2016 Year in Review.

In Alberta, 2016 was without a doubt memorable. It was a year that saw a provincial community come together during ferocious forest fires and a somewhat dreary economy, both of which affected the science centre.

The fires that devastated Fort McMurray and large areas of Northern Alberta gave rise to many acts of human kindness. At TELUS World of Science - Edmonton (TWOSE), as soon as the evacuation started, we did our small part by providing free admission to any evacuees. Over 2,000 people took us up on the offer. Canada Post and TD Bank set up services at the science centre for evacuees.

Despite our best efforts, the slumping economy took a bite out of the financial fortunes of the science centre. Attendance in all our core businesses were down, and for the first time in over a decade, we ran an operating deficit. We don't take the financial results of 2016 lightly. Management and the Board have worked closely with heightened awareness of the fragile economic environment we are in to ensure decisions are taken early and budgeting assumptions are appropriately conservative to return the Foundation to an operating surplus in 2017. Fortunately, over the past ten years, the centre built a large operating reserve especially for economic slumps like 2016. The finances of the organization remain strong.

We undertook the first phase of the Aurora Project with the complete renovation of our food services area, transforming it from a dim, uninspiring space into a bright, modern bistro, boasting a much improved menu and new levels of service. The Purple Pear opened in October, receiving very positive reviews and an increase in patronage to match. The success of the food services renovation is indicative of what we hope to achieve as we continue to execute on the Aurora Project; a higher quality experience that leads to higher levels of customer engagement and financial success for the Foundation.

In 2016, the IMAX® Theatre featured America Wild, A Beautiful Planet, Secret Ocean, and Wild Africa. We were privileged to host mountaineer Conrad Anker for the opening of the film America Wild, and he even hosted a sold-out showing of his documentary Meru. It is great to see the new digital IMAX Theatre being used to showcase a wide array of films of interest to the TWOSE audience.

It was an excellent year for schools. We drew almost 90,000 students to our school programs, up from 82,000 the year before. We started the TWOSE Science School, a program in which a single class of children from a local school spend an entire week at the science centre, learning not only science, but what makes the science centre go. It's a treat to hear a Grade 4 student announcing the next IMAX film on the public address system, or having the science school students greeting other students as they arrive at the science centre in the morning on their big yellow buses.

The summer season featured The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes, and that was followed in the fall by Angry Birds Universe. Members continued to show strong support. Membership sales continued to climb, and Members used their privileges with growing frequency. TWOSE is clearly delivering value to many thousands of Edmontonians who choose to support and use the science centre through the Membership program.

We are proud to be leading the TWOSE team and want to thank the staff, volunteers, and stakeholders who help make the science centre such a vital part of Greater Edmonton and Northern Alberta.