The Archives of Ontario is the largest provincial archives in Canada, with a vast collection that includes textual (paper) items, photographs, maps, architectural drawings and audio, video and film recordings. Located at York University's Keele Campus, this purpose-built facility includes a large reading room with digital microfilm readers, audio and video booths, digitization and conservation labs, a large exhibit gallery and a classroom for educational programming. The Archives is also home to the Government of Ontario Art Collection. If you’re interested in researching at the archives, check out the Researching Our Records Online or the Tracing Your Family History videos on the Archives’ YouTube channel. As part of Digital Doors Open, learn more about the Archives of Ontario through the video below, browse their many online exhibits or piece together Ontario’s history by trying out an online jigsaw puzzle.

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is one of the largest galleries in North America. With nearly 95,000 pieces in its collections – from European masterpieces to modern art to an extensive Group of Seven collection – the AGO presents wide-ranging exhibits and programs, showcasing diverse and underrepresented artists from Canada and around the world. While the AGO is open once more, there remain a number of intriguing programs and activities that can be done outdoors or online. As part of Digital Doors Open, discover your inner artist: learn to draw, become a better photographer, paint alongside your kids, or sketch at the Toronto Zoo (part of the AGO Makes program). Download some colouring cards. Check out their art-making videos. Explore their online collections. Or discover their extensive teacher resources. There’s something for everyone at the AGO!

The Ashbridge family was one of the founding families of Toronto (formerly York); they immigrated to York from Pennsylvania in 1793. They are also the only Toronto family to occupy their land continuously for 200 years. Two acres of the original homestead and an 1854 house have been preserved to tell their story. The Ashbridge Estate, owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust, is architecturally significant for the house’s simple Regency design with neoclassical elements. The grounds are also home to an urban farm, planted and cared for by Building Roots. As part of Digital Doors Open, explore this intriguing site through the video below.

Originally home to Knox College, this building later served as a military hospital and laboratory. It is now the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. To create the faculty's new home, the restored historical building has been blended with a contemporary addition that continues to delight visitors. During Doors Open, take a self-guided tour.

Visit the world’s last operating double-decker theatre and learn about its history from the vaudeville era to today. Go inside the theatres, see samples from the world’s largest collection of vaudeville scenery, and check out the restored Loew’s sign on the south side of the building. No tours, but volunteers and staff will be available. Photography allowed but no tripods.

Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, Toronto’s oldest standing and first free school, opened to the children of Corktown in 1849. It served as an important catalyst for accessible public education in the province. Today, the site is a museum and events venue where visitors can step back in time to an urban Victorian classroom. Come and tour the site for Doors Open.

The former home of Canadian landscape painter Doris McCarthy (1910-2020), Fool’s Paradise is a charming cottage on the spectacular Scarborough Bluffs. McCarthy donated the property to the Ontario Heritage Trust so it could remain an inspirational space for future generations of artists. Today, the Doris McCarthy Artist-in-Residence program has welcomed over 40 artists to live and create by the Lake.

George Brown House is a Second Empire-style house built for George Brown between 1874 and 1876. Its elegance reflects his prominence as a leading politician, founder of The Globe newspaper (now the Globe and Mail) and a key figure in Canada’s Confederation. The house is one of Ontario’s best-preserved and documented urban examples of the Second Empire residential style.

A popular addition to the architectural renewal of the University of Toronto’s downtown campus, the Isabel Bader Theatre has become a staple of the city’s film festival circuit, while serving as a lecture hall and learning space for student groups. It is an outstanding venue for concerts, theatrical productions, conferences and filming events. It’s busy schedule keeps the 500-seat theatre occupied throughout much of the academic year. It is also, however, in high demand by external clients. As part of Digital Doors Open, explore this theatre space through the video below.

The Lieutenant Governor's Suite comprises several state rooms and offices inside the northwest wing of the Legislative Building at Toronto’s Queen’s Park. It is the working office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, currently the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell. It is the venue of many significant constitutional events, such as the appointment and resignation of Premiers of Ontario, the swearing-in of cabinet ministers, and the granting of Royal Assent for bills passed by the Legislature. Her Honour hosts foreign heads of state and government, diplomatic and consular representatives, and distinguished visitors in the Suite; it is also a place to host community groups for awards ceremonies, receptions and meetings. During Digital Doors Open, as you learn about the role of the Lieutenant Governor through the above links, enjoy a virtual tour of the Suite in the video below.

Myseum is Toronto’s museum, complete with engaging programs and experiences that showcase the history, spaces, culture(s), architecture and the people that represent Toronto’s unique place in the world. Myseum is ideally suited to Digital Doors Open because it doesn’t exist in just one place, but in all places throughout the city. Check out their ever-changing events, their unique Quarantine Edition exhibit called Images of Resistance: An Archive of Action (shown below), as well as their many online tours – interactive experiences that you can enjoy from the comfort and safety of your home or in the palm of your hand. Tours include Brought in Bondage, Women of the Ward, the Evergreen Brickworks and a Movie Theatre Tour.

Take a virtual tour of the Ontario Heritage Centre, the head office of the Ontario Heritage Trust. Among the many interesting features of this building, constructed in 1909, are the two gallery spaces with mezzanines, oak-panelled oval board room, the restored manually operated elevator and period washrooms. This site, popular for meetings and weddings, has also been used in many television and film shoots, including Cinderella Man, Queer as Folk and Serendipity.

