Ottawa, May 2, 2016 — The Canada Science and Technology Museum cemented its partnership with the University of Ottawa yesterday by officially announcing the permanent establishment of the Living Lab. The announcement was made as part of the University of Ottawa’s Alumni Week programming, and was delivered by Dean Kevin Kee, Faculty of Arts, Dean Marcel Mérette, Faculty of Social Sciences, Ruby Heap, Associate Vice-President Research, and Christina Tessier, Director General of the Canada Science and Technology Museum.
The Living Lab is a key element of the renewal of the Canada Science and Technology Museum slated to open in fall 2017 after an $80.5 million upgrade. The Lab, directly adjacent to the new Children’s Gallery, will connect researchers and families by creating an interactive, accessible space for cutting-edge, participatory research on child development, bilingualism, and cognition. Families will be given the opportunity to experience science in action, and to share in the creation of knowledge through interactive activities and games.
The Living Lab encompasses 750 square feet of state-of-the-art study space, and reflects an exciting trend in innovative research. Currently open at its temporary location at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, it is the first university-museum partnership in Ontario and only the second in Canada.
The Living Lab partnership will be the primary research site for a group of researchers at the University of Ottawa who focus on cognitive and language development in children, including Professor Tania Zamuner, Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, and Professors Christopher Fennell and Cristina Atance, School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences.
Quotes
“We are looking forward to welcoming the University of Ottawa’s Living Lab to the renewed Canada Science and Technology Museum when it reopens in 2017. The Living Lab will be the ideal starting point for the dynamic and interactive learning experiences that the Museum will offer to Canada’s families.”
– Christina Tessier, Director General, Canada Science and Technology Museum
“If we want to understand bilingual development, we need to test as many bilingual infants as possible. What better place than an interactive museum in the heart of Canada’s capital to do just that?”
– Dr. Christopher Fennell, Associate Professor of Psychology in the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa
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About the Canada Science and Technology Museum
The Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, is one of the three museums comprising the Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation, which is responsible for preserving Canada’s scientific and technological heritage and promoting and sharing knowledge about it. The three Museums — the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, and the Canada Science and Technology Museum — tell the stories of Canadian ingenuity and achievement in science and technology, and demonstrate how these accomplishments have contributed to the transformation of Canada. For more information please visit cstmuseum.techno-science.ca.
Media Contact, Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation:
Caroline Boutin
Media Relations Officer
Canada Science and Technology Museums Corporation
cboutin@techno-science.ca
613-410-5943
Media Contact, University of Ottawa:
Mila Roy
Media Relations Officer
University of Ottawa
mila.roy@uottawa.ca
613-762-2908