Ontario Science Centre

Ontario Science Centre
Ontario Science Centre in 2017
Ontario Science Centre is located in Toronto
Ontario Science Centre
Location of the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto
Former name
Centennial Museum of Science and Technology
EstablishedSeptember 26, 1969; 55 years ago (1969-09-26)
Location770 Don Mills Road
Toronto, Ontario
M3C 1T3
Coordinates43°43′00″N 79°20′18″W / 43.71667°N 79.33833°W / 43.71667; -79.33833
TypeScience centre
AccreditationAssociation of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC)
Visitors900,225[1]
CEOPaul Kortenaar
ChairpersonJohn Carmichael
ArchitectRaymond Moriyama
OwnerGovernment of Ontario
Public transit access
Nearest parkingPaid parking on site
Websitewww.ontariosciencecentre.ca

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 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) 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][5]

An engineering report[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] The decision to close the Don Mills site instead of repairing it was met with significant opposition.[9][7]

  1. ^ "Performance Target Discussions" (PDF). Annual Report 2017–2018. Ontario Science Centre. 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Bozikovic, Alex (April 19, 2023). "Doug Ford's plan to move the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place ruins them both". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Walton, Chris (May 3, 2023). "Raymond Moriyama's Ontario Science Centre could be demolished". The Architect’s Newspaper. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  4. ^ Micallef, Shawn (April 23, 2023). "Doug Ford's party built the Ontario Science Centre. That makes his plan to demolish it even more puzzling". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jeffords was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Rimkus Consultants (June 18, 2024). "Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) Roof Panel Assessment" (PDF). Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference cbc-closure was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Takagi, Andy; Colley, Mark (June 26, 2024). "Ontario Science Centre: What the report that prompted the surprise shutdown actually says". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.