Science World

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Science World is a hands-on science center in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It sits at the eastern end of False Creek and is easy to spot because it is housed in a big silver dome. The dome is made of 766 triangles, and it is about 47 meters high.

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At a glance

Country: Canada
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Built: 1985
Height: 47 m
Type: Museum

Quick answers

Where is Science World?

Science World is in Vancouver, Canada.

When was Science World built?

Science World was built in 1985.

How tall is Science World?

Science World is about 47 m tall.

The silver geodesic dome of 766 triangles built for Expo 86, now a hands-on science centre on False Creek.

The dome was built for Expo 86, the world's fair held in Vancouver in 1986, and it was inspired by the geodesic domes of the American designer Buckminster Fuller. After the fair it was turned into a science center, which opened on 6 May 1989. Today it is run by a non-profit and has many interactive exhibits and changing shows.

From world's fair to science museum

Vancouver's 1986 world's fair had transportation as its theme, and the chief architect, Bruno Freschi, designed the dome as the Expo Centre. Construction started in 1984 and was done by early 1985. When the fair ended, a strong campaign pushed to keep the dome and move a science center into it. With government help and big fund-raising, it succeeded. The city handed the building to Science World in 1987, and the science center opened in 1989.

What are the roots of the museum?

Science World began earlier. In 1977 Barbara Brink took mobile hands-on exhibits around the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. A temporary center, the Arts, Sciences & Technology Centre, opened downtown on 15 January 1982, and in its first stretch over 600,000 people visited it. From 2005 to 2020 the museum was called Telus World of Science after a sponsor, then it went back to the name Science World.