We arrived and milled about, checking out various displays. Daegan really liked the rocket launcher (you select a load, an amount of fuel, and see if you can make the rocket hit the ceiling):

The scheduled day began with a presentation about life as an astronaut, with lots of NASA film footage and some artefacts for the kids to examine. Here’s Gareth checking out the macaroni and cheese packet, with velcro circles on the back so it can be “attached” the the astronaut’s special dinner tray (which uses velcro and magnets to keep items from floating all over):

We learned how astronauts do all the necessary things in space: eat, drink, shower, sleep, and yes, even use the bathroom. Remember, there is no up or down in outer space:

We then had a short break before the next class, allowing the kids to explore a bit more. Both boys loved the “how to fly an airplane” demo—there was a lot of wind blowing towards you (note Gareth’s hair) and if you manipulated the controls correctly, you could get the airplane to lift off the ground.

Then it was time to build your own launching rocket, using paper, tape, a film canister (remember them?) and ‘fuel’ of alka-seltzer and water:

Daegan’s finished rocket:

Gareth’s rocket being alka-seltzered and put in the pan in the corner, for lift-off:

Next it was on to a group project, to build a “monster machine” to help humans live on a new planet that has been discovered that can support life. The boys’ groups made a rover with solar panel and windmill for energy source, and it could plow snow as well as act as a heater. It was dubbed “Solar-wind rover…aka koala” so as to incorporate everyone’s ideas.

Each group then went up on stage, said their names and explained their monster machine. And yes, my little hams quite enjoyed having a microphone:

We had lunch, then headed off to Star Lab, a portable constellation dome they set up in a corridor of the airport. Yeah, it raised a few eyebrows.

Inside Star Lab the kids learned about constellations and their myths. Gareth was quite enchanted by this part, and came home to tell Jim about how the constellation Cancer has no stars visible to the naked eye—you need a telescope. I found the description of Leo’s stars as forming a backwards question mark quite amusing. That’s my sign, and at times I feel indeed like an enigma of an enigma.

In the final presentation of the day, we learned a bit more about NASA history (including the tragedies, something I commend them for not ignoring), as well as about Newton’s Three Laws. Gareth got to go up on stage to help demonstrate the second law, by shooting two differently weighted foam balls at a nervous volunteer (who was a great sport).

Daegan got to help demonstrate the third law, about equal and opposite reactions:

The day ended with a couple of complimentary rides. We all went on a space shuttle time travel one (which allowed me to confront simultaneously my motion sickness AND claustrophobia—you are completely sealed in the dark in that one—arrggh!). And then a flying one the boys did solo:

All in all, a really fun day of learning. My favourite fact of the day: I didn’t realize that Calgary airport is an emergency shuttle landing site (not that it matters now), as we have a runway the required length (5 kms). If you haven’t been to Spaceport before, go check it out. They have a homeschool day coming up in January. Give them a call (or check their website if/when they update it) for details.

The boys had such a good time sledding, and it tuckered them out. They must have gone up and down that hill 30 times, at least!

I posted a few videos on facebook. Let’s see if embedding them here works.

We then headed home, with the boys playing in some deep snowdrifts on the way.

They also found some giant snowballs that they insisted on bringing home, because, well…I guess our yard didn’t have enough snow.

When we got home a rosy-cheeked Daegan relaxed on the couch reading Far Side cartoons:

While Gareth made us all some of his special hot chocolate recipe. He wrote it out himself the other day:

We even had vegan whipped cream on hand to add on top. Yum!

Yup. A great day!

The kids worked in partners—most kids paired with their sibling. (It was 6 sets of siblings in the class of 12 kids—11 boys and 1 girl!) They got a kit with the pieces they’d need, and a booklet outlining step-by-step how to put the piece together. The kids were thus able to help one another if one of the pair got stuck. There was also an instructor to assist, and a big bucket of cool Lego pieces for free building once the project of the week was complete.

The first week they built the Eiffel Tower:

The second week was a windmill, including hooking it up to a motor to make it spin. Daegan got so excited when he finally got the connections the right way so it spun—so did he in the pic.

