ontario Science Centre has introduced hundreds of thousands of students to scientific principles via interactive exhibits. It will now be replaced by a commercial theme park in a tourism venue, rather than serving local students via the new Science Center subway station. The Ontario Science Centre Science School (OSCSS) offers grade 12 University Preparation courses in STEM subjects.. [and] an interdisciplinary studies credit in science communication.. the program.. 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.. Ontario Science Centre was used by David Cronenberg as a location for his 1970 film Crimes of the Future. Does Canada not have a tech lobby that can outbid construction boondogglers, to defend the next generation of tech talent? Alternately, the US tech lobby could defend the Ontario Science Centre, as part of a talent supply chain that leads to U of Waterloo and subsequent engineering labor pipeline to US tech companies. If the Ontario Science Center and future labor pool must be sacrificed, can they at least fetch a higher price at the altar of special interests?

frfl 2y ago
Was one of those 250,000 kids. The only real vivid memory I have left of that unfortunately was seeing a Tour de France documentary in the IMAX screen they have. That was really incredible. Haven't really followed the story closely, but quite sad to see it getting (forcefully?) shutdown like this.
- Scoundreller 2y ago
  And it’s a real IMAX dome screen, not the diluted version that gets the stamp these days.
  - mcphage 2y ago
    I’m just glad I got to take my kids to the museum and watch a movie on the dome last year before it closed.
    - xattt 2y ago
      It wasn’t the full experience of the OSC that we had as kids. The walk across the bridge (also closed over structural concerns) and the gradual descent over the course of your visit into the Don Valley subconsciously tied science with the natural world. The last half-decade, it was a shell of what it was.
      - mcphage 2y ago
        I agree with you, taking the bus down to the bottom was pretty lame.
hervature 2y ago
I was part of OSCSS. I come from rural Ontario and this was the first time I was really exposed to other people with the hacker ethos. Tried to bootstrap a company with a friend met at the school but two 18 year olds trying to partner with enterprises went as well as you would expect. Did not know YC was a thing until a couple of years later.
walterbell 2y ago
The original vision, via https://savesciencecentre.com https://savesciencecentre.com “The centre must be a place for everyone – not cater to 12 specialists and ignore 12,000 others. It must initially give a sense of self-possession, It must arouse curiosity. It must lead to understanding , not just knowledge. It must be a place of wonder. It must give immeasurable qualities of comfort and joy and discovery with others. It must inspire the visitor with ideas through active participation. It must be an emotional experience, with intellectual satisfaction and it must be fun”. Since 1969: 52 million visitors 9 million students With the [SF] Exploratorium.. inspired a global science museum movement with over 3,000 science centres Annually: 900,000 visitors 170,000 students through school field trips Dec. 2023 response to business case for relocation: https://savesciencecentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/response-to-infrastructure-ontario-osc-business-case-20231205.pdf https://savesciencecentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/res...

frfl 2y ago

Was one of those 250,000 kids. The only real vivid memory I have left of that unfortunately was seeing a Tour de France documentary in the IMAX screen they have. That was really incredible. Haven't really followed the story closely, but quite sad to see it getting (forcefully?) shutdown like this.

Scoundreller 2y ago
And it’s a real IMAX dome screen, not the diluted version that gets the stamp these days.
- mcphage 2y ago
  I’m just glad I got to take my kids to the museum and watch a movie on the dome last year before it closed.
  - xattt 2y ago
    It wasn’t the full experience of the OSC that we had as kids. The walk across the bridge (also closed over structural concerns) and the gradual descent over the course of your visit into the Don Valley subconsciously tied science with the natural world. The last half-decade, it was a shell of what it was.
    - mcphage 2y ago
      I agree with you, taking the bus down to the bottom was pretty lame.

hervature 2y ago

I was part of OSCSS. I come from rural Ontario and this was the first time I was really exposed to other people with the hacker ethos. Tried to bootstrap a company with a friend met at the school but two 18 year olds trying to partner with enterprises went as well as you would expect. Did not know YC was a thing until a couple of years later.

walterbell 2y ago

The original vision, via https://savesciencecentre.com https://savesciencecentre.com “The centre must be a place for everyone – not cater to 12 specialists and ignore 12,000 others. It must initially give a sense of self-possession, It must arouse curiosity. It must lead to understanding , not just knowledge. It must be a place of wonder. It must give immeasurable qualities of comfort and joy and discovery with others. It must inspire the visitor with ideas through active participation. It must be an emotional experience, with intellectual satisfaction and it must be fun”. Since 1969: 52 million visitors 9 million students With the [SF] Exploratorium.. inspired a global science museum movement with over 3,000 science centres Annually: 900,000 visitors 170,000 students through school field trips Dec. 2023 response to business case for relocation: https://savesciencecentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/response-to-infrastructure-ontario-osc-business-case-20231205.pdf https://savesciencecentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/res...