Located in beautiful Vanier Park, the Pacific Space Center is great for families and cosmic gurus, offering a wide variety of interactive galleries, presentations, events and more. It is a great compliment to the open landscape of Vanier Park, and a great way to spend a day. The center is more or less geared toward the youngsters, with many exhibits focusing equally on entertainment and education.

The Star Theater features laser light shows and “star gazing”, while the Cosmic Courtyard includes space artifacts, hands-on exhibits, computer games, interpretive videos and even a real rock from our very own moon. Virtual Voyages allows visitors to fly through space and travel through time through simulated, high-tech (let’s just call them) instruments. The main attraction here is the Gordon M. Southam Observatory, where visitors can explore the realities of space. The Observatory’s 29-foot roof opens to the heavens, allowing anyone inside to view the depths of the mysterious firmament through a half-metro Cassegrain telescope with a magnification of up to 1,000 times.

Keep in mid that just steps away from the Space Center is the Vancouver Maritime Museum and the Vancouver Museum, as well as one of the city’s more active beach areas.