The third week they made a see-saw (teeter-totter), and the fourth a turnstile with lots of gears. Again, both projects hooked up to motors to move:

Thanks again to Lisa for setting up this class and hosting.

Opening Date, Family Membership Prices and Benefits

*Key to Benefits: Ad=Free Unlimited Admission; Disc=Discounts of various sorts, like on movies, summer camps, gift shop, etc.; Guest=Free Guest Admission(s); Inv=Invites to Members-Only Events; News=Newsletter; Other Att Disc=Discounted Admission at other local attractions; Park=Free or Discounted Parking; Rad= Free Reciprocal Admission at other science centres.

Name and Location	Date Opened	Family Membership	Benefits
Montreal Science Centre, Montreal	2000 (Expotec exhibits 1987)	$95	Ad, Disc, News, Other Att Disc, Park, Rad
Discovery Centre, Halifax	1990	$75	Ad, Disc, Guest, Inv, News, Rad
Okanagan Science Centre, Vernon	1990	$56 – $112	Ad, Disc, (Guest@$112), Inv, News, Rad
Science East, Fredericton	1999 (touring exhibits 1994)	$75	Ad, Disc, Inv, News, Rad
Canada South Science City, Windsor	2004	$75	Ad, Disc, Inv, News, Rad
Saskatchewan Science Centre, Regina	1989	$74.50	Ad, Disc, Inv, News, Rad
The Exploration Place, Prince George	2001	$84.95	Ad, Disc, Inv, News, Rad

Telus Spark is simply not “Canada’s first New Science Centre in more than 25 years” as they claim. Here’s what’s under the ‘About TELUS Spark’ link on their mobile site, a claim oft-repeated in the media and by Spark representatives, including their CEO:

Spark is, however, by far the most expensive when it comes to membership at these newer Canadian science centres, even looking at the cheaper ‘green’ prices for a family of 4 (or 6). And Spark’s ‘green’ membership comes with the poorest benefits package in the country. To get comparable benefits to what these other newer science centres offer local families for less than $100/year, Calgarians are being asked to pay $320 (‘gold’ for a family of 4) to $460 (‘gold’ for a family of 6), slightly higher if those kids are teens.

Not convinced Spark’s membership prices are out of line? Compare other major science centres around the country.

Other Major Science Centres in Canada

**Though a Children’s Museum, many of its exhibits are science-oriented and it participates in the reciprocal admission agreement with science centres in Canada

There is simply no other science centre in the country with such high prices and such poor benefits as Telus Spark—not even close! All the above offer benefits comparable to Spark’s ‘gold’ membership, which again costs $320 – $460 (family of 4 – 6, slightly higher if kids are teens). The science centres with memberships closest in price to Spark are Toronto’s Ontario Science Centre, and Sudbury’s Science North, the two largest science centres in the country—Toronto’s is about twice the size of Spark. Toronto has a far more affordable ‘basic’ membership than Spark’s ‘green’, and with better benefits; and similarly a cheaper and better (free movies!) ‘gold’ package. Family membership at Science North in Sudbury comes with benefits comparable to Spark’s ‘gold’ level membership, plus 8 free guest admissions as a perk for early renewal. All this for $180 (not $320 – $460).

Given that Spark does not require these high membership prices to pay for the new $160M building—that was covered via tax-payer dollars and corporate/private donations—why are the membership prices so high? Every one of these other science centres has to cover operating costs, just like Spark, and yet can do so and keep their membership prices accessible for far more local families and their children.

Why focus on membership? Can’t Calgary families go to Spark on day admission passes, which are priced similarly to those of other science centres in Canada? I am focusing on memberships for a variety of reasons:

1) Memberships allow repeat visits more affordably, and allow local families to get more enrichment and education from their science centre than is had by an out-of-town tourist. If Spark is to be a “resource to all Calgarians” above and beyond the resource it is to the tourist, affordable memberships are key.

2) Many families, especially those with young children, find a huge advantage in the flexibility of memberships. They can go to the science centre for just a few hours, here and there, as suits their needs—around nap times, children’s other lessons and activities, and so on. Many families with young children are hesitant to spend $70-90 on day admission knowing their children may only last an hour or two, whereas they’ll happily buy a membership that is affordable and holds good value wrt benefits.

