I considered turning around and returning to the c...

I considered turning around and returning to the car, allowing my memories to remain untarnished, but the girlfriend encouraged me further. And good thing to, because the TELUS Science World is still amazing. I returned to my youth, ready and willing to being enveloped in the science I fell in love with, the science that awoke me to the truths of the world. Not going to lie, I felt a little out of place the majority of the exhibits are for children, and despite wanting to channel my inner-toddler, I was forced to avoid them. However, I still must praise the polish of the exhibits themselves, especially one particular display of an active representation of stellar bodies by projecting video upon a spherical surface. The illusion was fantastic in recreating the Earth, Sun, Moon, and Mars, only slightly marred when my towering frame walked in front of a projector.

The permanent exhibits are appealing, and I appreciated that old wireframe moon lander simulator was still here after thirty years. Damn you girlfriend for making me remain an adult. I wanted to play! No, I don t want to leave early. I never wanted to be a child again more, not that I needed much of an excuse to act like one. Hell, I ve always considered myself just a cheap facsimile of an adult poorly controlled by an immature mind fumbling over controls, ever vigilante for those brief moments when no one was looking in order to play with toys again.

Perhaps my positive experience was fortified by the seasonal feature, Dinosaurs Unearthed. For those who need reminding, Dinosaurs are always awesome in any form they take, scientifically accurate or not. Whatever device you employ, be it genetic cloning, time travel, or alien transplantation, there s no reason dinosaurs should not be included in a story. I always though E.R. would ve been more interesting if George Clooney had been replaced by a diplodocus. You would think considering our visit was a mere three days after touring the Royal Tyrrell Museum, that I would ve been tired of dinosaurs, but clearly you don t appreciate the appeal of giant lizards roaming the Earth millions of years before man. I think that fact alone is what turned me away from religion...well, that and Star Trek. Man they need to put dinosaurs in Star Trek. Well, I guess there was the Gorn, but that hardly--ahem, where was I. Right.

In fact, the variations between the two exhibits is worth noting. At Royal Tyrrell, the majority of exhibits were skeletons, while the exhibits at the TELUS Science World were animatronic representations of living animals beautiful, colored, feathered dinosaurs. That alone should be enough of a draw, but no, because The Margaret Zeidler Theatre is still functioning.

One of the largest and coolest dome theaters you re ever likely to see, the Margaret Zeidler Theatre is the dominant reason I come to Science World, and now soon to be the only real reason to visit Edmonton in its entirety. If allowed, I would sit for every film, twice even. I miss the old Zeiss optical-mechanical projector that thing in the center that looked like the chaos gate-creating warp drive from Event Horizon. Alas, the increasing failure and cost of parts, and the efficiency of digital projectors made maintaining the old goliath uneconomical, but it didn t appear to affect the resulting experience.

I am going to miss the TELUS Science World, as it was the only spot worth visiting in Edmonton. Although still remarkable, and remaining the top of a very short-list of places to visit in Edmonton, it s simply not enough for me to make the diversion in future trips. Thank you TELUS Science World for influencing my childhood and remaining steadfast in your quality against the depreciating value of the city around. I could finally be a kid again.