Come and explore Ontario’s Legislative Assembly — an impressive structure that has been home to the province’s legislature since 1893. Alongside oak floors and Italian marble finishes is artwork from the Government of Ontario Art Collection. During Doors Open, visitors can enjoy several exhibits on a self-guided tour that includes the legislative chamber. There’s even an outdoor scavenger hunt for kids. (No tripods allowed.)

To mark Canada’s centennial, the Ontario Science Centre was built as one of the first interactive science museums in the world. Since it opened in 1969, the Science Centre has become a significant cultural attraction where visitors of all ages can learn through play. As part of Digital Doors Open, there is a lot to see and do at the Science Centre. Their Do it Yourself series will inspire your inner scientist – from games to experiments. Regular Facebook Live events connect you with Science Centre educators and hosts – learning about everything from snakes and bees to paper planes and outer space. And don’t forget to check out their Teacher Resources and Science at Home activities with easy-to-follow educational videos and downloadable resources and activities. This year, while they're working to reopen, let them bring the Science Centre to you!

The Royal Ontario Museum has been a beloved Toronto institution since it opened in 1914. For Doors Open, only the Daphne Cockwell Gallery – dedicated to First Peoples’ art and culture – and the recently reimagined Weston entrance with its iconic mosaic-domed rotunda will be free to visit. Admission will be required to see other galleries.

Come and tour Spadina House and discover the home of the Austin family from 1866 to 1982. Period rooms contain furniture and decorative details from the 1920s and 1930s. Co-owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust and the City of Toronto, this site includes a kitchen garden, an orchard and the newly created Aki Wiidookaagewin "Ontario Earth Helpers" Indigenous kitchen garden. (No tripods allowed.)

The ArQuives was established to aid in the recovery and preservation of the histories of Canada’s LGBTQ2+ people. Founded in 1973, they have grown to become the largest archive of its kind in the world. Through these collections, you can learn about the history and the struggles faced by – and the resilience of – LGBTQ2+ people. For Digital Doors Open, learn about the kinds of artifacts found in the archives – and the people who collect and preserve them – through the video below. And search their online collections or explore their digital exhibits for more information.

Tommy Thompson Park, just minutes away from downtown Toronto, is a unique urban wilderness that offers some of the best bird watching in the city – with more than 300 species. The Leslie Street Spit – the land on which this park now stands – was entirely manmade, composed of landfill, concrete, bricks and rebar. Today, this 250-hectare park (617 acres) is operated by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. It has become an oasis for walkers and cyclists, and remains the habitat of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish. As part of Digital Doors Open, download their birder’s checklist, read their research reports on breeding birds, explore the site through the video below, and watch the acclaimed documentary (from CBC’s The Nature of Things, 44:18).

The Toronto Railway Museum, located in the heart of the historical John Street Roundhouse, is a National Historic Site. The Roundhouse was constructed in 1929 by the Canadian Pacific Railway to house and repair its large fleet of passenger locomotives travelling through Union Station. It was an active industrial building – in use 24 hours a day, seven days a week – where steam locomotives were serviced around the clock. In its prime, the John Street locomotive facilities contained 43 structures and several miles of track and covered nearly 6.5 hectares (16 acres). Rail activity at the Roundhouse began to dwindle in 1960s when diesel locomotives began to replace steam, and it eventually closed in 1986. The western portion of the park closest to the Roundhouse features the original, fully restored and operational 37-metre (120-foot) long locomotive turntable. Immediately north of this is a carefully chosen collection of full-sized railway equipment, which now makes up part of the Toronto Railway Museum’s collection. The museum tells the stories of Toronto’s railways through static and interactive exhibits inside Stall 17, as well as by leading guided tours through the rolling stock and rail buildings in the collection (visit the website for details on in-person tours when it is once again safe to do so). For Digital Doors Open, explore this fascinating museum through its many online activities (puzzles, scavenger hunt, colouring pages and an audio guide), or learn more about the history of the site and of our railway heritage through their extensive YouTube collection.

The Toronto Zoo – Canada’s largest zoo, at 287 hectares (709 acres), with over 5,000 animals – has a mission to connect people, animals and conservation science to fight extinction. And that mission has never been more important. While the site was closed due to COVID-19, the Zoo quickly enhanced its online engagement to remain connected with the public. Social media and online storytelling grew significantly, with animal photos and videos keeping everyone connected to their favourite animals. Now safely reopened (see the video below for more information), the Zoo has implemented strict new guidelines – including designated one-way routes, hand-sanitizing stations, mandatory face coverings in most areas, and mandatory advanced ticketing with pre-booked time slots required. Should you visit, check out the new Scenic Safari Drive Thru, Camping at the Zoo, the Wild Encounters behind-the-scenes program, and the return of the successful Terra Lumina: An Enchanted Night Walk. But you can also still enjoy a rich digital experience at the Zoo, including lots of home activities, a new downloadable map, educator resources, Wild for Life podcasts and much more! Don’t forget to join them on Facebook Live at 1 p.m. daily when one of the zoo’s expert keepers will introduce you to one of the animals. Check the website for full details.