3) Given the reciprocal admission agreement between science centres, where membership at one gets you into other science centres in Canada (and often North America) for free, there is a reason to have a degree of parity between membership rates and benefits. Anyone living 90 miles/150km or more outside Calgary can buy a far more affordable membership at a different science centre and visit Spark for free. Only locals—the very community Spark aims to serve, and the people whose tax dollars helped both build the centre and fund on-going operations via ‘operating grants’ from City of Calgary—have to pay these high membership rates.

My suggestion to Telus Spark: Bring memberships and their benefits in line with other science centres around the country. There are several options here to make memberships more affordable and better value for local Calgary families, like bringing back a family membership pass; or, if sticking with the individual membership structure, allowing families to buy ‘individual memberships’ individually, mixing ‘green’ and ‘gold’ levels as suits their needs; and improving ‘green’ benefits to current ‘gold’ level (save perhaps parking) which is standard with memberships elsewhere. Asking a family of 6 to pay a minimum of $288/year for membership—no discounts, no movies included, no parking, etc—is simply too much for many in this city. Given that our tax dollars helped build the centre and fund ongoing operations via ‘operating grants’, there is a moral argument to be made that Spark should do more to keep itself accessible to locals—our future scientists and innovators will come from all income brackets and from families of all sizes. A completely independent business can charge what they want and we need to ‘suck it up’ if we want to go—that’s capitalism—but a tax-payer subsidized business, and an educational institution at that, should be held to a different standard in my view.

I think Spark should also Improve membership benefits at the ‘gold’ level by offering a more inclusive option (‘gold plus’?) where movies and possibly traveling exhibits are included. Paying $320 – $460 / year and then having the cost of movies and traveling exhibits on top seems exorbitant. Spark could consider offering a broader range of membership options, as is done in Vancouver, with its basic $140 Family Membership to ‘Premier Memberships’ at $350 – $500 which includes the basic Family Membership, 2-4 guest passes, 25 free IMAX movie vouchers, and a $100 – $250 tax receipt. There are countless science centres across Canada and North America that Spark can look to for innovative ideas as to how to run a science centre without going in the red, yet still offer affordable memberships of good value to local families.

Instead of being dinosaurs for the umpteenth time, this year the boys were struck by an 11th hour inspiration: Willy Wonka and Charlie, from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one of our themes this fall. It was Gareth’s idea to be Wonka; he’s quite the imaginative 6-year-old, and has the drama experience and personality to pull the roll off. Don’t you think?

Here’s how the magic unfolded, after a trip to Don’s Hobby Shop (hat, carnation, bowtie, cane) and a lucky trip to Goodwill (gold pin-striped black velour jacket—what a find!). Jim helped Gareth get into his outfit for a Halloween party we attended:

And here he is seeing himself in the mirror for the first time:

And with “Charlie”, who looks concerned about where Wonka is pointing that cane!

At the Halloween party with his friend “Jack Sparrow”. Wonka and Sparrow have been friends since birth. Even with the blur, I love this picture of their friendship:

The following day we carved our jack-o-lantern. Well, the boys and Jim did. Pumpkin is one of the few smells I absolutely cannot stand—gagville!—and pumpkin guts?  Aaaaaaggghhhh! The texture!

Gareth was just fine getting right into the guts, while Daegan separated out the seeds for roasting. He ate most of them too, once they were ready.

Jim was teaching the boys about how to cut safely as he worked.

And the finished product (sorry the pic is blurry):

Halloween night. It took a moment, but lots of adults broke into a big smile when they sorted out who the boys were dressed up as. I love that they came up with something unusual, and very tied to their interests right now:

Why Telus Spark Science Centre has Lost our Family as Members

Yesterday, we purchased an annual family membership to Edmonton’s science centre. It cost $134.95 (+GST), and came with a slew of benefits, like 50% off IMAX movies. Membership at Calgary’s new Telus Spark science centre with comparable benefits would have cost our 4-person family $320.

