TELUS Spark Science Centre is a

science museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in ...

with interactive exhibits, multimedia presentations and educational demonstrations in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. There are more than 430,000 visitors annually, including over 82,000 students. The science museum was established in 1987 as the Calgary Science Centre. The science centre was later re-branded Telus World of Science – Calgary in 2005. In 2011, the science centre moved locations from the former

Centennial Planetarium The Centennial Planetarium was a planetarium located at 701 11 Street SW in Calgary, Alberta. Designed by Calgary architectural firm McMillan Long and Associates and opened in 1967 for the Canadian Centennial, it is one of Calgary's best examples ...

to the Nose Creek Valley. The science centre was re-branded as Telus Spark during the move.

History

The science centre originally opened as the Calgary

on July 1, 1967. In 1983 the Calgary Science Centre Society began a bid to bring a science centre to Calgary and in 1987 they received an operating agreement that would transform the

planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a Theater (structure), theatre built primarily for presenting educational entertainment, educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navi ...

into the Calgary Science Centre. The Calgary Science Centre was renamed Telus World of Science – Calgary after a $9 Million donation from

Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services ...

Corporation on April 27, 2005. The original site, located on 11 Street SW in Calgary's Downtown West End, closed on June 27, 2011, and was replaced by a new science centre called Telus Spark. The new science centre is located on a site at 220 St. Georges Drive NE in Nose Creek Valley, north of the Calgary Zoo. Telus Spark opened on October 29, 2011.

COVID-19 crisis

In response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Telus Spark was awarded $381,414 by the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...

to promote uptake of

COVID-19 vaccines A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an est ...

among

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

youth, communities and leaders using

online education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually i ...

and hip hop music.

Galleries

Telus Spark offers a range of digital media and maker workshops, school programs, youth programs, sleepovers, birthday parties, and various spring and summer science and art camps.

Being Human

The Being Human space explores

human physiology The human body is the structure of a human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the viability of the human body. It comprises a head ...

Creative Kids Museum

Designed for children under the age of nine, the Creative Kids Museum has a water play area, a climbing structure, a maker space, a miniature theatre, a reading nook, and a stimulating crawling track designed for toddlers.

Earth & Sky

Earth & Sky explores

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

Energy & Innovation

Energy & Innovation explores the

energy industry The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy indus ...

and the effects it has on society. This exhibit houses three

rolling ball machine A rolling ball sculpture (sometimes referred to as a marble run, ball run, gravitram, ''kugelbahn'' (German: 'ball track'), or rolling ball machine) is a form of kinetic art – an art form that contains moving pieces – that specific ...

s built by

George Rhoads George Rhoads (January 27, 1926 – July 9, 2021) was a contemporary American painter, sculptor, and origami master. He was best known for his whimsical audiokinetic sculptures in airports, science museums, shopping malls, children's hospitals, ...

Feature Gallery

The Feature Gallery hosts temporary touring exhibitions, and can be rented for tradeshows and other private functions.

HD Digital Dome Theatre

The HD Digital Dome Theatre can show films or live

shows, using an

Evans & Sutherland Evans & Sutherland is a pioneering American computer firm in the computer graphics field. Its current products are used in digital projection environments like planetariums. Its simulation business, which it sold to Rockwell Collins, sold products ...

Digistar 5

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...

system with 17.7 million pixels of resolution, 4 SRX projectors, and a 19,500

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

sound system. There is also a digital media studio where visitors can learn computer graphics techniques, from computer programming and coding to intensive animation workshops.

Open Studio

The Open Studio shows youths how to use technology in art.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Telus Spark Science museums in Canada Museums in Calgary 2011 establishments in Alberta Museums established in 2011 Science centers