{"id":1279,"date":"2026-06-06T09:35:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T09:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/%e3%80%90%e5%a4%9a%e5%80%ab%e5%a4%9a%e6%94%bb%e7%95%a5%e3%80%91ontario-science-centre-%e5%ae%89%e5%a4%a7%e7%95%a5%e7%a7%91%e5%ad%b8%e4%b8%ad%e5%bf%83%e6%94%bb%e7%95%a5%ef%bd%9c2024-%e5%ae%a4%e5%85%a7\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T14:26:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:26:58","slug":"toronto-guide-ontario-science-centre-guide-2024-indoor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/toronto-guide-ontario-science-centre-guide-2024-indoor\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario Science Centre Fact-Checked Guide | Current Status, Alternative Exhibits, Family Itinerary & Official Info"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Last updated: 2026-07-09 | Admission prices, open locations, and relocation timelines are subject to change &mdash; please confirm with official announcements<\/em><\/p>\n<style class=\"lc-tbl\">.entry-content table{border-collapse:collapse;width:100%;margin:1.2em 0}.entry-content th,.entry-content td{border:1px solid #d4dcd7;padding:8px 11px;text-align:left;vertical-align:top}.entry-content th{background:#eef3f0;font-weight:600}<\/style>\n<p>If you&#8217;re still planning a family trip based on old information and heading to the original building on Don Mills Road in Toronto, you&#8217;ll find it closed. The original Ontario Science Centre building was abruptly shut down in June 2024 due to a structural safety issue with its roof, and it remains closed to this day, with the original site no longer open to the public. This article lays out exactly where visitors can go now, how much admission costs, who it&#8217;s best suited for, and the relocation timeline for the years ahead, so you don&#8217;t waste a trip going to the wrong place.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the short version: the original building is closed, and as of June 29, 2026, an expanded temporary location at Harbourfront Centre has opened, replacing the smaller KidSpark pop-up that operated there before. On June 21, 2024, the Government of Ontario ordered the immediate closure of the original site (770 Don Mills Road) after an engineering report found that the roof panels of the 1969 building posed an imminent collapse risk. That landmark building has been out of operation ever since and currently sits vacant awaiting further decisions. After the closure, the Science Centre first ran a pop-up exhibit at Sherway Gardens mall (which wrapped up in early 2026), then opened a small KidSpark family zone at Harbourfront as an interim measure. That interim period is now over &mdash; <strong>the full expanded temporary centre officially opened in summer 2026<\/strong>, with a footprint and number of exhibit zones considerably larger than the previous KidSpark setup.<\/p>\n<p>The new temporary centre spans roughly 86,000 square feet, including classroom and outdoor activity space. Instead of just the original three zones &mdash; Town &amp; Country, The Health Hub, and The Pond &mdash; it now adds new offerings such as the Space Deck planetarium (look up and take in the stars), Innovation Station (hands-on experiments and building activities), and Curiosity Commons (free outdoor sports-science activities), with officials indicating more exhibits and programs will be rolled out over time. It also appeals to a wider audience than the previous KidSpark, which was aimed mainly at preschool through early elementary kids &mdash; families and visitors of all ages can now plan a half-day visit here. Here&#8217;s a quick reference table with the practical details:<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Item<\/th>\n<th>Details<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Location<\/td>\n<td>Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, ON M5J 2G8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hours<\/td>\n<td>Sunday to Friday 10:00 a.m.&ndash;6:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m.&ndash;8:00 p.m. (including statutory holiday weekends)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Admission<\/td>\n<td>$15 per person (tax included)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Best suited for<\/td>\n<td>Families and visitors of all ages, including planetarium and hands-on exhibit zones<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Tickets<\/td>\n<td>Purchase online at ontariosciencecentre.ca; advance booking recommended during peak periods<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>A few limited-time promotions are worth noting. According to official announcements, the <strong>Canada Strong Pass<\/strong> runs from June 19 to September 7, 2026, offering free admission for visitors under 17 and half-price admission for those aged 18&ndash;24 &mdash; the discount applies automatically at online checkout. Indigenous visitors, as well as support persons accompanying visitors with disabilities, also qualify for free admission. During the same period, the Science Centre is running a free outdoor program called &#8220;Sporty Science,&#8221; running roughly from June 6 to September 7, 2026, which complements the outdoor science activities at Curiosity Commons. Details of these promotions, and whether additional registration is required, are subject to the official website &mdash; regular admission pricing resumes once each promotion period ends.