Ontario Science Centre transformation fuelled by C$32 million gifts

Toronto, ON — February 6, 2003 — Private-sector support of C$17 million has been added to the C$15 million already committed by the Ontario government for a major renewal of the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto.

The renewal program, called Agents of Change, has a funding target of C$40 million. The program will transform the Science Centre’s space, creating seven major new experience areas designed to awaken and develop the attitudes, skills and behaviours that foster innovation.

The W Garfield Weston Foundation has committed $15 million to the renewal, and DuPont Canada has promised $2 million.

This first-ever transformation of the centre reflects a new approach to inspiring and equipping young people to innovate, and will also mean physical changes throughout the building. Over the next three years, the Canadian firm of architects, Diamond and Schmitt, will redesign 25% of the centre’s public space.

Some of the new areas in the redesigned centre will include:
– Citizen Science, a laboratory inspired space, which will enable participants to contribute to research and explore the results and implications with visiting scientists;
– Media Lab, where visitors will experiment with new technologies and explore the links between art and science and technology;
– Material World, in which visitors will employ all their senses to explore the properties, performance and potential of new, and often surprising, leading-edge materials.

Agents of Change is intended to continue the Science Centre’s 33-year tradition of international leadership in innovative science communication.