We made this choice for both financial and ethical reasons, and despite being long-time members of Calgary Science Centre in the past.

We’re a middle-class family fortunate enough to have $320/year to spend on science enrichment and education for our children. But we need to get good value for that money. For $320, we can buy the Edmonton membership ($135), a Royal Tyrrell membership ($60), visit the new Telus Spark on a day admission ($65.80), and still have money left for family nature classes at Devonian Gardens, tours at Dinosaur Provincial Park, admission to the newly renovated John Janzen nature centre, or Coaldale’s Birds of Prey centre—a place we just discovered this past summer. Or we’ll offer small donations to free places like Calgary’s Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Lethbridge’s Helen Schuler Nature Centre, or Medicine Hat’s Police Point Park. Or to the Ellis Bird Farm who hosts the Bug Jamboree each August, the University of Alberta who offers ‘Science Sunday for Kids’ each March, or our own Calgary Public Library, where in the past couple weeks our family has taken in a Rock and Fossil show, and a class about bats. We’ve done enriching, hands-on, science-based activities at all these places in Alberta. And all keep prices affordable—in fact, many are free! Yes, there are higher travel costs associated with some of these outings, but several of them are no additional cost to what our family would be doing anyways (my husband sometimes works in Edmonton; we have family to visit in Lethbridge, etc.).

We also want to see our money spent wisely by the institutions we support. We expect them to offer solid, enrichment opportunities—and also to make these opportunities affordable and inclusive, reaching as many of our “future generation of scientists, engineers and innovators” as they can. Reading through science centre annual reports, I’ve learned that in 2010 Edmonton had 27% more visitors than Calgary’s old Science Centre, yet also spent at least $358K less on ‘salaries and compensation’. (It is unclear whether to include the additional $460K in ‘Professional Fees and Contracts’ that Calgary listed under ‘operating costs’ for the old science centre, which would make the total $818K less). So in 2010, Edmonton spent $358K (possibly $818K) less on employees, while accommodating 86,000 more visitors, and while running a larger science centre. Food for thought.

The other factor behind our spending decision is ethical: put simply, my husband and I have little tolerance for “stretching the truth”. I understand Telus Spark needs to attract visitors, and wants to seem as appealing as possible. That’s marketing. But misinformation crosses the line. Spark CEO Jennifer Martin came out swinging in her editorial, claiming folks—including Klaszus and implying me—were stating “inaccuracies”. Since we’re talking about inaccuracies, I’ll address only three, the significance of which I leave you to decide for yourself:

1) CEO Martin stated that the science centre does not receive tax-payer dollars to help fund operating costs. Her words: “…it seems that some members of the community, and Klaszus, are under the impression that our operations are either fully or partially subsidized, which is not the case.” Yet according to their 2010 annual report, Calgary science centre received about $3M in “operating grants”. Just over $1M of that is listed in the annual report as being for the “new science centre”, and just under $2M listed under “operating costs” for the old centre. And the majority of that $3M came from the City of Calgary.

Let’s be clear about what I am upset about here. I am not upset about them receiving grants per se; other science centres, like Edmonton’s, do so as well. And as a friend of mine rightly pointed out, this can help bring tourist dollars into our city, benefitting many Calgarians who work in that field. Edmonton, though, is quite up-front about this, mentioning on page 8 of their annual report “…our unique partnership with the City of Edmonton, our only source of public funding for operations.” They are not denying the fact, nor trying to use that denial to justify high membership prices that keep a science centre less accessible to local families.

2) Telus Spark is under fire for membership fees, and has inaccurate information on their website about how long it takes for membership to “pay for itself”. On their main membership page, they claim memberships pay for themselves “in just 3 to 5 visits”. If you crunch the numbers, you’ll find memberships pay for themselves in 4 to 6 visits. For example, three ‘day admission’ visits for a child costs $38.85 (3x$12.95); a child’s green membership is $42. Three day visits for youth costs $47.85 (membership $48); adult $59.85 (membership $60), and senior $53.85 (membership $54). It takes 4 visits to pay for any of the green memberships. For gold membership, adult and senior do pay for themselves in 5 visits as stated, but child $64.75 ($70 membership), and youth $79.75 ($80 membership) do not. They take 6 visits.

