Originally constructed for Expo 86, Science World quickly became one of Vancouver’s most iconic and beloved landmarks.
Shaped like a dome, it overlooks False Creek and brilliantly sparkles on the waterfront with its 391 lights come nightfall.
Those who come to visit it the centre are treated to much more interactive learning experience. Indeed, it is as fun as it fun as it is educational, with a multitude of engaging activities and displays.
RELATED: Rare Footage of Vancouver’s Expo 86 Will Leave You With Nostalgic Memories
Science World: A Geodesic Dome
Science World at Telus World of Science describes how, “The Science World “golf ball” is actually a geodesic dome, the design of which was created by American inventor R. Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983).”
To illustrate, this dazzling photo shows the skeleton structure for the dome as it underwent construction.
It first opened in 1985 as the Expo Preview Centre, and then became the Expo Centre for the World Fair in 1986. During this time, the centre showed a movie called A Freedom to Move in the OMNIMAX theatre.
The OMNIMAX theatre sits 400 people, and its screen is 27 meters in width. Impressively, the ramp leading to the theatre is equal to the length of two football fields.
In 1989 it was the largest of its kind in the entire world. Stating that “The 15,000 watt xenon lamp that lights the screen is so bright that if you placed it on the surface of the moon and focused it at a spot on Earth, you could actually see its light.”
Expo 86 was a tremendous success for the city, as it put Vancouver on the world stage. In addition, the fair predicted roughly 13 – 14 million visitors, but over 22 million attended. In 1987, Queen Elizabeth declared that the building was “for the people of British Columbia.”
At the time, it took an impressive sum of financial aid to construct the exhibits and infrastructure of the centre.
Science World explains how, “The Provincial and Federal Governments announce their support of $5 million each, the City of Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver Regional District join with a further $1 million apiece and a capital campaign raises $7.1 million from the private sector for a total of $19.1 million to build an addition to the Expo Centre, redesign the interior and develop and build exhibits.
Following the end of Expo 86, the building was re-purposed as a science centre, reopening on May 6th, 1989.
In 2004, Science World Struck an agreement with TELUS. It cost a staggering $9-million to rename the building to “Science World at Telus World of Science.”
Today, Science World attracts people of all ages. It holds feature exhibitions, demonstrations, films, and even theatre sports.
However, because it was originally built as a temporary structure, it has been undergoing maintenance issues the past few years. We are hopeful though that the iconic structure will be around for generations to come.
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