You can’t build a science centre until you have something in the world called science. And you also need visitors, which implies the existence of people with leisure and money.
If we can agree that science is the study of the world around us -- in order to develop theories that can be tested and proved or disproved -- we could say that modern science began when people began to develop answers to how the world worked that did not include God or witchcraft.
It took people a while to get good answers. The first were artists who have always explored the use of materials in different ways as they mixed colours and created objects. Next, technologists looked at their work and figured out how to reproduce their work reliably. Finally, scientists tried to explain why these things worked.
Science centres can trace their lineage back to trade fairs and expositions of long ago when people could see new technology in their towns, as well as the factory and the craftsman’s workbench, where collections were used as teaching aids.
On the other hand, traditional museums began with people and their urge to collect objects. When people wanted to show off their collections, there began the Wunderkammer and the Kunstkammer, the cabinet of curiousities and the cabinet of rarities. Those eventually got sorted into the fields of art, history, and natural history, creating the museums that we visit today. The use of interactivity to communicate concepts, which was developed at science centres, often finds its way into those traditional museums, sometimes blurring the lines between art and science.
The tours of Europe made by people developing the Ontario Science Centre always included visits to three places: the Deutsches Museum in Munich, the Palais de la Découverte in Paris, and the Science Museum in London.
The Deutsches Museum was a pioneer in promoting the modern public understanding of science. Founded in 1903, it is the world’s largest museum of science and technology and sees 1.5 million visitors a year.
In Paris, the Palais de la Découverte was founded in 1937. It is known for its demonstrations, especially its large Van de Graaff generator, and its “Pi” room. That is a round room with the first 707 digits of ∏ represented by large wooden numbers attached to the ceiling. In 2010, it was merged with the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie which opened in 1986, after consulting with OSC. Located about a 30 minute metro ride from the city centre, the Cité receives 5 million visitors a year.
The Science Museum in London was founded in 1857 as the South Kensington Museum. In 1893 a Science Collections director was appointed, and in 1909 the science collection was renamed Science Museum. The Children’s Gallery, known for its interactivity, opened in 1931. William O’Dea worked at the Science Museum before he came to Toronto as Director General of the Ontario Science Centre in 1966.
Here is a diagram illustrating where science centres fit into the world of museums.
This brass and ivory orrery, circa 1770-1780, shows Earth and three planets circling the sun. Devices like this that illustrated basic science were popular in the homes of wealthy people, and were the forerunners of exhibits you might see in a science centre today.