TELUS Spark Science Centre — Attraction in Calgary

My experience was somewhat mixed, hence the 3 star review. Haven’t been here since it became “Telus Spark”. First the good: My daughter (7) enjoyed herself. Kids enjoying themselves is important. No sense in having a science centre that no one wants to visit. I on the other hand, as the adult was somewhat disappointed in the heavily “watered down” (sometimes to the point of being wrong) approach to science. We started our visit with the “infinidome”. When we came in there was a massive (and very pretty) image of Jupiter on the screen, including lots of blues and bright colours (not the classic red/orange view with the big spot) Someone then came in to give the introduction and “rules” for the theatre. Apparently it was vitally important to tell us that the Science Centre was located on indigenous Treaty lands, and that indigenous people looked at the sky for thousands of years before we got here. No mention as to the greeks and romans or constellations or even a contrasting between the constellations the europeans named vs indigenous peoples. Seemed more politically motivated than anything to do with science. No mention if the Jupiter image was “true colour” or “false colour” (I suspect false colour, but if “true colour that is very important and interesting, if false colour, I strongly suspect a lot of kids will go away with the wrong impression). Then we watched the 20ish minute “Hazelnuts” video. The video was clearly directed at kids, which is absolutely fine and expected. It followed the adventures of two juvenile squirrels who figured there might be “super hazelnuts” out in space somewhere and were determined to get there, and are taught the science details by the “wise owl”. The problem is while they could have tried scientifically plausible techniques to go “high up to the moon”, they decided to use cartoon physics (giant ladders that fall apart, but magically stay upright, teeter-totters to launch them the highest etc.) At the end they made out like Earth was a captured rogue planet After leaving there, we went to the “Creative Kids Museum”. My daughter was very excited by the “stage” area (what this has to do with science, I’m not sure, although they certainly could have added some science). Most of the activities in that area could have done with some explanations and a little added science for the bigger kids, or been designed slightly different to make the science more front and centre (for example the “blocks” area could have had some design pictures showing “high strength designs” or could have had some pieces to make an arch or similar. The water area could have had some demonstration of hydraulics etc.). The only concession to “science” was actually watered down to the point of being wrong (H2O is not the “scientific name for water” H2O is the chemical formula for water, there is a huge difference). We then went upstairs to the second floor. There we saw an “electronics” station with with half a dozen wires and a couple motors and a fan. Lots of opportunity for learning here, but not really properly realized. They had the “join the trades” station. (Sorry, thought the point was to get kids interested in science and science based careers… I know thats station was sponsored, but come on, have some backbone). There was another station with some broken electronics that has been pulled apart, but no real explanation attached. This seemed to be a theme throughout. Emphasis on play. Little actual science even when it would be relatively straight forward to add some. Like the toilet water fountain…) After that we went downstairs again and visited an exhibit downstairs (think it was called “quantum sandbox” or something like that. The display was visually very appealing, the content (which I don’t think anyone was listening to) was all about indigenous ways of knowing as it relates to quantum physics (seriously?? Indigenous quantum physics??). The presentation included the line that “spirit and energy are the same”. No, I’m sorry they are not and to equivalence them is destructive to...

id like to state that there was some good and bad parts to this exibit. but overall it was not as enjoyable as it could have been. allow me to say the pros and cons of each.

PROS: *the Infinity Dome was cool. we watched Dinosaurs of Antarctica and it was one o the best parts. we where however fairly disappointed with the length of it being only a half hour long and wished it was longer. *the Digital Immersion gallery was also really nice. very immersive and enjoyable. we felt liked we learned alot from it and enjoyed the space exhibit they had there. *the food was pretty alright tasting and was surprisingly filling. im glad a huge majority of the place was wheelchair accessible and friendly. *lots of cool and cute and funny stuff at the gift shop.

CONS: *the Feature Gallery and Earth and sky exhibits where closed. making most of the entire bottom floor to be disappointing with the exception of the Digital Immersion gallery. *neither me nor my partner felt interested in learning about bubbles at the inspiration stage. Being Human area was an absolute waste of time. i have no interest in drinking from a toilet shaped water fountain (even if i know that the water is clean. it seems uncouth) i felt offended and disgusted over the exhibit that literally sneezed on me and my partner with no warning and never felt more unwelcome in a "learning center" in my life. and a large majority of the exhibits there where more about self reflection and telling others my personal life with written or recorded notes and leaving that out in the open for anyone to just read and listen to. there was an extreme lack of learning involved. i want to learn more about the body and how it works, not tell others about my relationship status and how i met my partner! *a portion of the exhibits where broken or lacking labels throughout the entire building as a whole.. so we did not know what they did or what we should have learned by doing the activity's. *the Open Studio place had lots of interactivity. but the lack of signage describing why things did what they did or the science behind it was a let down. there was a part where we tore apart old electrical components off circuit boards. but it didn't describe what parts where what or why, so it felt more like a good way for kids to injure themselves with screwdrivers and sharp metal parts that are forcefully removed. *some exhibits where not very wheelchair friendly. *we had to ask someone from the cafeteria to find someone to let us into the dome theatre since we needed wheelchair access, which was on the second floor. we almost missed the event. there felt like there was a lack of ability to communicate to let us in. *i feel there was a lack of signage on site when it came to what was actually inside the food. i was not aware what a Beef Bannock Taco was until after it was purchased. im not saying the meal was bad. i was just unaware. *the poutine was sub par and the cheese had a weird powdery texture to it that could have been handled better with a meltier cheese. *who would spend $9.50 on a simple grilled cheese? thats insane. *giftshop in general was way overpriced and inconsistant. why would i spend $30 for a plush that is smaller then my hand while others at the same shop where half that price for...

I am a member of the Telus World of Science in Edmonton and I visited the Spark on December 22. Admissions included with my membership from Edmonton, but if I didn't get in for free, I'd be demanding my money back.

For a newer facility, and the exhorbant prices of items in the cafeteria, I don't know where the money is going. It clearly isn't going into upkeep and maintenance, or at least not nearly enough.

I visited three men's washrooms during my visit: One right before you enter the facility, one off the Dome and one in the kids creative area. The only fully functioning washroom was the one in the kids area. In each of the others sinks didn't work, locks on the stalls didn't work and in the men's washroom near the Dome, their were holes and exposed wires behind the urinals where someone had haphazardly installed after market motion sensors.

As for the exhibits, there isnt a lot to do. The VR setups are pretty cool, but aside from that, displays were frequently missing parts or were completely non functional. The theme of the exhibit was all over the place and followed no rhyme or reason. The kids area was good, however. Well maintained, equipped and in good working order, except for some chalkboard table tops towards the back that couldn't be written on with chalk for some unknown reason.

What really got me was the cafeteria. $3.75 for a bottle of pop. $3.25 for the teeny, tiny milk bottle (125 mL). The food was decently priced considering the portion size, but the taste wasnt the best. Had the Bannock taco and that was a good value, but it was a sloppy mess. Kids had the chicken tenders with fries and the fries were really good.

Until they do something about the prices of food and focus on the upkeep of the exhbits and facilities, I wouldn't recommend the Spark to anyone who is paying to be there. Disappointing to see the difference in quality between Edmonton and Calgary, especially considering that Edmonton is cheaper for an...