Science World Vancouver

The building came first and the science centre moved into it. Bruno Freschi designed the geodesic dome as the Expo Centre for Expo 86, the transport-themed world's fair; construction began in 1984 and finished in early 1985. The city handed the building over in 1987, a CA$19.1 million renovation campaign followed, and Science World opened on 6 May 1989.

That is why the shape and the exhibits do not quite match: the dome is a 1980s world's fair pavilion with a science museum fitted inside it.

The name confuses people for a reason. Telus donated CA$9 million and the building was officially renamed Telusphere in January 2005; that was unpopular enough that within months it became Science World at the Telus World of Science. The naming agreement ended in 2020, and the organisation now brands itself simply Science World across its own site.

The charity behind it is the ASTC Science World Society. So if you are searching for the Telus World of Science in Vancouver, this is it, under an older name.

What is inside

Two floors of hands-on galleries, a Science Theatre on Level 2 running short films, live demonstrations at Centre Stage, and the outdoor Ken Spencer Science Park, which opened in late 2012 along with the last big round of indoor renovation. The dome itself is the top of the building, and members get into it from 9:30 AM, half an hour before the public.

This is the single most out-of-date claim in circulation about Science World, and it costs people money in their planning. A 400-seat Omnimax theatre opened in the upper dome in 1989 and for decades an OMNIMAX film was a paid add-on to admission. It is not one now.

The museum's own film page states that the Dome Theatre is temporarily closed, and that "All films are free with Science World admission!" The films that run are in the Science Theatre on Level 2.

The practical consequences are worth spelling out. You do not need to budget an extra ticket, you do not need to time your visit around a screening in the dome, and any itinerary that allows an hour for an OMNIMAX show is allowing an hour for something that is not running. Because it is described as temporary, this is the one fact on this page most likely to change; the museum's film page is the place to check on the week you travel.

Science World prices by age: adult 19 and over, youth 13 to 18, senior 65 and over, child 3 to 12, and free under 3. The one behavioural rule it publishes is firm: "Visitors under 13 years of age must be accompanied by an adult 19+." That single line rules out dropping a group of eleven-year-olds off for the afternoon.

One closure matters more than any of the above for families with toddlers: the Wonder Gallery, the under-6 space that also holds the nursing room, was published as closed from 9 September 2026 with no stated reopening. If your children are small, check that before you buy, because it is the room they would have spent the visit in.

Science World or the Aquarium

The question the search results keep asking. They are different purchases: one is two hours of hands-on galleries in a dome, the other is an animal collection in Stanley Park with its own dynamic pricing, and the Vancouver Aquarium page covers that side. If the children are under six, the Aquarium usually wins; from about seven upward, Science World gives more to do per hour.

The SkyTrain station is at the door, which is the reason the short version below works at all. Main Street-Science World is on the Expo Line, four minutes from Waterfront, so this is the rare Vancouver attraction where the travel is not the expensive part of the day.

The third row is a serious option and this page will not pretend otherwise. The dome is at its best from the False Creek seawall at dusk, when the exterior lights come on, and that view costs nothing. Adults with no children in tow frequently want the photograph rather than the galleries.

Open daily, 10 AM to 5 PM, with doors closing 15 minutes before the hour on the sign. There is no standing weekly closed day, which puts Science World among the Vancouver attractions that stay open on Mondays when European visitors expect them shut. Members get early access to the dome at 9:30 AM.

What does close is ad hoc, and the museum publishes it rather than hiding it. When this page was checked the site listed closures on 8 and 10 September 2026 for private events, main-entrance construction from 9 to 22 September with an alternate entrance in use, the Wonder Gallery closed from 9 September, the Triple O's outlet closed for renovation from 9 September to the end of October, and Centre Stage shows relocating to the Science Theatre from 22 to 24 September. The Dome Theatre remains temporarily closed.

Evening and seasonal events

Twilight Tuesdays ran weekly from 14 July to 1 September 2026 and are over for the season. After Dark: Sinister Science, the Halloween edition, is scheduled for 30 October and is a 19-and-over evening, which is the one time this building is not a children's museum.

This is one of the better-documented buildings in the city and the detail is worth having in advance. Ramps reach the first and second floor galleries and there are two lifts; all washrooms are wheelchair accessible, there is an adult change table in the First Aid room, and gender-neutral washrooms are on the first-floor atrium and the second floor. Six accessible paid parking spaces are available.

Wheelchairs and strollers can be borrowed free, first come, with identification as collateral, and certified public access service dogs are welcome.

For sensory needs, the museum has a Visual Guide and Sensory Map produced with the Canucks Autism Network, free noise-cancelling headphones, sunglasses and sensory toys at Admissions, 25-minute Quiet Space sessions in the Science Theatre a few times a day, and Sensory-Friendly Mornings. It also publishes a warning most attractions do not: "On rare occasions, medical devices (e.g. pacemakers, hearing aids, insulin pumps) could be affected through direct interaction with live-demonstrations." The city-wide picture is on the accessibility page.

• There is no OMNIMAX charge because the Dome Theatre is temporarily closed, and the films that do run are free with admission (scienceworld.ca/film/).
• Admission is complimentary for self-identifying Indigenous people, and for one adult aide or caregiver supervising a visitor with a disability, arranged at the admissions desk (scienceworld.ca/visit-us/).
• Doors close 15 minutes before the posted closing time, so a 4:50 PM arrival is a locked door (scienceworld.ca/visit-us/hours/).
• No family ticket price is published anywhere on the site, although a Family Membership is promoted, so a family of four pays four individual rates (scienceworld.ca/visit-us/).
• The Telus naming agreement ended in 2020 and the building has been plain Science World since, which is why the old Telus World of Science signage no longer matches the website (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_World_(Vancouver) and scienceworld.ca).

It is a morning or an afternoon, not a day, and it works best as the indoor half of a day that is otherwise outdoors. The shape that works: seawall or Granville Island in the morning, SkyTrain one stop to Main Street-Science World after lunch, two hours inside, out at 4:30 and back downtown for dinner in Chinatown or Gastown.

If it rains all day, this is a stronger anchor than most, because the building holds children for three hours without complaint and the station is under cover. If you are travelling without children, the honest advice is to walk the False Creek seawall past the dome at dusk, photograph it lit, and spend the ticket money elsewhere; the rainy day page has the alternatives ranked. How this fits the whole visit is on the Vancouver city guide.