niagara science museum

After reading the other reviews on this place on here I decided to make this one of the stops of our vacation trip. Having a husband and 2 sons that are into this kind of stuff I thought it would be a perfect stop. I got the hours of operation off the website and we headed out. Unfortunately, it wasn't open when we got there. There is a sign with a phone number which I called and the man that answered was very pleasant and asked if we could come back another day. He said "Give me a day and time and I will meet you there." We set up a time/day and went on our way. When we came back there was a man there working outside on the bushes. It turned out he wasn't the man we talked to but he had opened up the museum for us. It is a wondrous place. So many rare, old science artifacts put together in rooms of like items. we were able to just wander and look and touch and explore.....Not long after we were there the phone rang and the man that let us in said Nick (the curator/owner of the place) was on his way over. What an interesting man! He is passionate about the place and all the contents. He took us around and was like a proud parent showing off his collection. He demonstrated some of them to us and let the boys participate in the demonstrations. You've never seen a collection of incredibly preserved electronic and scientific artifacts anywhere - ever. He had stuff dating back to telegraph days as well as the early days of telephone and radio, including old wax roll phonographs, Tesla coils, Van de Graaff generators, Jacob's ladders, scanning electron microscopes, physics experiments (working) and every test instrument you could ever imagine. And to top it all off, the demonstrations actually *work*. This beats any technological museum I've ever seen.And the sad truth is that it's going to go away. Professor Nick is 73 years old and "forgetting more every day than [he] learns" and cannot find a successor to fight to maintain the museum. This guy has passion, curiosity, is amiable, curious and impish and this is his toy box. This is going to be a huge loss. There was no fee to visit this place but a box was set on a table with a suggested donation of $10.00 a family. Worth much more than that! There are no working bathroom facilities, nor is it wheelchair accessible. Hopefully someone or some corporation will find this gem and want to help preserve this great collection of artifacts.

my wife and myself were recently in niagra on the canadian side as well as american one of the most memorable parts of the trip was not the casinos, the restaraunts, or gift shops and tours not even the waterfalls, but the amazing and unique niagra science museum a kind of museum of which ive never seen before a museum not filled with replicas and pictures, parts and individual pieces behind glass with fancy plaques, but original antiquities of science and discovery, items and instruments most people have never heard of before, such as interferenceometer and they all came with your own personal physicist tour guide filled with wisdom and knowledge along with the humbleness of a caretaker Nic dalacu who knew everything about all of them and their history down to the micron. he even gifted me some metallurgical silicone used in the formation of pn junctions for solar cells! being a journeyman electrician from canada i am intrigued by niagra as it is the site of the worlds first large scale hydroelectric power plant designed by nikola tesla, so i even went and visited the only building left from the dean adams power plant, which should be an international historic site, instead its fenced off with rusting cars on the lot.I soon realized that the monuments and plaques around the niagra area dedicated to the electric history and science were little more than tourist traps while the true historic sites that aren't in the Centre of it all are forgotten and left to crumble. don't let Nics museum be left for dead this man has taken his knowledge and capital and put his heart into sharing the endeavours of discovery and the real antique devices and instruments that made the history of science. the government should be funding the museum not thinking about letting it dissolve, I think if it was on the canadian side it would be a different story, but instead it seems all the money in niagra falls new york has been put into one giant looming casino of extravagance overlooking a city riddled with crumbling neighbourhoods and rusting cars on blocks, the Niagara government and the state of new york sure know how to budget and spend their money properly.

(Visited 21 Sept 2013)This science museum is probably unparalleled with any science museum in the world. The curator takes the time to spend with each visitor, understanding their interest in science and focusing in on it. He is very interactive. He has acquired devices such rarities as an transmission electron microscope and scanning electronic microscope. He can demonstrate Tesla's free energy concepts and discuss the aspects concerning the history. If you turn around you will see solar cell experiments and multiple static electricity generators. Conspicuously located on one of the workbenches was a newspaper that had a headline that high schools would start visiting. I can think of no better place to visit for a science major or anyone interested in science than this museum. My only regret is that I haven't had the time to review this fantastic find earlier.Elena & Rob

I remember this visit well. That day, families came in one after another; always a kid or two. I was in the middle of a gout attack and hurting like hell. But as always happens to me when I have a receptive audience, I forgot about pain and start preaching science. I realized that the young lady is a scientist, educated at the same university where I got my “master degree in physics” almost fifty years ago, only at the end of the tour and, by then, it was too late to change the dialog. I hope they will visit again.

