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Elements of the International Business Machines 305 RAMAC system on display at the Exposition universelle et internationale de Bruxelles, unknown location. Anon., “Machine-histoire.” L’Action catholique, 18 January 1959, 15.

Engineering & Technology

I once took a class with Professor RAMAC

Rénald Fortier

Bonjour and goeidag, my reading friend. We are gathered here today to talk about science, technology and innovation in the field of computers rather than aviation and space. I can only imagine now how disappointed you are, but that’s life. Let me assure you that yours truly is not putting forward this topic out of love for computers. As far as I am concerned, these things are no more than temperamental typewriters, with as strong an emphasis as humanly possible on the word mental, but I digress.

A mannequin sits in a red sports car, with the Earth in the background.

Engineering & Technology

The top 10 science and environment stories of 2018

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

If you didn’t get the chance to read as many science stories as you would have liked in 2018, fear not: CBC has compiled its top 10 list just for you. From the discovery of an ancient Mayan city to evidence of Planet X, there’s no shortage of fascinating stories to review.

A young girl holds up her STEAM Horizon Award, with a microscope in the background.

Engineering & Technology

Awards program seeks Canada’s brightest young minds

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

The final search is on to find this year’s most inspiring Canadian teens — with a passion for science and technology. The 2019 STEAM Horizon Awards invite youth ages 16 to 18 to promote positive changes throughout their communities using science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM). The application deadline for this year’s awards program is January 16, 2019.

A scientist at the Photo Zenith Transit Building (PZT), about 1963.

The Dominion Observatory's Earth Physics and Time Keeping Functions, part 2

The Dominion Observatory's Earth Physics and Time Keeping Functions, part 2 by Randall Brooks Earth Physics The Dominion Observatory had another mandate — rather than looking up from the Observatory dome, some staff went to the basement to study gravity and seismic activity. The Observatory became part of a growing worldwide network of centres with seismographs to detect earthquakes and to combine the information to determine the location of the seismic activity. The Museum has a couple of early

glitter bomb

Engineering & Technology

Ex-NASA engineer's glitter bomb exacts revenge on porch thieves

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

When U.S. engineer Mark Rober — who worked on the design of NASA’s Mars Rover — saw a pair of thieves snatch an Amazon package off of his front doorstep, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Check out this article and video to see the device Rober engineered to teach greedy thieves a lesson.

A page from the Harvard Mark II electromechanical computer's log, featuring a dead moth that was removed from the device.

Engineering & Technology

Why do we call computer glitches “bugs”?

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

The term “bug” is another way of saying something is wrong with our computer or software, but where did the term come from? While many attribute the reference to computer scientist Grace Hopper, this article from Curiosity explains that it dates back to Thomas Edison’s private journals.

Christian Bagg testing a prototype of the Icon Explore in a park on a spring day.

Engineering & Technology

Christian Bagg and the Icon Explore

Cédric Brosseau

Ingenium Canada

For Canada History Week 2018 - A short blog post highlighting Christian Bagg’s creativity and innovation, which helped him develop the Icon Explore adaptive off-road vehicle.

Collection Profile: The Dominion Observatory

This collection profile originally appeared in 2005 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Dominion Observatory, a notable landmark on the grounds of the Central-Experimental-Farm National Historic Site of Canada. Many of the astronomical instruments featured here will be preserved in the Ingenium Collections Conservation Centre currently under construction. 　

4 Stories

The Dominion Observatory

The Founding and Construction of the Dominion Observatory, part 1

Foreword This Collection Profile was originally written in 2005 by Dr. Brooks to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Dominion Observatory . It will be released weekly as a four-part series of articles. The Observatory remains a notable landmark on the grounds of the Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site of Canada , a short walk down the street from the Canada Agricultural and Food Museum in Ottawa. The 15-inch equatorial telescope remained the primary instrument there from 1905

Aerial view of the Dominion Observatory, 1966.

The Dominion Observatory's Historic Telescope, part 2

The Dominion Observatory's Historic Telescope, part 2 Surveyor and astronomer, Otto Klotz (1852-1923) envisioned an observatory whose function in Canada mirrored that of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, but with a supporting role for surveyors. The result was the founding of the Dominion Observatory with William Frederick King (1854-1916), the Chief Astronomer, as its first Director. The Observatory’s primary function was to mark the primary longitude for Canada and the determination and

The Dominion Observatory

The Dominion Observatory's Many Functions, part 1

A scientist at the Photo Zenith Transit Building (PZT), about 1963.

The Dominion Observatory's Earth Physics and Time Keeping Functions, part 2

The Dominion Observatory's Earth Physics and Time Keeping Functions, part 2 by Randall Brooks Earth Physics The Dominion Observatory had another mandate — rather than looking up from the Observatory dome, some staff went to the basement to study gravity and seismic activity. The Observatory became part of a growing worldwide network of centres with seismographs to detect earthquakes and to combine the information to determine the location of the seismic activity. The Museum has a couple of early

Elaine visits the Moving Stories exhibition, with daughter Jamie Wolfe Phillips, husband Jim Phillips, and daughter Emily Wolfe Phillips.

Honouring an innovator who gave others the “gift of freedom”

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

Ottawa resident Elaine Wolfe was undoubtedly thinking about her late father, Clifford Wolfe, as she visited the Moving Stories exhibition at the Canada Science and Technology Museum last week. The temporary exhibition – which showcases some rarely-seen artifacts from the museum’s transportation collection – includes Elaine’s 1988 Chevy Blazer, outfitted with an innovative wheelchair lift that was invented by her dad when she was a young adult. “Calling my first truck an artifact is making me

Canada History Week 2018 (November 19 - 25)

This year, the week will highlight the theme of 'Science, Creativity and Innovation: Our Canadian Story' and focus on historic achievements by Canadians in the fields of medicine, science, technology, engineering, and math. Read about inspirational stories that highlight the great work being done in the history community.

