Day 3

After another lovely breakfast at McDonalds as we headed to the Ontario Science Centre for our second day of exploration. We began at the new Space Exhibit, which consisted of a variety of interactive stations where we hands on investigated topics such as space exploration and life as an astronaut in space. Stations included a projectile launcher, fitness and personality tests for an astronaut, and a simulation of a rocket launch as we sat inside a replica command module . It was fascinating to learn about and, in demonstration, feel the extreme physical demands on astronauts and the technological requirements for space exploration.

We were then lucky enough to watch a screening of ‘The Great Bear Rainforest’ in the enormous iMax cinema. (a Canadian invention). All of us found it to be a truly immersive and inspiring experience – we felt as though we really were in the wilderness of the rugged Pacific coast of Canada’s province of British Columbia . We learnt about the important work done by the indigenous people on conserving their native habitat and their revered, endangered and uniquely pure white Spirit Bears endemic to that area (only 200 remain in the World). Young local indigenous people are heavily involved in carrying out field research to analyse DNA samples to determine the bears’ fitness, sex and heath. This data is used to better protect and maintain the species, their natural environment, for the people who so depend on their contributions to their environment and lives.

For lunch, we tried the local famous Canadian delicacy ‘putine’, which consists of chips with gravy and cheese curds. It was a great way to immerse ourselves in the local culture. Two out of three of us enjoyed it!

After lunch, we visited to the Moon exhibit, and were fascinated by the section on cosmic radiation. One installation in particular caught our interest. It consisted of a tank containing a cooled oil solution, which showed for a brief moment the path of particles passing through the tank. There was also amazing images of paths made by particles when they collided in a particle accelerator.

Then, we visited an exhibit on rainforests where we met the resident poison dart frogs and rat snake. The OSC has an outdoor replica of a rainforest with real rain. After that we visited the Physics exhibit, where there was a replica of a cave and many demonstrations on light and sound waves.

The Ontario Science Centre, one of the first of its kind in the World, is a fantastic action-packed and attractive facility, staffed by high level scientists and educators and we thoroughly recommend a visit if you are ever in Toronto. It was a great way for us to ease our way into our “Bench to Bedside” two week programme by providing a broad interactive presentation of so many aspects of Science while allowing us to adjust to the 5 hour time difference and the incredibly fast pace of this huge beautiful city.

In the evening we decided to visit the local shopping centre, Toronto Eaton Centre (once the World’s largest indoor mall) to hit the many shops and find a bite to eat in the Food Court before we headed back up town to Sorbara Hall Residence for some well deserved rest.

Next stop, next week, is Dr Gunning’s cancer research lab at the Mississauga campus of University of Toronto west of the city. we eagerly look forward to 5 days of hands on involvement with this internationally recognised group of research scientists; but first the weekend inToronto’s sunny 25C weather.