The plans for Science North were unveiled in 1980 by architect Raymond Moriyama, working with the firm Townend, Stefura, Baleshta and Nicholls. The result was a building so distinctive it earned the Governor General's Medal for Architecture in 1986. The two snowflake-shaped structures are connected by a tunnel blasted through the Precambrian rock of the Canadian Shield itself. Within that tunnel sits the Vale Cavern, an auditorium used for exhibitions, film screenings, and press conferences. The architecture does not merely house science; it performs it. Visitors walk through geological time on their way from one wing to the other, the exposed rock walls a lesson in the 1.8-billion-year history of the Sudbury region.

The F. Jean MacLeod Butterfly Gallery occupies the second level, a glass-enclosed tropical house where approximately 400 butterflies from 30 different species drift through warm, humid air while Northern Ontario winters rage outside. One floor above, the third level recreates the ecosystems of the region. Aquariums and enclosures hold frogs, turtles, snakes, porcupines, and flying squirrels. For years, the museum's most beloved residents were its beaver ambassadors: Drifter, who lived at Science North from 2004 until 2020, and Kash, who followed from 2016 until 2023. The fourth level shifts from the natural world to the technological, with displays on astronomy and the human body. Outside, the Jim Gordon Boardwalk traces the western shore of Ramsey Lake to Bell Park, and the cruise boat William Ramsey departs from the dock between June and September.

Science North's staff of science communicators wear distinctive blue lab coats, earning them the nickname 'Blue Coats.' They lead tours, present live science shows in the Discovery Theatre, and provide interpretive experiences throughout the museum. The Discovery Theatre, suspended between the third and fourth levels, hosts demonstrations on topics from fire to sound. An 8-metre dome planetarium with 36 seats was installed in 2009, while the IMAX theatre was converted to 3D the same year. The Climate Action Show, narrated by Canadian comedian Rick Mercer, opened in 2003 and was updated in 2022 to reflect two decades of new climate science.

Science North's Production Team creates object theatres, multimedia presentations, and large-format films for science museums across North America. Their 2023 documentary Jane Goodall: Reasons for Hope won a Canadian Screen Award for sustainable production at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024. The museum has partnered with Laurentian University on scientific and environmental research, including a graduate program in science communication. Throughout Northern Ontario, Science North runs science education day camps for children, extending its reach far beyond the shores of Ramsey Lake. The institution that began as a single museum has become a production house, an educational network, and a research partner.

Science North opened on June 19, 1984. Forty years later, it celebrated that anniversary as an institution woven into the fabric of Northern Ontario life. Generations of Sudbury children have had their heights predicted, watched live science demonstrations, and pressed their faces against the glass of the butterfly gallery. The museum sits in a city defined by mining and geology, and it turns that geological identity into something participatory and alive. The rock tunnel is not a metaphor. The Canadian Shield is literally underfoot. In a region shaped by a 1.8-billion-year-old meteor impact, Science North makes the case that understanding the natural world is not a spectator sport.