Nick gave my wife and I a very interesting and informative tour of the museum which has an eclectic mixture of exhibits. Most exhibits are of equipment that is preserved just as it was used in operation rather than buffed and polished so it seems closer to reality than a conventional museum. I'm a mechanical engineer so I'll admit that some of Nick's explanation of electrical devices was well over my head but he is a patient teacher. This museum is obviously a labor of love and Nick is an extremely dedicated collector of scientific devices - and he knows how every one of them works!

Admittedly, I'm a science geek but both my wife and me really enjoyed our visit, mostly because the museum's founder/director/guide, Nick, took lots of time and even met us outside official opening hours to show us the museum.It's not the sort of museum where you walk around and read lots of stuff (in fact, there's hardly any written information) but everything on display becomes "alive" through Nick's explanations and enthusiasm. Though it's small, you'll probably need 60-90 minutes to see/hear everything.The museum is not walking distance from downtown, but it is well worth the ride if you have any interest in science and scientific instruments whatsoever. You also get to touch almost everything.

This is the most humbling review we ever got. I should be resisting the good feeling, but I will not. You made my day sir!Sincerely, Nick

Thanks Jackie. We really needed a boost in morale. After a review as that of Tonia’s, one feels like throwing the towel in. We work hard to make a difference and comments like yours embolden us.Sincerely, Nick

Dear Tonya,We have more artifacts in our museum than (apparently) words in your vocabulary. You should do something else than visiting and reviewing museums. You have absolutely no idea what they represent. It looks as somebody encouraged you to mess-up our good standings. If this is the case, you should be ashamed of yourself. Sincerely, Nick

Great collection on scientific instruments.My kids had a wonderful tour and learning experience thanks to Mr. Dalacu.We had hard time trying to find the place but it was worth our time. Highly recommend this place.

The Niagara Science Museum is a true gem. I had the pleasure of visiting and was given an informative tour by Nick Dalacu, who clearly put much love and effort into running his private museum. The highlight of the experience for me was the fact that almost all the antique scientific equipment were laid out in plain view, with only a portion of the collection behind glass. This made for a very engaging experience that cannot normally be found at your typical museum. The setup of the equipment in separate rooms as recreations of scientific labs was also a very nice touch.I feel it important to mention that the review claiming the museum is "overpriced" is nothing but bogus. The museum does not charge a fee for entering, and only runs on donations. From my short but very worthwhile visit, I could feel that Nick runs his museum with his only desire being to share his passion for knowledge with others.

This review is very nice and highly motivating! Thanks from the bottom of my heart.Nick

Just the physical experiments in electricity and physics are worth the trip. However, I setup an appointment with Nick Dalacu to discuss some projects, so we could collaborate with my school to help the students find interesting and worthwhile photovoltaicprojects . The result of the visit was much better than I could have imagined. Nick is very knowledgeable about everything there and walked me through the evolution and process many electronic related components and devices. Our school is very fortunate to have such a knowledgeable and dedicated in our area. Thank you for all your assistance and what you have done. I look forward to stopping by again.Jessie Perison

Very interesting guided tour by Nick Dalacu. He has collected and preserved some very nice scientific instruments that were once widely used but are now largely forgotten and rarely seen. He demonstrates a number of science experiments using electricity and light. The progression of this type of work has now led to solar cell power. Don't be concerned about the appearance of the building from the outside; it will be spruced up eventually.

Scientific foodie: Because I like how you think, I guess I would enjoy tremendously your cooking. I am glad you mention the surroundings. Some people are coming to see our museum because of the good reviews. They park behind the building for a short while and then goes away afraid that our museum is a really bad tourist trap. Historically, the locals detest this once vibrant area and drive through in a hurry. For me it is where my dreams came true and much more importantly, it is where industrial America used to be.It would be so simple to groom the neighbourhood, but it is the “North End”; it is like some influential people just like to keep the area like that.I hope you will come back, Nick