Sudbury Rocks

By Ilona Biro

Still wondering where to take the kids this summer? If your kids love dinosaurs, volcanoes and watching Magic School Bus reruns on television, chances are they’ll love Sudbury. Not only is it home to world–renowned Science North, the city just opened a new attraction called Dynamic Earth. The two, billed as the Dynamic Duo, will keep your dinosaur–loving rock hounds entertained for days.

To get kids in the mood for their voyage of discovery, tell them the cool story of how Sudbury began. Way back, well before the dinosaur age, about two billion years ago, a massive 10 km–wide meteorite slammed into Earth, exactly where Sudbury is today. The impact was enormous, creating rich nickel ore deposits and leaving a 100 km–wide and 15 km–deep crater known as the Sudbury Basin. And at Dynamic Earth, kids can relive the meteorite impact in an ingenious use of video animation called the Sudbury Story.

In fact, Dynamic Earth tells the tale of our planet so compellingly that you can almost feel the rock under your feet come alive. In the Earth Gallery you can test your geology and geography knowledge, or take in a video called Eye on the Planet, which explains gravity, plate tectonics and radioactivity so well that even my five year–old understood. Beautiful large–scale photography of Earth’s most interesting natural formations surround an area devoted to little known geology facts – like a display profiling Mt. Meager in B.C. which revealed that Canada has its share of active volcanoes too.

And when the kids have had enough geology, they can head downstairs to the Explora Mine and shunt and shovel coal in a small–scale mining operation. Kids can have a blast here (literally) by pushing a button and activating sound effects that mimic dynamite blasting out a wall. Or let them take the controls of a modern mine at the Mining Command Centre, where a joystick and remote cameras are the tools for manipulating heavy equipment. Next door at Nickel City Stories, Sudbury’s history is told through the eyes of a local who’s heard it all, a barber named Louie. Through his engaging patter, and an innovative mix of slides, music and film, you get a real sense of the people who founded Sudbury and made it what it is today.

But the highlight is the INCO Chasm, where a glass–fronted elevator takes visitors on a voyage through space and time. As you descend 20 metres into the mine, lights and projections on the rock face create images of the beginnings of the Earth. After donning hard hats and passing through airlock doors, visitors can tramp through warren of reconstructed tunnels that represent mining technology from the turn of the century to the present. Our guide, Jennifer Perreault, started off by joking that she “really shouldn’t be down here at all. For centuries, women were considered bad luck in mines.” “Damn right,” joked a retired miner who was in our group. As Perreault explained the evolution of mining, the miner helped us understand the day–to–day struggled of a working life spent underground.

After ascending out of Dynamic Earth, we hopped across town to Science North, a unique snowflake–shaped building on the shores of Lake Ramsey. Its hands-on science experiments and sense of fun appeals to kids of all ages, and this summer’s exhibit of life–sized, animatronic dinosaurs makes it an absolute must–see. Lie on a bed of 3,000 nails and painlessly learn about surface area, or play in the stream table and observe the properties of water in action. And make sure to visit the Swap Shop, where kids can bring in specimens they find in Nature to earn points and trade for specimens left by others. Points can be used immediately or banked and used for future trading in the Swap Shop’s constantly rotating "collection". Points are rewarded according to how much someone knows about their object, so the whole process gets kids observing, asking questions, and thinking independently. It’s no wonder the centre has drawn praise from the likes of Prince Charles and Jane Goodall.

Science North’s innovations also include its multimedia Object Theatres, which explain complex scientific concepts in an engaging, and often comical, way. The newest one, a hilarious tour de force about global warming, features Rick Mercer as a wisecracking sheep who endures all kinds of weird weather while lambasting humankind for messing up the planet. During the course of the show, the audience gets buffeted with wind, sprinkled with rain, and learns a lesson about climate change they’ll never forget.

Our last stop was Dinosaur Valley Mini–golf, 30 minutes north of Sudbury, where hand–forged steel dinosaur skeletons loom over a network of 54 holes. Along the way we played “guess where the meteorite crater ends”. We actually think we found it, halfway between Chelmsford and Onaping Falls, along Highway 144.

More fun than license plate bingo, it’s a car game you could only play in Sudbury.

IF YOU GO:

Get a Dynamic Duo passport for both Dynamic Earth and Science North for $39.95 for adults and $29.95 students/seniors. They include admission to both science centres and entry to three selections from Science North’s IMAX films or Virtual Voyages rides. The dinosaur exhibit at Science North runs until September 1st. For more information, call (800) 461–4898 or visit www.sciencenorth.com or www.dynamicearth.ca.

Dinosaur Valley Mini–Golf: www.dinosaursudbury.com