Science North and my first day in Sudbury
Trip Start
May 09, 2009
1
8
41
Trip End
May 23, 2009
Where I stayed
Laurentian University Residence
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Monday, May 11, 2009
Now getting back on topic. After being dropped off at Science North, I just sat down. I was exhausted from getting only four hours of sleep on the train but determined to not waste a day of my trip, at exactly 10 am (the time they opened) I went inside the exhibits. Now for people who have never visited Sudbury, what Shania Twain is to Timmins, the Science North building is to Sudbury. The first thing out of every local's mouth I talk to is "have you been to Science North yet?" Aside from it's great popularity among locals, there is also the building it is housed in to consider. The whole downtown of the city is situated around Lake Ramsey. It is a beautiful lake and the downtown takes full advantage of the natural scenery it provides with a broad walk that goes the length of the downtown core. But it is really interesting to look at where the broad walk begins and ends. Bell park, as it is called, is focused on the building of Science North. The building is two giant shining snowflakes and they are situated right outside the business area of the city. Although outside of the city everyone can still see them from many parts of the downtown. Despite the obvious flaunting of this building there is a lot of great exhibits in Science North and one annoying, smelly porcupine. To get into the Science Centre you have to go through a rock tunnel (very cool) and then you step into the glass portion of the building. Then there is a series of ramps. The first level was not open when I went so I moved on to the second level. This is the level that allows children and avid rock collectors to examine different species of rock. Then there is a small butterfly gallery. Having grown up in Niagara on the Lake where there is a huge butterfly gallery this wasn't too new but the butterflies there had some guts not moving away even when you shoved a camera in their face. But this wasn't my last encounter with an animal with attitude at Science North. The third level was a biosphere. It had several animals, and different lab experiments you could do. It was also the first level with blue coats (the Science North staff). The staff is what makes this place fun. They are young, energetic and actually interested in what they are showing people coming through. Now the guy who helps people understand how to play the Wii fit display doesn't not have a difficult job. Actually anyone who is stationed on Science North's fourth floor which houses the Space Place, Legos Robotics Lab, Flight simulator, and Cyberzone, all want to be there as I was there for about two hours playing at the different exhibits. I also ran into a blue coat named Sophie. Sophie has worked at Science North for five years and is only 19. She enthusiastically showed me how Sudbury actually came to be. And would you believe it? Sudbury, Canada's largest Northern city is the site of not one but two meteorite strikes. No wonder Superman is Canadian! But Sophie is not the longest serving young person at Science North. Discovery Theatre's presenter Kyla Corelli has been working at Science North for the past eight years. Her job in the Discovery Theatre is to entertain the children with science experiments in a theatre styled after Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. She is only 22 years old and told me Science North is where every young person in Sudbury tries to get a job because of its amazing hours and the friendships made between the energetic staff. I also saw sea monsters in 3D. Best IMAX ever!!! The sea monsters actually swim right up to your face like in Batman Forever with Jim Carrey. My next blog I will tell you about my accommodations and the money I spent on the first day. Oh quickly, Quillan, the porcupine in the biosphere, kept dancing and wouldn't sit still for photos and he smelled worse than me. He is the kind of guy who always has to win!
Comments
I did not only work in the Discovery Theatre! I have worked in almost every section of that place! And I loved that job because I got to do AWESOME experiments, i met some of my best friends in the world there, the staff were amazing, and I had so much fun!
The theatre is based off of old lecture theatres where they used to do dissections.
Did you even listen to me when you asked me those questions? You made it look like I was only in for the job because of the hours! I was working TWO OTHER JOBS while I worked there.
Next time, please listen when you ask questions in an interview.
OH, and you are right...its not the type of camera you use, its the person who uses it. I guess you should have listened to me when I told you to use a tripod when taking pictures in there because it is so dark and you cannot take pictures without a flash.
But what do I know, I only watched thousands of visitors take pictures of their kids in that theatre for 9 years.
Hope all is well.
Hey Kyla,
I'm glad you were able to read my travels. Thank you so much for all your help while I was at Science North. I have changed the two factual inaccuracies and unfortunately the darkness of the photo has to do with the fact that my flash was not working that day and I didn't have an external flash.
Thanks for the info. I wanted to know if it was worth the trip with my 5 and 8 year old children and i think it might be. this posting was helpful