Hello everyone.

Me and my wife are planning a two-day visit in Toronto.
I should note that we are both around 28 and this is our first travel to North America.

I would like to hear your opinion about the Ontario Science Centre as a tourist attraction.
As I looked in the museum site (www.ontariosciencecentre.ca), I couldn't decipher if the exhibitions are intended for adults or for kids.

Please help me.

It is primarily geared to kids with displays that demonstrate the basics of science... if you are a teacher, it could be interesting... when we were there, it was uncomfortable as adults to chase kids away from displays or make them wait for us... however it was a very busy, rainy day... however,it was interesting ...

The Science Center has some great special shows, and these would appeal to adults as well as children.

I've been going for years with kids from 3 to 15, and I've always enjoyed my visits, ebven then the kids were bigenough to head off on their own, touring without me.

There is an IMAX movie theatre, and that's an extra fee. This movie usually is very good for adults as well as kids.

So, if you like science, it really is worth the visit. I think.

BAK

The Ontario Science Centre is a wonderful place that appeals to both adults and children. My own children loved to go there and would even hold their birthday parties there. More recently I purchased a family membership for my granddaughters and I. The IMAX theatre always has interesting presentations.

Currently Harry Potter, the Exhibition is on. You can get hotel and Science Centre packages. Just go to www.ontarioscience centre.ca for more information.

Enjoy!

Just had another thought for your stay in Toronto. The Canadian National Exhibition is on until Labour Day. The CNE is the largest annual exhibition in Canda. I am not sure if this coincides with your visit or not.

The CNE has something of interest for everyone. Don't miss the food building! You can get further information by googling Canadian National Exhibition.

I've visited the Science Centre quite a few times over the years, although not recently. Mostly we went when our kids were younger. I found that many of the exhibits were interesting for adults, but as alluded to, there are usually a huge number of kids around and I found this sometimes limited access to many of the displays.

The Royal Ontario Museum (The ROM) in the downtown area (which the Science Centre is "not"), is popular with both families and adults and has a very wide array of excellent displays - natural and cultural history.

When are you visiting Toronto? What are your other interests?

Thanks for all the answers.

mat54: We will be in toronto in mid-September.
My intentions are to spend 2 days in Toronto, 2 days in the 1000Islands area and one day in Niagara Falls.

I listed a few attractions of Toronto, based on posts in this forum:
- CN Tower
- Toronto Islands
- ROM
- Casa Loma
- A walk at the University
- Fort York
- Toronto ZOO

I will be glad to any remarks or additions.

Of course, the OSC is for kids - what isn't today? During the school yr., most of its revenue comes from bringing in the involuntaries by busloads, but if you go late in August, you can avoid that. If you want to do something adult - other than bars - one of the only attractions is the nudist beach on Hanlon's point. There you can relax and sip some delicious canned drink comfortable in the brown sand among fat women and gay men while watching aircraft to and fro at the Island airport and watch the Exhibition ( = state fair - about as interesting as Lawrence Welk re-runs) from a distance great enough not to smell it also. If you want to do something interesting in Toronto, go the aiport and get a flight to Singapore and start travelling north and east from there. Actually, seriously the Toronto islands are a pleasant diversion from the city and you will never come across the nudist beach if it is not pointed out to you.

Some other suggestions for your Toronto visit: the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Hockey Hall of Fame, Chinatown, the Distillery District, the Eaton Centre and Harbourfront.

Enjoy the multicultural flavour of the city in the myriad of ethnic restaurants. Visit the Kensington Market downtown.

If you enjoy live theatre, try www.torontotheatre.com for a wide range of performances in the city.

If you are a sports fan you may want to check the schedules for the Blue Jays at toronto.buljays.mlb.com/schedule or www.torontofc.ca/schedule if you enjoy soccer. You may also want to check to see if there are any Argo games (CFL) during the time you are in the city.

It is always fun to take the Hop-on Hop-off trolley to get an overview of the city so you can return to spots that take your interest. If the weather is good, sit on the upper deck to get the best experience.

The next time you visit you may want to give yourself enough time to enjoy a day-trip or two. Some great places in the summer are the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Martyrs Shrine in Midland.

Enjoy your visit to Toronto.

Hi - you say you're coming mid September. If you're planning on being in Toronto between Sept 9 and Sept 19, you'll have to be booked well ahead as the very big Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is on during that time.

The trouble with the Zoo is it's on the outskirts and will take up most of one of your 2 days. With just 2 days, you might want to stick to the downtown area. In addition to the attractions you've listed, there are districts and neighbourhoods you might want to check out (some of which have already been mentioned above) e.g.
- Distillery District
- Yorkville - short walk from the ROM - upscale shopping, dining and celebrity-spotting (will be packed during Film Fest)
- Harbourfront - Ferry to Islands departs from this area but there are other things to see on the mainland (weekends are most active with special events and interesting displays, especially in summer, but September will be OK). You can walk here from CN Tower.
- do a google search for Toronto Events for the time you're visiting, there's often lots going on