Science museum reopens in Ottawa

Nearly fifty years to the day from its opening in 1967, the Canada Science and Technology Museum (CSTM) reopens to the public on November 17, 2017. The museum closed its doors in 2014 for some muchneeded renovations.

The museum has undergone significant changes. The new CSTM will have more exhibition space and a more open layout. It will also have more artifacts on display and fewer narrative exhibitions. For the first time the museum will have a grand entranceway framed by dramatic displays of artifacts big and small, old and new — including some that have rarely been taken out of their drawers or off their shelves.

“I am really excited about seeing people in the museum again,” said Sharon Babaian, the museum’s curator of transportation. “I am excited about seeing their faces and their reactions when they see their old friends again. The Crazy Kitchen [a popular interactive display about spatial distortion] and the locomotives will be there, but they will have a new look.”

For as long as Babaian can remember, the CSTM has relied mainly on chronological narratives to tell its stories, but in the new museum visitors will see that curators have left this approach behind.

“You don’t have to start at a specific place,” explained Babaian. “You can see and learn things in each space that are part of a larger story but which do not depend on you coming in at the beginning to make the connections.”

Despite all the changes, the new museum remains dedicated to being a space without signs that say “don’t touch.” The environment encourages engagement, inviting visitors to get up close and watch artifacts in action.