3) Telus Spark on the home page of their website says “Canada’s first new Science Centre in over 25 years”. This phrase has been oft-repeated by the media, and gone unquestioned. Yet Montreal’s science centre opened in 2000, and last I checked Quebec was still part of Canada. I find it particularly amusing that the government of Canada official press release goes along with the “first in 25 years” story, even though they gave funding to both Calgary’s and Montreal’s projects. A simple “first to open in more than a decade” surely would have had a similar impact on the lay public, and been accurate. And for the curious, family memberships in Montreal are $95/year. Edited Nov 23: I have since learned that this claim is even more inaccurate than I thought. I have found at least 7 science centres that have opened in Canada in the past 25 years. For a chart comparing Spark’s membership prices and benefits to those of these 7 centres, and 7 additional major science centres in Canada, see here.

So there you have it. By choosing to spend our money in this way, we are still supporting Spark—they’ll get our $65.80 for a one-day admission. But that is considerably less than we would have given them if memberships were kept in line with every other science centre in Canada (and North America). It’s not just membership money they have lost—we will watch our IMAX movies in Edmonton, buy Christmas and birthday presents for our science-crazy sons at Edmonton’s gift shop, etc. And, in our view, better support Alberta’s many institutions that provide accessible science enrichment for our youth.

Please note: I am only telling my family’s story, with our particular circumstances and values. I in no way disparage you if your family chooses differently—for folks who don’t travel much, or who have preschoolers who will expend energy at the much-improved Creative Kids area this winter, or who value spending locally (in Calgary) more than provincially—buying memberships to Spark makes sense. I fully support your decision. I simply ask you to extend the same courtesy and not disparage our choice. And Spark, if you are listening, why not look at a price structure like Vancouver, where families have more choice—from $140/year for basic membership, to ‘premier’ memberships at $350 – $500, which come with tax receipts, 25 IMAX movie vouchers, and 2-4 guest passes. Surely some Calgary families would jump at this sort of value, and feel good about doing so knowing there were options in place to keep membership affordable (at $140) for far more families in the community.

I honestly do want to see Spark succeed and become a jewel of this city. But I also want value for my family, and value for the money I spend supporting science education and enrichment in Alberta. I will be judging Spark’s success on two grounds: (1) can they make the numbers work? and (2) can they be as accessible as possible to the local Calgary community? Right now, the first remains to be seen—though as a new place, I suspect they will be fine for at least a few years, novelty being a great seller—but they get a failing grade from me on the latter. I hope to see that improve in the coming years.

Bottom line, Spark: we’ve bought memberships in the past, and were planning to again. And we will buy again, if the value for our dollar is there. But between the price jump and the benefit drop, and the many other opportunities to support science education and enrichment in Alberta, we cannot justify it in our family budget.

Risa Kawchuk,

Founder of facebook’s People For an Affordable Calgary Science Centre

1. Membership costs have doubled ($320, family of 4) to tripled ($460, family of 6), for LESS benefits (dome movies no longer free, even on gold membership). This is an outrageous increase at once. Old memberships ran about $160/family. Two years ago they were $130.

2. No other science centre in North America costs anywhere near this much. Compare: Toronto’s science centre, family of 6 $120 (green) or $230 (gold), and gold includes free IMAX movies. Calgary: $288 (green), $460 (gold) and movies extra. Membership prices are $135 in Edmonton, and $140 in Vancouver.
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3. Science centres in North America have a reciprocal admission agreement: membership at any science centre gets you into about 250 other science centres around the continent for free. In other words, only Calgarians are being required to pay these sky high membership prices to see their new science centre. Folks visiting from Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, or even Lethbridge (as long as they live over 150kms from Calgary) can buy a much cheaper membership at another science centre, and see ours for free.

