The centre that Bill built

Photo: Darren Handschuh

OSC founder Bill Sim chats with long-time centre employee Kevin Aschenmeier.

The founding father of the Okanagan Science Centre was in Vernon Wednesday to help celebrate the centre's 25th anniversary.

It was in 1990 when Bill Sim opened the science centre in the basement of the old downtown Tolko building. However, he had an unofficial science centre in the basement of his home for five years before that.

During a reception at the Polson Park centre, many comments were made about Sim's tenacity in getting groups, businesses and individuals behind his vision for a centre.

Tolko donated the space for the centre, and Sim charmed numerous companies into helping get the centre up and running.

“By the time we opened it up, our out-of-pocket expense was $29,” said Sim who turned 90 this year.

The vision for a science centre was planted when he was a young man living in Vancouver. As a Scout leader, he took 120 young people to the Vancouver Science Centre.

“We had to work to get them out of there,” said Sim. “They remembered things about the science centre days, weeks and months later.”

With dogged determination, Sim approached the Knights of Pythias to support the centre – which they did.

He then hired Kevin Aschenmeier, who still works at the centre to this day.

Aschenmeier used to take the portable planetarium to schools throughout the B.C. Interior and has since become 'the face' of the centre, having introduced thousands of children to the wonders of science.

Sim also brought Bruce Aikenhead on board, one of the top space engineers in Canada who had retired to Salmon Arm.

Aikenhead's career includes work on the Avro Arrow, NASA's Project Mercury and the Canadarm for NASA's space shuttle program.

Aikenhead, 92, who was at the centre Wednesday, was also instrumental in Canadian Chris Hadfield becoming an astronaut.

Always humble, Sim deflects the success of the centre from himself to the many volunteers and board members who have kept the OSC going over the years.

Current OSC executive director Jim Swingle said it is “inspiring the Okanagan Science Centre has not only survived 25 years, but it has thrived. There is a lot of people who are dedicated to this place.

“It's kind of amazing because most science centres are in larger communities and to open one in the basement of a building in a small town, the odds were against it.”

The centre is currently located in two heritage buildings in Polson Park.

Swingle does not see any major changes to the centre over the next few years.

“I think it is going in the right direction,” he said. “We just want to reach more people. We want to build as many exhibits in house as we can. Science is happening right here in Vernon. There are a lot of very smart people here.”

The next anniversary event will be Science Pub 25, Saturday at the centre from 6-10 p.m.