Hooley McLaughlin

Vice President, Science Experience and Chief Science Officer

Dr. Hooley McLaughlin is one of Canada’s foremost experts in the development of science-related exhibitions.

Following a career in biological research, Dr. McLaughlin joined the Ontario Science Centre in 1987 as staff biologist. His role evolved through many management and project leadership positions, leading to Director, Visitor Experience in 2009 and, since June 2010, Vice-President, Science Experience and Chief Science Officer.

In this wide-ranging role, Dr. McLaughlin guides strategic direction while leading all aspects of the Science Centre visitor experience. Topics developed under his leadership have included major exhibitions on sport, psychology, nanotechnology and materials science, space exploration and astronomy, the nature of time, life in northern Siberia, art and science, and the history and philosophy of bias in science. Dr. McLaughlin and his team are currently engaged in projects on the extreme limits of the human body and mind, and on the next iteration of the Centre’s unique Weston Family Innovation Centre. Dr. McLaughlin is also reviewing exhibitions that would tackle the difficult subjects of climate change, and the science of cancer.

Dr. McLaughlin is leading a thematic plan that will carry the Ontario Science Centre through the next decade. He is a firm believer that engaging the public requires the integrity of science knowledge, a meaningful dialogue with the public, and a healthy dose of fun and engagement. Hands-on, playful – and thoughtful – science experiences have defined Dr. McLaughlin’s work in the past quarter-century.

While acting in his capacity as a senior leader at the Science Centre in Toronto, he has collaborated on projects around the globe – including many Centres in the United States as well as the former Soviet Union, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Paris and Johannesburg. He has written and lectured on the relationship between science and culture in many international conferences, and currently teaches a graduate course on museum experience at his alma mater, the University of Toronto.