Philip Jong

In June 2024, the Government of Ontario abruptly announced the permanent closure of the Ontario Science Centre at its current location in the city of Toronto (where I live). The news followed plans made by the provincial government in April 2023 to relocate the center to Ontario Place, presently closed in part for redevelopment, to be reopened in 2028 as part of the city’s waterfront revitalization. Originally named the Centennial Museum of Science and Technology, the center was initially set to open in 1967 during the Canadian Centennial celebration. However, construction of the center was delayed such that it was not until September 1969 when the center was finally open to the public. Unlike most other science museums of the time, the center chose a predominantly interactive approach to science education by utilizing a combination of hands-on exhibits and live demonstrations to engage visitors about science. Aside from the many permanent displays and galleries (the planetarium being the most recognizable), the center had also featured a number of traveling exhibits since its opening which frequently explored the role of science in arts and popular culture. Unfortunately, despite undergoing significant capital renovation between 2001 and 2007, the center gradually fell into a state of disrepair due to continual structural decay in both the main facilities and the surrounding structures. The decision by the government to now close the center was based on an engineering survey of the center’s roof revealing that some sections of the roof were structurally compromised and were thus at high risk of collapse from accumulating snow during winter. The unexpected closure of the Ontario Science Centre was met with public outcry. Opponents of the closure claimed that the decision was politically motivated. Proponents of the closure, on the other hand, argued that it would be a waste of public funds to repair a facility already destined to be relocated. I have many fond memories of visiting the Ontario Science Centre both as a child and as an adult. Regardless of the center’s future, it is tragic that the center did not receive a proper farewell from the public which it so well deserved.

In March 2009, an outbreak of a newly discovered A/H1N1 influenza, or so-called swine flu, was first detected in Mexico. Since then, confirmed cases have been reported in many other countries, including Canada, eventually prompting the World Health Organization to elevate its pandemic alert phase to declare that widespread human infection of this influenza is now present and that a pandemic is imminent. In Canada (where I live), the news has triggered intense public worry that this outbreak may mirror the SARS outbreak which caused a public health crisis across the country in 2002-3. Haste comparison to the 1918 flu pandemic has even been made, though based often on inaccurate or incomplete scientific data (such as on the true case fatality rate) on the epidemiology of this disease. Moreover, news reports of rapid human-to-human transmission and disease susceptibility among otherwise healthy young individuals have contributed to the added panic about the flu by the public. Undoubtedly, a concerted national and international effort must be made swiftly to properly survey and implement measures to control and mitigate the spread of this flu in Canada and in other countries. In the meantime, the public must be vigilant to practice good hygiene and to reduce their risk of exposure but not be led by misinformation and unfounded fear about the disease.

Early this month the world mourned the five-year anniversary of 9/11. To this date, my memory of this tragic event remains vivid. At the time, I was attending a conference in Washington DC and was only blocks away from the White House. Since that day, the world has learned of the ongoing threat of terrorism on the masses and the price we must pay to protect ourselves from fanatics whose moral and ideology differ from our own. More importantly, 9/11 reminds us that we do not live our lives in isolation from other people around the world and that plans to achieve peace must extend far beyond the arbitrary borders created by nations, ethnicities, and religions. Any attempt to achieve long-lasting peace and security by building rather than breaking the walls that divide the human race is doomed to fail. Even though one day the memory of 9/11 may finally fade in people’s minds, the lesson which the human race has learned from it must never be forgotten, since those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it again.