Mc Laughlin Planetarium - After The Closure

After The Closure

The planetarium has been reopened for other purposes since it closed its doors as a planetarium in 1995. On March 5, 1998, an initial three-year agreement was signed that brought the Children's Own Museum to the second floor of the planetarium, where the Astrocentre used to be. Due to impending construction at the adjacent Royal Ontario Museum, the contract was not renewed in late 2002, and the Children's Own Museum has been looking for a new location ever since. During its three-year tenure in that building, it hosted nearly a half-million visitors. The institution still exists, though it currently (as of 2009) has no physical home. It is currently seeking suitable space to use in future endeavours. In the meantime the organization has participated in various children's events around the city.

Later in 2002, a traveling exhibit of costumes, props and models used in the making of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy ran for four weeks at the planetarium. This was the last public exhibition housed in the building. Up until 2007, the building has primarily served as office space and storage for exhibits that have been moved out of the R.O.M. while the Lee-Chin Crystal wing was under construction.

Ever since the planetarium's closing, there have been groups that have lobbied for its reopening. At first, efforts concentrated on reopening the existing facility, but in more recent years, the focus has shifted to establishing a wholly new permanent planetarium facility elsewhere in downtown Toronto. Smaller educational planetaria still exist in the Toronto region. At some time after 1995, Seneca College closed their Roberta Bondar Earth and Space Centre planetarium. The Ontario Science Centre on Don Mills Road operates a high-resolution digital planetarium with funding from CA, Inc., and the Royal Ontario Museum also offers a small, portable, inflatable planetarium for school groups.