Politicians, advocates, and community members are trying to save the Ontario Science Centre from permanent closure.

The group gathered in Toronto this Sunday afternoon, two days after Ford's government announced the permanent closure of the site due to structural issues. This effort is led by the grassroots organization Save Ontario's Science Centre, or Save OSC, which hopes the government will reverse its decision and make the necessary repairs to reopen the venue.

Opposition Leader Marit Stiles told the protesters at the march: “This is an institution that has been neglected.” "This could have been prevented, and it can still be prevented."

The government's decision to close the site, which was based on a report from the engineering firm Rimkus Consulting Group, concluded that the building was at risk of potential roof failure as early as this winter.

The centre was built in 1969 and has experienced structural damage over the years. Last year, a feasibility study found that the facility also needed significant mechanical, electrical, and elevator system repairs.

Instead of investing in repairs, the government decided to close the venue and stick to its plan to relocate the centre within Ontario Place, construction of which is set to begin next year.

The relocation will see a loss of more than half the current facility's size and cost taxpayers millions of dollars. However, according to a feasibility study, moving the science centre from its current location to Ontario Place is also projected to save about $250 million over 50 years.

The closure will affect "every child in Toronto."

Aroshi Nath, a ninth-grade student from Ontario, expressed her concerns about the closure, stating that she would prefer funding to go towards repairing the current centre rather than building a new one.

Nath said: "I think the Ford government is trying to deprive us of one of the only science centres we have. It's a science centre that many kids go to every year, with children making up 25 percent of visitors, this will have a significant impact on every child in Toronto."

Nath, who has a close connection to the science centre and has won two national awards for her science fair projects, added that the province needs to see more science centres open, not closed.

"If it were up to me, we would need to first convince the Ford government to reinvest in the Ontario Science Centre, reopen it, spend all the money to repair the roof, and then continue on," "keep building new science centres across Ontario because we need more science centres, not to remove the ones we already have."

So far, more than 31,000 people have electronically signed a letter demanding funding be allocated to the current Ontario Science Centre rather than its relocation.