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 Ter ...

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 tota ...

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

, 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 among indigenous youth, communities and leaders using online education 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.

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 objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

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 astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

Energy & Innovation

Energy & Innovation explores the energy industry and the effects it has on society. This exhibit houses three rolling ball machines 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 planetarium shows, using an Evans & Sutherland 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 deal ...

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 Wa ...

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