Within this post, I am going to talk about two museum experiences we had on the same day at the Harbourfront Centre – that is, the Museum of Toronto’s Mr. Dessup to Degrassi exhibit and the Ontario Science Centre’s KidSpark.
Both experiences had me asking the same question – who is the target audience?
Museum of Toronto at Harbourfront Centre
Background
The Museum of Toronto is a relatively new non profit community museum established in 2014 to address a gap and tell Toronto’s story. They have a version of their history, currently focused on changing Executive Directors, available here.
Unlike more established museums in the city (e.g., Toronto History Museums), they are not rooted at a historic site. The Museum has in person exhibits at a fixed downtown location, but also presents content throughout the city and online. Their online presence is phenomenal for a community museum. In particular, I enjoy their:
- Youtube Channel: The last two Museum of Toronto exhibits that I visited in person – The 52: Women who Transformed Toronto and Mr. Dressup to Degrassi – included extensive video content, which they also make available online. I love this approach and have enjoyed watching these videos from the comfort of my own home.
- Instagram account: In addition to posting about their exhibits, the Museum of Toronto makes reels about Toronto history that I really enjoy.
The Mr. Dessup to Degrassi exhibit, described in detail here, told the story of Toronto as a heart of children’s television from the 1950s until the 1990s. The Museum of Toronto displayed the exhibit at the Harbourfront Centre from November 2025 until March 2026. Notably, the exhibit relied heavily on video content, which is available in a playlist on their youtube channel.
Reflection
Mr. Dressup to Degrassi was a beautifully done exhibit.
Unfortunately, two issues made the experience of attending the exhibit unenjoyable for me – the video content and the volunteers (I know that sounds harsh! I will explain).
While I enjoy sitting for an occasional video as part of an exhibit experience, I do not like standing and watching videos in a museum spaces as the primary activity. As a result, I did not get the full exhibit Mr Dressup to Degrassi experience. The exhibit contained limited text, images, and objects. I likely missed themes that appear in the videos but not in the written and physical content.
Similarly, the toddlers we had in tow also prefer objects and images to museum videos. There were artifacts, but a lot of them were not properly visible from toddler height. There were things they could touch in the space (e.g., a tickle trunk) but a lack of visible signposting about what was interactive and what was not.
We tried asking for information from the volunteer at the entrance. However, the volunteer ultimately answered every question with information about donating money. The pressure to donate (in the absence of more helpful information) made me uncomfortable. I usually donate as I leave “by donation” spaces (and did in this case), but the consistent pressure to donate misses what I feel is key – the voluntary nature of donation – and the fact I originally saw the exhibit advertised as free. It also meant my questions about what the toddlers could engage with were not fully answered.
The other volunteer in the exhibit stayed confined to a crafting area. We were excited to do the craft and make puppets with our toddlers, but stopped because the volunteer kept cleaning the already tidy space as we were using things. We did not feel welcome. It was hard to use any of the supplies because she kept taking them out, showing us, and then putting them away before the toddlers could touch them.
Considering these issues, I realized that despite ads targeting parents with children – I was not the target audience. The volunteer cleaning instead of facilitate crafting indicated a concern with aesthetics over experience. The volunteer most concerned with donations, indicated a concern with fundraising over joy. I am also a little young to feel strong nostalgia at the content (born in 1988), my kid is a little young to find the videos engaging, and none of us had the patience to stand to watch the video content for long.
Ontario Science Centre KidSpark
Background
Every trip to an Ontario Science Centre (OSC) activation since the original site closed is disappointing because the OSC was such a phenomenal space filled with engaging exhibits and enthusiastic staff.
The Ontario Government commissioned Raymond Moriyama to build the site in 1964 as a Canadian Centennial project and it opened in 1969 as one of the first interactive science museums. The Government closed the OSC abruptly in 2024 due to needed roof repairs and announced an intent to relocate to Ontario Place. This decision making process lacked stakeholder involvement and was not fully informed. They used preliminary and incomplete financial information. For example, the analysis used to support the decision did not include information about the costs to design, build, finance, or maintain a new site. It also did not consider a delivery model for repairs and upgrades to the existing site (Office of the Auditor General of Ontario 2025).
The original / existing Ontario Science Centre location has an LRT stop and was easy to access by car or bus. The planned location raises concerns regarding travel times and car access for suburban families and school groups, which are two core audiences for the OSC (Office of the Auditor General of Ontario 2025). These concerns are also relevant to the KidSpark pop up exhibition at Harbourfront Centre that I attended.
The Ontario Science Centre’s KidSpark at Harbourfront includes many of the OSC’s popular interactives for kids under 8 from the dismantled Ontario Science Centre. Like the planned Ontario Place location, the site is not very accessible by car / bus due to downtown traffic. There are also issues using transit options to get to the space with children (e.g., no LRT/subway).
Issues of accessibility are core to my reflection on KidSpark.
Reflection
The KidSpark exhibits are awesome. The toddlers enjoyed learning through plan and there is plenty for them to do. The interactive elements are designed for and serve young children.
However the context for these interactives is not kid friendly.
First, it is not a very affordable experience at 15$ a person (3 and older) for a maximum of 2 hours in the space. In order to limit costs, we tried to get a library pass, but the passes only provided access after 2pm. When you have napping toddlers, 2pm is not a feasible time to go to a museum. Considering the restriction, we did assume the place would be busy in the morning. It was not and the number of interactive zones actually outnumbered the families.
Second, committing one of my biggest pet peeves, there is nowhere to eat in the space AND there are no in / out privileges. Since toddlers are hobbits, we had to provide a snack on a bench in front of the doors before entering and then again upon exit.
Third, the Harbourfront Centre is not easily accessible by car as downtown traffic adds significant delays. It is also not very accessible by transit. After taking the subway, our choices were to walk about 15-20 minutes or spend more time waiting and navigating the street car with a stroller.
I think the Ontario Science Centre employees know the new location is not accessible for many Torontonians considering the advertisements I see stating its a “stones throw from the CN Tower” seem to be targeting tourists.
Overall, going to OSC pop ups / temporary spaces makes me really sad. The province lost a major resource for early childhood education when they decided to close.
Questions
As I noted in the intro, I am thinking a lot about target audiences. Essentially:
- Who is the Museum of Toronto’s target audience?
- Is the Museum of Toronto most concerned with their digital presence? In which case, are the in person exhibits functionally marketing?
- With their new locations, is the Ontario Science Centre changing their core audience?
Museoception 