Why won’t the Canada Science Museum explain why it’s closed?

My undergraduate years in the Physics building at the University of Saskatchewan were marked by periodic closures of the women’s washroom as it underwent construction, then asbestos cleaning, then maybe more asbestos cleaning? There were a lot of signs warning us that the room was toxic, but there wasn’t much of other info floating around. Okay, so I don’t actually know what the problems were that led to years of inconvenient trips around the building to relieve myself. Work went on. No one bothered explaining to the students.

I do know, however, that the Canada Science and Technology Museum seems to (secretly) have the same problem! Their doors have been closed since September 11th due to mould in the south wall.

Though the museum won’t reopen its doors until at least the new year, it’s unclear when exactly we can expect it to reopen, and the extent of the problem still hasn’t been disclosed.

Word on the street, or rather, from local MP David McGuinty, is that the mouldy wall holds up an asbestos-filled ceiling. The museum has neither confirmed nor denied this.

The really fun part is that the Ottawa Citizen has been trying to get any information about the museum’s closure, the mould, or the repairs, since the announcement of the closure, all to no avail.

The museum says it has no answers. The Public Service Alliance of Canada says they know what’s going on, but can’t tell. The Heritage Minister says she isn’t responsible for the museum’s media.

I honestly can’t imagine why this is so top-secret.

[image via Canada Science and Technology Museum/Flickr]

This post first appeared in the Albatross.

SO! As an introduction to molecular gastronomy at Saturday Science, we did both caviar and spaghetti, made out of JUICE.