Ontario Science Centre to open up temporary satellite locations months after sudden shutdown

The Ontario Science Centre is set to launch two temporary satellite locations in other parts of Toronto, which could let visitors access some of its interactive exhibits while a full interim location remains at least a year away, CTV News has learned.

The Ontario Science Centre is set to launch two temporary satellite locations in other parts of Toronto, which could let visitors access some of its interactive exhibits while a full interim location remains at least a year away, CTV News has learned.

The two sites, which are in Etobicoke’s Sherway Gardens and the Harbourfront Centre on Queens Quay West, would amount to less than a quarter of the exhibit space in the building on Don Mills Road that was dramatically shut down in June.

“Bringing some science to different parts is probably a pretty good idea. But it doesn’t change the fact that we need a full-sized, properly funded institution here on Don Mills Road,” said Floyd Ruskin of the group Save Ontario Science Centre in an interview.

In a sudden and controversial move, the building was closed to the public in June after the provincial government claimed an engineering report highlighted the urgent risk of a roof collapse.

However, that engineering report gave other options than closure. City inspectors also didn’t find any outstanding issues. And in the days after that, the building hosted a wedding.

The exhibits have been wrapped up, and many are headed for storage in Guelph, according to photos that show the labels of their destinations.

The “Circus!” and the “Towers of Tomorrow” exhibits are headed for a 25,000-square-foot location in Sherway Gardens, which will be open from November to March.