Retired high school teachers keep learning\u00a0centre\u00a0open year round<\/p>\n
Published Apr 24, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 1\u00a0hour ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n
![\"Lorraine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0425-td-a2-science-timmins-0.td_.jpg\")
Lorraine Cantin is seen Thursday on a tour of the Science Timmins collection of taxidermized animals from the Boreal Forest. Cantin is a retired high school teacher who volunteers to run the science centre, a not-for-profit in the centre of town. NICOLE STOFFMAN\/THE DAILY PRESSArticle content<\/p>\n
In a small way, Timmins got to be a part of a journey to the moon thanks to the local science centre.<\/p>\n
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Science Timmins sent Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen a personalized message before his historic trip to the moon.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAnd he answered!\u201d said Lorraine Cantin, director of\u00a0Science Timmins.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said thank\u00a0you\u00a0Science Timmins. It\u00a0was personal,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Cantin, a retired high school science teacher who\u00a0volunteers\u00a0to run the\u00a0centre\u00a0with her husband, retired\u00a0engineer\u00a0and\u00a0science teacher Antoine\u00a0Garwah.<\/p>\n
Artemis II was NASA\u2019s\u00a0first crewed mission to the moon in over 50 years, and Hansen,\u00a0who grew up in Ingersoll, Ontario,\u00a0was the first Canadian\u00a0to travel to the moon.<\/p>\n
Hansen\u00a0talks about his historic mission, and how he feels about\u00a0representing\u00a0Canada, the second country aside from the U.S. to send an astronaut to the moon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis makes me proud and excited\u00a0for a new era of science and space exploration,\u201d he says in the video.<\/p>\n
The mission\u00a0also served as\u00a0a\u00a0test\u00a0of\u00a0vehicles\u00a0that will help land humans on the lunar surface,\u00a0possibly within\u00a0two years.<\/p>\n
The video exchange\u00a0between Hansen and Science Timmins\u00a0was made possible through the\u00a0centre\u2019s\u00a0partnership with the Canadian Space Agency.<\/p>\n
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The agency runs\u00a0a stratospheric balloon campaign\u00a0from a base\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0Timmins Victor M. Power\u00a0Airport, the only such facility in Canada.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0stratospheric balloon\u00a0campaign tests technologies\u2019 readiness for space missions by\u00a0attaching them to the balloons and\u00a0sending the\u00a0payload\u00a0into the stratosphere, an environment\u00a0similar to\u00a0space.<\/p>\n
With the stratospheric balloon campaign in town, the\u00a0centre\u00a0gets a unique opportunity to take students to the base to carry out experiments on smaller, meteorological balloons.<\/p>\n
Back at home,\u00a0Science Timmins\u00a0is tucked away in the downtown core\u00a0behind city\u00a0hall\u00a0slightly\u00a0below ground level.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, your reporter caught up with Cantin for a tour of the facility, which recently hosted a viewing party for the launch of Artemis II.<\/p>\n
![\"Science](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0425-td-a2-science-timmins-3.td_.jpg\")
Lucie Smith, from left, Patricia Plouffe, and Cathy Lyrette inspect vegetable seedlings they are growing under grow lights at Science Timmins. The activity is tied to a weekly coffee chat for seniors hosted by the not-for-profit. The seedlings are grown in a coconut-based soil to reduce environmental impact by not requiring additional nutrients be added to the soil. NICOLE STOFFMAN\/THE DAILY PRESS<\/p>\n
Science Timmins\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0not-for-profit\u00a0that provides hands-on educational experiences\u00a0primarily\u00a0to the four local school boards.<\/p>\n
The public can visit\u00a0by appointment only\u00a0seven days a week,\u00a0and the\u00a0centre\u00a0is available for\u00a0special events, including children\u2019s birthday parties.<\/p>\n
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Two years ago, Science Timmins partnered with Launch Canada, a\u00a0rocketry competition\u00a0that has been held in Timmins\u00a0every August for the past three years.\u00a0The competition offers\u00a0science and engineering students from rocket clubs across Canada\u00a0the chance to\u00a0test their rockets\u00a0at a site on\u00a0Mattagami First Nation.<\/p>\n
Science Timmins offers Launch Canada a room at the back to build their rockets.<\/p>\n
Rocketry is now incorporated into\u00a0the many\u00a0displays in the\u00a0galleries, collectively called \u201cScience Village.\u201d\u00a0A rocket launcher is\u00a0designed to\u00a0help visitors discover the relationship\u00a0of\u00a0tin and aluminum to voltage and\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0the power of air pressure.<\/p>\n
Science Timmins also has a partnership with Science North, Sudbury\u2019s science\u00a0centre, to create curriculum-based activities.<\/p>\n
Cantin ensures the activities reflect what is being done in class.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always better for the teacher to be able to come here, do an activity, go back to school and continue,\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0said, adding the hands-on approach can inspire\u00a0and engage the students.<\/p>\n
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Science Village features an impressive collection of taxidermized animals from the Boreal Forest. The\u00a0donated\u00a0collection belonged to\u00a0a former Timmins pharmacist.<\/p>\n
Visitors can\u00a0build their own Rube Goldberg machine and get a\u00a0bird\u2019s eye view of an open pit mine\u00a0in miniature.<\/p>\n
There is an astronomy room, and the\u00a0centre\u00a0has been known to bring in a portable indoor planetarium so students can learn about the stars.
Cantin is expecting many school groups this spring.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was\u00a0rather quiet\u00a0this winter. I\u00a0think the weather\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0help (a lot\u00a0of cancelled buses and\u00a0snowstorms), so\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0looking forward to that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Their big\u00a0summer event\u00a0is their eight-week\u00a0day\u00a0camp, where trained counsellors lead campers aged 5-14 through STEM (science, technology,\u00a0engineering\u00a0and math) activities. Parents can sign their children up by the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe train our counsellors every morning, because every day there are different activities,\u201d Cantin said, adding they ensure\u00a0a low\u00a0counsellor\u00a0to\u00a0camper ratio\u00a0to enhance the learning experience.<\/p>\n
Science Timmins is open by reservation only by calling 705-268-IKID (4543) or by emailing\u00a0info@sciencetimmins.com. Visits can be arranged from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week, with other times available for\u00a0special events.\u00a0Birthday parties can be booked from 11 a.m.\u00a01\u00a0p.m., 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.\u00a0Admission fees are $15 for children, $20 for\u00a0adults,\u00a0and $15 for seniors.\u00a0Visits can also be booked online at:\u00a0https:\/\/www.sciencetimmins.com\/book-online<\/p>\n
![\"Science](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0425-td-a2-science-timmins-4.td_.jpg\")
\u201cDilly\u201d the motion sensor dilophosaurus greets visitors to Science Timmins. The not-for-profit volunteer-run science centre is tucked below ground level behind Timmins City Hall. It can be visited by appointment only. NICOLE STOFFMAN\/THE DAILY PRESS![\"Science](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0425-td-a2-science-timmins-2.td_.jpg\")
Antoine Garwah, Science Timmins president, serves lemon poppy seed cupcakes at the Science Timmins weekly coffee chat. The event is largely attended by residents of the neighbouring St. Mary\u2019s Gardens, but is open to all seniors in the community, every Thursday at 2 p.m.. NICOLE STOFFMAN\/THE DAILY PRESS<\/p>\n
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