Explore an observatory, nursing simulation centre and archive with Doors Open at York University
What’s it like to search the universe for new discoveries or practice potentially life-saving nursing skills? Visit the Allan I. Carswell Astronomical Observatory, the Nursing Simulation Centre and the Archives of Ontario at York University’s Keele Campus during Toronto’s Doors Open event to find out.
All three venues will be open Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. They all offer interactive activities in line with this year’s theme of play, along with an educational aspect. Admission is free for all visitors.
Allan I. Carswell Astronomical Observatory
Opened in 1969, the Allan I. Carswell Astronomical Observatory has two telescopes housed in new dual, rotating, robotic domes, which replaced the original ones in 2022.
Under one of the domes is a one-metre (39-inch) custom-built telescope – the largest on a university campus in Canada – installed in 2019 to provide students, researchers and the community with a deeper view into the mysteries of space, distant galaxies and cosmic objects. Beneath the second dome, is a 60-centimetre (24-inch) Cassegrain reflector.
“Both telescopes help transport viewers to a universe of possibilities and unknowns where they can explore galaxies and solar systems beyond our own,” says York Professor Elaina Hyde, director of the observatory. “Telescopes do make the best spaceships.”
Visitors to the observatory will have an opportunity to speak with astronomy students, learn what it means to be an astronomer, find out about the latest research and discoveries. There will be guided tours of the building, along with a special Observatory Treasure Hunt.
Smaller portable telescopes will be available for visitor use, weather permitting.
Who doesn't love space? It captures our imaginations and makes us wonder if we are truly alone. This is a great Doors Open option for young visitors and the young at heart.
Visitors should note that there are dim light conditions and stairs-only access (unfortunately no lifts or ramps are available) in the observatory and sturdy close-toed shoes are recommended.
Last admittance will be at 4:30 p.m.
To learn more, check out the observatory website.
Nursing Simulation Centre
There will be many opportunities for visitors to interact with the equipment in the Nursing Simulation Centre and can see if they have what it takes to be a health-care professional.
Opened in 2006, the centre is a 5,000-square-foot space on the third floor of the Health, Nursing and Environmental Studies building. It includes the Nursing Skills Lab, which houses adult medical-surgical beds, a pediatric area and an isolation room.
“The Nursing Simulation Centre allows students to hone and practice their skills in a controlled and simulated environment, so they are ready to apply what they learned in real-life situations,” says York Assistant Professor Laura Nicholson, director of the centre. “A portion of the centre is set up to resemble a hospital ward where students get hands-on experience administering medical care using anatomically correct mannequins.”
Students in York University's undergraduate and graduate nursing programs are provided the opportunity to achieve their professional development and learning goals.
Interested in knowing more? Explore the centre through tours and ask questions of the knowledgeable volunteers who can explain how the equipment works.
Last admittance will be at 4:45 p.m.
To learn more, check out the Nursing Simulation Centre’s website.
The Archives of Ontario
Get a rare behind-the-scenes look at the Archives of Ontario’s vaults, conservation lab and reading room, and a personal tour of its current exhibit. Learn how archives work and why they matter.
Led by knowledgeable staff, these in-person tours are a great way to explore one of the best and largest archival facilities in Canada.
This 2009 purpose-built facility includes a large reading room with digital microfilm readers, audio and video booths, digitization and conservation labs, a large exhibit gallery and a classroom for educational programming.
The Archives of Ontario is one of the largest provincial archives in Canada, with a vast collection that includes textual (paper) items, photographs, maps, architectural drawings and audio, video and film recordings.
It is also home to the Government of Ontario Art Collection.
Last admittance will be at 4 p.m.
To learn more, check out the archive’s website.
The Goldfarb Gallery
Visitors also have an opportunity to take in some art while on campus.
While not on the official Doors Open tour, the Goldfarb Gallery is now in its new butterfly-shaped building featuring three exhibition spaces plus a performance pavilion designed by internationally acclaimed architect Siamak Hariri. Its central reception area connects four uniquely designed “wings”.
The gallery will be open to visitors on Saturday, May 24, from noon to 5 p.m., and is a short stroll from the York University subway station.
Two new exhibits will be will be open for viewing until Aug. 2: Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn’s When Water Embraces Empty Space and Andrea Carlson’s A Painting is a Coin.
Nguyễn’s exhibit began with the Luf Boat, a massive and elaborately carved outrigger sailing vessel from the island of Luf, Papua New Guinea, made in the late 1800s. The canoe was confiscated by the Hernsheim trading company and sold to the German ethnographic museum in 1904. A main aspect of Nguyễn’s exhibition is reuniting descendants of the people of Luf with the canoe while questioning the colonial history of theft and violence that brought it to its current site at the Humboldt Forum in Berlin.
Carlson’s exhibit builds on concerns that have animated her more than two-decade long practice. The exhibition’s title is a play on the poem The Sonnet, 1880, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti that includes the line “A Sonnet is a coin: its face reveals/The soul,—its converse, to what Power ’tis due…”.
There will also be a public conversation in a separate gallery room with artistTuấn Andrew Nguyễn, moderated by gallery Director/Curator Jenifer Papararo, from 2 to 4 p.m., which will include Stanley Inum, Fordy Stanley and Enoch Lun from Papua New Guinea with translator Kireni Imwe Jean Sparks-Ngenge. RSVP to attend the conversation.
Admittance to the gallery is always free. See location on the Map.
TRCA Administrative Office
Also, in the neighbourhood is the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA) new administrative office building. Recently, the TRCA unveiled a brand-new building bringing together cutting-edge sustainability design and practice in one unique structure. Learn more about the 8,100-square-metre, mass timber construction building and how it integrates nature, energy efficiency, and cutting-edge design.
Highlights of the building design include cascading water walls and a large, naturally lit atrium, which provides stunning views of the adjacent Black Creek ravine. TRCA's new office – next to York University’s Keele Campus – is one of the most sustainable buildings in North America. It reimagines how green building design in an urban landscape can playfully integrate with the natural environment.
The TRCA administrative office will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25. Last admittance will be at 4:45 p.m. on both days.
The Village at Black Creek
For more than 60 years, The Village at Black Creek has been a destination for Torontonians to explore the past and reflect on the present. This exploration is made meaningful by its 40 historic buildings, 60 rare- and heritage-breed animals, six gardens growing flowers and plants from heirloom seeds, and one-of-a-kind programs that engage people of all ages.
Visitors meet costumed historians who involve them in trades and crafts common to 1860s Ontario. Home to some of the oldest buildings in the Greater Toronto Area, including the 1816 Stong family home, and a collection of 50,000 19th-century artifacts, The Village at Black Creek is a department of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
The Village at Black Creek will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25. Last admittance will be at 3:30 p.m. on both days.
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For those interested in visiting some of the other 150 plus sites across Toronto, including sports, music and theatre venues, visit the Doors Open Toronto website.
