If you’re a fan of Science North’s gyroscope, you’re running out of time to take one last spin.
The Sudbury science centre announced earlier this month it is retiring the gyroscope, a multi-axis trainer experience located in its Space Place on the fourth floor of the building.
Space Place renovations will begin on Jan. 8 during Science North’s annual maintenance closure. The last day for the gyroscope experience will be Jan. 7. In the new year, visitors are invited to check out what Science North has done with its Space Place.
Given the impending closure of the gyroscope, Mark Gentili, the editor at Sudbury.com (a sister site to BarrieToday) took the opportunity to ride the machine for the first time, to hilarious results. Check out our video above.
Science North’s Space Place is getting an update thanks to support from the Canadian Space Agency. Canada is part of the Artemis Program, a robotic and human moon exploration project that will see humans return to the moon.
Based on this exploration, Science North is developing “new, out-of-this-world exhibits and experiences.”
Included in Space Place’s renewal, Science North is removing and decommissioning the gyroscope.
“We are about to embark on some really exciting missions, and so we’re transforming Space Place to communicate all the science about going back to the moon,” said Amy Henson, senior scientist, science centre operations.
“The unfortunate part is our gyroscope doesn't quite fit all of that science in that messaging. So it's time to bid farewell. But we have some really exciting things coming down the pipeline, and we can’t wait to show you what we have in the new year.”
The goals of Science North’s exhibits are to provide experiences that are creative, fun, accessible, inclusive, and reflect current science, said a social media post from the science centre earlier this month.
But the gyroscope isn’t exactly inclusive for all visitors, as it has height and weight restrictions — you must be between five feet and six-foot-two tall, and weigh 225 pounds or less.
Henson won’t reveal what exactly will be replacing the gyroscope, but did say it will be “a big full-body experience that everybody is going to be able to interact with.”
“So no matter your size, shape, wherever you are, if you're little or you're big, you're going to be able to participate in this. We've increased the amount of inclusivity that this new exhibit can offer us, and unfortunately the gyro is a little bit more restrictive.”
Science North originally had a gyroscope back in the 1980s and 1990s, and then didn’t have one for awhile. The current gyroscope has been at the science centre for around a decade now.
Lucie Robillard, science communicator with Science North, said gyroscopes were used in training astronauts for space exploration in the past.
“They were very popular in the 1980s, for sure,” she said. “There were some that were even made with a motor on it. So it would spin you and you would have to try to make it stop and some even had buttons that you can try to make it stop. So if you ever lost control in space, you can try to figure out how to write yourself back up. Since then, though, they're not as popular. They're much more of a novelty ride type thing.”
For more information about Science North’s holiday hours, visit the science centre’s website.
