Toronto - Anousheh Ansari, the world’s first female private space explorer, landed in Toronto today at the Ontario Science Centre. The Iranian-born astronaut participated in the official opening of the newly renovated Space Hall and Planetarium and presented an afternoon lecture about her 2006 voyage into space and her stay aboard the International Space Station.

Mrs. Ansari, who lives and works in the United States, came to Toronto to help officially launch the newly refurbished Space Hall. This is a very popular exhibition area within the Science Centre which has been closed for several months during the renovations. In the Space Hall visitors can see a real Moon rock, pilot a rocket chair, take a tour of the solar system narrated by Canadian astronaut Julie Payette, find out why astronauts float in space, launch a spacecraft to Saturn and much more.

Anousheh Ansari welcomed guests into the Space Hall this afternoon, spoke about her travels in space and then signed a wall mounted life-size graphic of herself in her Russian space suit -- a permanent inspiration point for visitors. Joining Mrs. Ansari for the ceremony were Lesley Lewis, CEO of the Science Centre, Mark Cohon, Chair of the Centre’s Board of Trustees and MPP Reza Moridi.

“Astronomy and space exploration have always been of great interest to the general public, media, teachers and students. In response to this continuing fascination, we have re-designed the Space Hall to to reflect our most current understanding of the universe, drawing from the latest research,” said Ontario Science Centre CEO Lesley Lewis. “The exhibits allow visitors to explore our solar system, see breathtaking images of the most distant objects ever observed and touch actual meteorite rocks from space. Today’s opening is closely connected to the exhibition FACING MARS: Would you Survive the Journey currently in development by our staff and opening to the public on June 9, 2008.”

The Space Hall opening also included a demonstration of the Science Centre new planetarium, the only public planetarium in Toronto. A cutting edge combination of the latest in projector technologies, state of the art 3D digital software, and imagery based on real data sets will allow audiences to feel as though they are flying through the universe.

“I would spend hours and hours gazing at the stars and wondering, what’s out there?” Mrs. Anousheh Ansari, told a large audience at the Science Centre. “Sometimes I wonder if … maybe there was another girl like me on another planet some place gazing at the stars and thinking about the same things.”

“Mrs. Ansari’s lecture was inspirational. Perhaps one of the young people in attendance this afternoon will explore Mars in the future, inspired by what they heard today!” said Ms. Lewis.

About the Space Hall:

Location: Level C

In keeping with current science and educational curriculums, the Space Hall was re-designed to reflect our most current understanding of the universe, drawing from the latest research and missions to explore our solar system and beyond. The newly renovated Space Hall takes visitors on a journey through space and time, culminating in a breathtaking series of the highest resolution images ever obtained of our early universe. The Space Hall also includes a rock specimen from Mars, a stunning meteorite collection and a working cloud chamber. Also unique to the Space Hall – it is the only public planetarium in Toronto.

The Ontario Science Center uses science as the lens to inspire and actively engage people in new ways of seeing, understanding and thinking about themselves and the world. The Centre is also a leading developer of interactive experiences for science centres around the world. The Ontario Science Centre is an agency of the Government of Canada. Websites: http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/ and http://www.redshiftnow.com/