| rev:text
| - PROS
+ Easily accessible by public transport (bus)
+ Some unique exhibits, e.g. Mindworks & A Question of Truth
+ Variety of hands-on interactive exhibits
CONS
- Exhibits are disappointingly outdated
- Many broken, missing, or removed displays
- Many interactive exhibits are run-down and not well maintained
I am a Certified Nerd in my mid-20s and I love any sort of museum or science center where I can geek out in glee. I gave the Ontario Science Centre a try as I had purchased the Toronto CityPass. The OSC is a bit of a ways out of downtown Toronto (about 45min via public transit) so going here will essentially be a full day trip.
Sadly, I was fairly disappointed by what the OSC had to offer. The permanent exhibits here are terribly outdated. Many displays are old, run-down, broken, or simply are no longer relevant. A few examples:
- The Living Earth exhibition: Displays were citing predictions for how climate/global warming/etc might be like in the year 2000. Hmm...
- The Human Body exhibition had a display for new birth control methods "in-the-works." Some are laughable, but many are available today - e.g. the nuva ring, reversible vasectomies, etc.
- The aging machine in the human body exhibition takes THREE WHOLE MINUTES per person to generate images of progressive aging. The printer that should allow you to print your images of why you'll look like 80 years later is broken. This really is a cool interactive activity but 3 minutes per person and a million demon children crowding the machine does not bode well for you getting even a remote chance to have at it.
- A good number of interactive displays in the Mindworks and Science Arcade exhibitions are in poor condition, broken, or removed for what I hope to be repairs
Ok, how about some redeeming qualities?
+ The Question of Truth exhibition offered some interesting perspectives on race, gender, sex, culture, etc. Perhaps when this exhibition was first debuted, addressing such issues would have been fairly novel and refreshing. While perhaps no longer surprising or eye-opening, the themes in the displays here are worth taking a gander.
+ The Live Rainforest is pretty cool, albeit small. This area is well maintained (it's alive! Guess it has to be) with several live creatures on display. The frogs are cool and the simulated "rain" is a nice realistic touch
I didn't check out any of the IMAX features as the one available that day was similar to others I've seen before many times ("To the Arctic"). If you are spending the whole day at the OSC, you may find this worthwhile if you're willing to pay extra for it.
Note: The Human Body exhibition will close on 7/3/12 for "renewal". I sincerely hope they update everything in this hall because the info really is interesting and would be intriguing for both kids and grownups alike.
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