Mandates are lifting, masks are coming off so it seems to be the perfect time for the relaunch of Edmonton's Telus World of Science (TWOSE).
The re-imagined main level and exterior of the building is bright and exciting, welcoming new spaces like the Health Zone in the Allard Family Gallery, a new Indigenous Traditional Room (and soon to be meditation garden with traditional plantings and room for ceremonies, culture etc), and a newly expanded Galaxy Gift Shop.
"With COVID-19, we were closed about a year in total. It's been a trying but amazing time, having government and our supporters help us realize this expansion. We're starting a new chapter at the science centre and we're thrilled to welcome visitors back," said Alan Nursall, TWOSE president.
Claiming one of the smallest footprints of all major science centres in the country, TWOSE was due for a major overhaul while still offering school programming and managing booming attendance numbers for exhibits like The Body Fantastic.
With $12 million each from the City of Edmonton, province and federal governments, plus millions more raised by patrons and champions of the centre, like the Allard Family, which contributed $1 million toward the rebuild, TWOSE's 'Team Purple' of about 60 full-time staff is ready to go.
The new Health Zone in the Allard Family Gallery will no-doubt be a popular stop, as guests become the centre of their own health stories. See and hear your heartbeat and veins, or grab a lab coat and do a DNA extraction in the onsite LAB (Learning About Biology); it's all part of the interactive learning experience and one Director of Science Experience Monica Roberts says offers science literacy to help understand our bodies.
"We work with real science, the kind you'd only see in high school or intro university labs," she said.
"Since COVID-19, science and our health has never been more important. Part of the health zone pays tribute to our frontline health care workers, but it's also an engaging, fun atmosphere to explore," said Nursall, agreeing older visitors will enjoy a stop at the Health Zone's flexibility, balance, and leg power stations.
For the Newton Seniors Club, which operates from the Newton Community League in Beverly, a visit to the TWOSE for the latest IMAX film offering is a monthly happening. Club travel coordinator Corienne Frenzel says up to 30 seniors make the trek to see whatever is playing, (this time it's a film on Ireland), and when the pandemic allows, the group will have its usual coffee and cookies after the show too.
"The new facility is beautiful. Many of us came with family when our own kids were younger," said Frenzel. "It's a wonderful, educational place."
Inside the new Indigenous Traditional Room, visitors can visit with elders, be part of a 'smudge' ceremony, (the practice of burning medicinal plants to cleanse and connect) and make crafts like finger weaving, beading and mini-drums. TWOSE Indigenous Land-based Navigator Lynn Lush said the new space helps build a bridge between communities, and will be expanded this summer to include a garden with Indigenous plants and symbols; things like tobacco, sage, sweetgrass and more.
Elder Gilman Cardinal, who will be part of scheduled activities around the Indigenous Traditional Room, says the storytelling, garden, the teepee set up--are part of holistic learning for the Indigenous community and all visitors to the centre.
"We're walking together--this is part of reconciliation," said Cardinal.
Visitors will also want to stop at the Galaxy Gift Shop with its rising ceilings, glass walls and white finishes. The arctic, iceberg-like look of all the main floor of the science centre is deliberate, a nod to our northern climate and a foreshadow of more northern-themed galleries and exhibits still to come. Through the Aurora Project, TWOSE has also newly created or reimagined CuriousCITY, S.P.A.C.E Gallery, The Nature Exchange, Science Garage and the Zeidler Dome.
For more information and to buy tickets, see twose.ca
