Province seeks much smaller home for temporary Ontario Science Centre

Ontario is searching for a temporary home for the Ontario Science Centre at a fraction of the size of the building the province abruptly closed last week due to structural concerns.

Government officials announced mid-day Friday that the science centre would permanently close in its east Toronto location at the end of the day after the province received an engineering report on the state of the roof.

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The government was already planning to relocate the science centre to the waterfront Ontario Place attraction, but that is not slated to open until 2028, so officials said they would look for a temporary space to house some of the programming and exhibits in the meantime.

Infrastructure Ontario has now released its request for proposals for retail or commercial space to accommodate a temporary Ontario Science Centre, and it is seeking about 50,000 to 100,000 square feet — much smaller than the original building’s 568,000 square feet.

Opponents of the science centre relocation were already critical of the fact the new building at Ontario Place is set to be half the original building’s size.

The government has said the science centre at Ontario Place would have more exhibit space than the original building due to a more efficient use of space, but a report from the auditor general said there would actually be 18 per cent less.