11 Stories

Christian Bagg testing a prototype of the Icon Explore in a park on a spring day.

Engineering & Technology

Christian Bagg and the Icon Explore

Cédric Brosseau

Ingenium Canada

For Canada History Week 2018 - A short blog post highlighting Christian Bagg’s creativity and innovation, which helped him develop the Icon Explore adaptive off-road vehicle.

Creative solutions

Social Science & Culture

Engineering & Technology

Finding creativity and innovation through world travel

Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation

Being a historian of technology, by profession and by heart, I always look for examples of human ingenuity during my travels. These creative solutions — which employ available tools and materials — offer a unique glimpse into the lives of communities, the choices they make, and the challenges they face. Here are a few examples.

Elaine visits the Moving Stories exhibition, with daughter Jamie Wolfe Phillips, husband Jim Phillips, and daughter Emily Wolfe Phillips.

Honouring an innovator who gave others the “gift of freedom”

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

Ottawa resident Elaine Wolfe was undoubtedly thinking about her late father, Clifford Wolfe, as she visited the Moving Stories exhibition at the Canada Science and Technology Museum last week. The temporary exhibition – which showcases some rarely-seen artifacts from the museum’s transportation collection – includes Elaine’s 1988 Chevy Blazer, outfitted with an innovative wheelchair lift that was invented by her dad when she was a young adult. “Calling my first truck an artifact is making me

View of the University of Toronto Libraries website for the Insulin Collections.

Health & Medicine

Canada in the world’s memory: The insulin collections at University of Toronto

Do you know what memories—made in Canada—are now enshrined in the world’s memory? The UNESCO Memory of the World program registers documentary heritage considered to be of world significance and outstanding universal value. A number of collections preserved in Canada are on the register, including some that show the history of science and innovation. The University of Toronto’s insulin collections, for example, consist of the archives created by the scientific team of Frederick Grant Banting

Canoes hover around a beach shore in Bella Bella, British Columbia during the Qatuwas in 2014

An Indigenous canoe video series marks a new wave of cultural revitalization

Through a new online video series, Frank Brown is highlighting how Indigenous youth are reconnecting with the traditional, ocean-going canoe. Brown is the executive producer of Glwa – the ocean-going canoe , a series of 13 short videos that showcase the widespread impact of the canoe and the revival of its practice with maritime Indigenous culture today.

Main camera used by Karsh

Lights! Camera! Personality! The Karsh of Ottawa Collection Profile

Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation

In 1997 Jerry Fielder contacted the then-director of the Collection and Research Division of the Canada Science and Technology Museum, Geoff Rider, with an offer of a donation. Each year the Museum receives several hundred offers from across Canada, yet Geoff immediately recognized that this was not an average proposal. Since 1979 Jerry had been a curator and an assistant to prominent Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh.

Dudley bobsled

Social Science & Culture

Rediscovering the Dudley bobsled

By William Knight and Bruce Dudley Some museum artifacts are mysterious. They lack provenance, or history, so we don’t know who made or used them, or why. Occasionally, however, objects acquire stories. Such is the case with a bobsled exhibited in Artifact Alley in the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa. The bobsled, it turns out, has a rich history that connects winter fun, Ottawa’s transportation history, and the Great Depression—and memories of a beloved father. As lead curator of

The Repair Drone

Aviation & Space

Junior inventors aim to make life easier in space

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

As we celebrate World Space Week 2018, kids from across Canada have been busy thinking up creative ideas about how to improve the human experience in space. Last year, Little Inventors — a U.K.-based organization — launched an initiative called Little Inventors: Inventions for Space, in partnership with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Canadian Space Agency. Kids across Canada were challenged to dream up ideas to make life easier — and more fun — in

A group of young citizen scientists test water quality.

Water Rangers: Putting water quality testing into the hands of citizen scientists

Cassidy Swanston

Canada Science and Technology Museum

Kat Kavanagh is the co-founder and executive director of Water Rangers , a citizen science project that brings education and water quality testing to the public. The Ingenium Channel sat down with her — over the phone, as she was away doing water testing at her cottage — to learn about Water Rangers and what it means to be a citizen scientist.

THE ART OF THE BRICK

Engineering & Technology

Building a colourful, new life

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

Have you ever dreamed of ditching your day job and playing with toys instead? Nathan Sawaya—a former attorney in New York City—did just that, and he couldn’t be happier. Sawaya creates inspiring artwork from one of the most recognizable toys in the world: the LEGO® brick. An exhibition featuring his creations, THE ART OF THE BRICK, has travelled around the globe and was named one of CNN’s Top Ten “Global Must-See Exhibitions.” THE ART OF THE BRICK is coming to the Canada Science and Technology

Minerva Prime

Sports & Gaming

Museum visitors take an inter-planetary adventure with virtual reality technology

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

If you’ve ever dreamed of exploring a distant planet, now’s your chance – and you don’t even have to leave Ottawa to do it. This spring, the public is invited to test-drive a virtual reality application at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. The application – called Minerva Prime – is being developed by a group of students from Algonquin College. Dushan Horvat, the professor for the Game Development class working on Minerva Prime, explains the application’s theme. “Humankind has already