The stars of the night sky appear gentle, peaceful and unchanging. But this is a lie. The Universe is a violent and catastrophic place, with dozens of tools at its disposal to wipe out all life on Earth with almost no warning. Astronomers are still only beginning to appreciate the true scope of the dramatic forces that drive the Universe's evolution. With Dr. Bryan Gaensler from the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics. Drop-in program. Limited space. First come, first seated.

Escape to Planet ROM for the Holidays and come on a planetary odyssey through the Milky Way and beyond. Bring your space gear along for this epic adventure as cosmic wonder and intergalactic activities fill the Museum’s galleries from December 26 to January 3. With close encounters of the hands-on kind including a Mars rover prototype, courtesy of the Canadian Space Agency, a Space Arcade featuring new video games, and a meteorite you can touch, Planet ROM takes you to a galaxy far, far away while keeping your feet firmly planted on Earth.

Showtimes: 1:00pm, 2:00pm, and 3:00pm Centuries before Galileo observed the moons of Jupiter, scientists in the Middle East were building the first cameras and developing the physics of light. Without the benefit of modern technologies, they took some of the first steps in understanding the motions of the planets and in explaining the nature of the Universe.

Showtimes: 1:00pm, 2:00pm, and 3:00pm Centuries before Galileo observed the moons of Jupiter, scientists in the Middle East were building the first cameras and developing the physics of light. Without the benefit of modern technologies, they took some of the first steps in understanding the motions of the planets and in explaining the nature of the Universe.

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm Centuries before Galileo observed the moons of Jupiter, scientists in the Middle East were building the first cameras and developing the physics of light. Without the benefit of modern technologies, they took some of the first steps in understanding the motions of the planets and in explaining the nature of the Universe.

Showtimes: 7:00pm, 8:00pm, and 9:00pm Centuries before Galileo observed the moons of Jupiter, scientists in the Middle East were building the first cameras and developing the physics of light. Without the benefit of modern technologies, they took some of the first steps in understanding the motions of the planets and in explaining the nature of the Universe.

Explore the universe with members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Telescopes will be set up to give you amazing views of our Moon, the planets and more!

What star is that? How can I spot Orion’s Belt? How many planets can I see without a telescope? Learn your way around the night sky. The Riverwood Conservancy, The Earthshine Astronomy and Space Science Organization and the Mississauga Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada are teaming up to offer a 4-week course on astronomy. Upon completion the student will be able to identify the brighter stars and constellations.

We have a special treat – we’re going to do some science and everyone gets to take part in the grand experiment. The audience will be divided into several teams and each team will construct a chamber that will reveal the presence of cosmic rays and other particles that make up our Universe. Our guest Science Professor will be Ted Rudyk who will supervise the construction of your lab experiment and provide some insight about what you will witness when your lab experiment is ready to unveil. This is going to be a ton of fun! Science is COOL!

Come out and join Ylab for a maker night at the DDO. Keep working on your robotics toy hack. Get away from the rest of the world and work on some software (bring your own phone for Internet access. We're working on that.). Bring another project. Maybe get some help on it. Check out the latest on our advanced light sabre engineering. See if you can get one of the 3D printers running. Add to our collective strong backs and weak minds as we move some furniture around and do some work to get the place organised.