4. In the 2010 science centre annual report, they state that “"The New Science Centre fundraising efforts were also successful in exceeding their 2010 targets. By the end of the year, 94 percent of the $160 million Capital Campaign money had been raised. This is truly a remarkable feat…”. If this new building is basically already paid for, why are the membership prices so high? If excellent science centres in other expensive cities—Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Boston, etc.—can run their centres on far lesser membership fees, why can’t Telus Spark?

5. The new science centre has gone to a “individual membership” price structure; there is no Family Membership anymore. They say they have done this so we can “customize” our membership to “the unique needs of our family”. Yet they will not allow a family to buy individual memberships at different levels—like ‘gold’ for a parent for the free parking, and ‘green’ for the children. From their membership page: "Designed to be just as unique as all of our members, our new individual pricing allows you to customize the cost of Membership for you and your family." From their FAQ link off the membership page: "Can I Purchase Green and Gold Memberships together? — Family/Joint memberships will be processed in the same membership category, i.e., all GREEN or all GOLD, in order to maintain family content and benefit consistency.” I say, if you are going to treat us as a family when buying memberships, give us an affordable Family Membership option. To put this sort of family-based restriction on so-called “individual memberships” is unfair.

6. The new science centre is simply unaffordable for many Calgary families. And as this centre was partially funded by these same families’ tax dollars, this seems particularly unfair. This is an educational institution and should be accessible to all! It’s not a country club!

7. The science centre has claimed their prices are not out of line with other Calgary attractions. The zoo, the highest costs attraction, allows individual memberships, so Mom or Dad can buy the "Engage" level to get the parking, and the kids can have the basic "Connect" membership. This would be $75 for one parent, $55 for the other, and $22 per child. For a family of 4: $174/year; for a family of 6: $218. And this would come with free parking. An even more salient comparison is the Glenbow, where you can buy a 2 year family membership for $160. This is one quarter—25% the cost—of the membership to the science centre for my family of 4. A Heritage Park family pass runs $120/year; $159 with rides. There is no other Calgary attraction that would cost a family anywhere near $460/year.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

Calgary Herald Sparks Flying at new Telus Science Centre (link here)
Metro News New Science Centre Too Pricey: Parent (link here)
Metro News Science Centre Prices Have Parents Exploring Options (link here)
Calgary Herald: Telus Science Centre Opens With Grand Ceremony, Concerns Over Admission Costs. What Do You Think? [includes poll] (link here)
CBC News Centre Wants to Spark Calgary’s Attention, Despite Price Increase (link here)
Ottawa Citizen New Science Centre Astounds Minds and Pocketbooks (link here)
Calgary Herald: Telus Spark CEO: Science Centre Admission is Less Than a Dollar a Day (link here)
Calgary Herald: The New Science Centre’s Admission Fees: Share Your Thoughts With the Herald Editorial Board (link here)
Calgary Herald: Editorial: Cost could be barrier to many at new Telus Spark science centre (link here)

TV / VIDEO COVERAGE

Global Calgary News Hour segment “Science Centre Cost” (video link here)
Calgary Sun segment “Spark Science Centre Set to Open” (video link here)
CBC’s The National segment “Calgary’s New Science Centre” (video link here)
CTV article Under Fire Over Fees (link here)

RADIO / PODCASTS

CBC Calgary Eyeopener Unconventional Panel – The Price of Calgary (audio link here)
CBC Calgary Homestretch: TELUS Spark (audio link here)

One of the above was the ultimate recycled art: Daegan used dryer lint! Did you spot it?

There was a nice range of fossils for hands-on exploration:

There was also a section with minerals, as well as metals. Here, Daegan lifted the different metals, which were arranged from lightest to heaviest (left-to-right). Having played trumpet since I was a kid, I have to say I was quite surprised at how heavy a solid block of brass was!

The scientists and volunteers there were as friendly and helpful as always. This is the aspect of these shows I enjoy seeing the most: my science-loving kids interacting with mentors and role-models.

Gareth spent quite a bit of time with the microscope (note to self: time to buy one of these for our homeschool!):

And Daegan entered a contest to win a bag of fossils.

A fun way to spend an hour or two. Keep an eye out for their next show—check the library program guides. Or contact them directly, at Calgary Science Network. They do presentations for kids and schools.