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of getting there, Harbourfront Centre sits right on Toronto&#8217;s waterfront, which is considerably more convenient than the old Don Mills location. By TTC, transfer at Union Station to the 509 Harbourfront or 510 Spadina streetcar and get off near Queens Quay &mdash; it&#8217;s a short walk from there. If driving, there are paid parking lots nearby, but the waterfront gets crowded and parking tight during summer, so public transit is the better choice. Always double-check the exact route, parking, and accessibility details on the official and TTC websites before you head out.<\/p>\n<p>Compared with the smaller former KidSpark setup, the new expanded temporary centre is now substantial enough to fill a half-day visit on its own, and it pairs well with other spots along the waterfront: Harbourfront Centre itself frequently hosts free exhibitions and performances, the ferry terminal is right next door for a side trip to the Toronto Islands, and if you want more indoor backup options, you can pair the visit with other family-friendly stops like Ripley&#8217;s Aquarium of Canada or the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). To plan out the rest of your Toronto itinerary, check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/toronto-guide\/\">Toronto Travel Guide<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/canada-attractions\/\">Canada Attractions Roundup<\/a> for other stops that pair well with this waterfront location &mdash; it&#8217;s more efficient than making a single-purpose trip.<\/p>\n<h4>Relocation Timeline: Temporary Centre Now Open, Permanent Site Not Until 2029<\/h4>\n<p>The Science Centre&#8217;s relocation is happening in two phases. Phase one &mdash; the expanded temporary centre &mdash; has already opened as described above, in summer 2026, and is planned to operate continuously until the permanent new building is complete. Phase two is the permanent new building, which will be located within the Ontario Place redevelopment on the waterfront. Construction officially broke ground in May 2026, with a planned footprint of roughly 400,000 square feet including a main building, an integrated cluster of exhibit halls, and an upgraded Cinesphere theatre, with an opening targeted for 2029 (originally estimated for 2028, since pushed back due to construction and cost factors). In short, if you&#8217;re waiting for the full-scale permanent new Science Centre, it won&#8217;t open until at least 2029 &mdash; but the current temporary centre is already considerably more complete than the earlier interim setup, so there&#8217;s no need to wait until 2029 to have something worth visiting.<\/p>\n<p>A few final things to watch out for: plenty of outdated articles and maps online still list the original Don Mills Road address and old operating hours &mdash; those are no longer valid, so don&#8217;t navigate there. Some older information also still describes &#8220;only a small KidSpark,&#8221; which is now outdated since the temporary centre has expanded significantly and you can plan a fuller visit than before. Weekends and summer periods can sell out, so booking tickets online in advance is recommended. Before you go, always check the official site&#8217;s latest announcements to confirm the current open location and ticketing details.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ontario Science Centre Fact-Checked Guide: the original building remains closed, and as of June 29, 2026 an expanded temporary centre has opened at Harbourfront. Covers hours, pricing, transit, promotions, FAQ and the 2029 permanent-site timeline. Last updated: 2026-07-09.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lc_last_content_reviewed_at":"2026-07-20T10:00:00Z","_lc_last_fact_checked_at":"2026-07-20T10:00:00Z","_lc_fact_check_status":"verified","_lc_source_grade":"A","_lc_source_titles":"","_lc_source_publish_dates":"","_lc_source_accessed_at":"2026-07-20T10:00:00Z","_lc_claims_checked":"date_time: 2026-07-09 \/ 6 \u6708 29 \u65e5 \/ 6 \u6708 21 \u65e5 \/ 10:00 \/ 18:00 \/ 20:00 \/ 6 \u6708 19 \u65e5 \/ 9 \u6708 7 \u65e5 \/ 6 \u6708 6 \u65e5 | money_price: 15 \u52a0\u5143 | law_policy: \u5b89\u5168 \/ \u7a05 \/ \u4fdd\u96aa | sports_result: 2026-07 \/ 10:00 \/ 18:00 \/ 20:00 | superlative_record: \u5b98\u65b9 | event_status: \u514d\u8cbb | opening_hours_fare: \u7968\u50f9 \/ \u958b\u653e\u6642\u9593","_lc_claims_corrected":"","_lc_unresolved_claims":"","_lc_correction_note_required":"0","_lc_reviewer_notes":"","_lc_fact_check_source_urls":["https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/toronto-guide\/","https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/canada-attractions\/"],"_lc_affiliate_widget_allowed":"","_lc_affiliate_widget_type":"","_lc_affiliate_widget_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[156,275,143,124,281],"lc_primary_section":[773],"lc_location":[781,799],"lc_topic":[810],"lc_freshness":[828],"class_list":["post-1279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-toronto","tag-156","tag-275","tag-143","tag-family-travel","tag-281","lc_primary_section-destination-guides","lc_location-toronto","lc_location-ontario","lc_topic-itineraries","lc_freshness-evergreen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1279"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8564,"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1279\/revisions\/8564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1279"},{"taxonomy":"lc_primary_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lc_primary_section?post=1279"},{"taxonomy":"lc_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lc_location?post=1279"},{"taxonomy":"lc_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lc_topic?post=1279"},{"taxonomy":"lc_freshness","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lets-canada.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lc_freshness?post=1279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}