March 13, 2006

Vanier College is pleased to announce the Grand Re-Opening of the much missed and just slightly maligned, Physics Arcade.

The original Arcade welcomed its first visitor on Feb 20, 1975 with the installation of 13 hands-on exhibits. The reaction was immediate and overwhelming. Students, staff and faculty from the entire college flocked to play with the new toys. The displays operated day and night. In the first few weeks it became evident that the cleaning staff had adopted the exhibits as their own. They were cleaned and polished daily. A little later, the famous doorbell was added and during the next few years the Arcade grew to include over twenty displays. Half were basic demonstrations of physics principles, while the others were puzzles or games relating to physics.

Electronic counters were added and the resulting numbers were quite remarkable. The least used display (the small ac/dc demo) was operated an average of 20,000 times in any given year. The ever-popular doorbell averaged 75,000 rides during its 11 years. The concept of the Arcade is based on the philosophy that science is best appreciated by experiencing it. The hands-on style of Science Centres was becoming a widespread theme. In 1977, according to the Association of Science Technology Centres, the Arcade at Vanier was the only such installation outside of public museums in North America. At that time there were only 22 accredited Science Centres around the world. Today there are probably hundreds.

The principle behind 'hands-on' science exhibits is to bring the wonder, the fun and the excitement of science to the public at large.

Sadly, though, aging exhibits combined with shrinking budgets forced us to remove the Arcade in Dec. 1990.

In recent years parents (former Vanier students), were surprised to learn that the Arcade no longer existed. Their disappointment gave the Physics Department the impetus to recreate the Arcade .

The Grand Reopening takes place 12:00 PM Wednesday, March 15, 2006, fourth floor, B wing at Vanier College.

Come on down!

Find out more about the Physics Arcade and see a retrospective web page on the Arcade Reopening.