After over 50 years of operation, the Ontario Science Centre shut down its main building a couple of years ago because the infrastructure was failing, and it was no longer safe. This type of decay happens naturally. The world can be chaotic, and its environment is always changing.

Instead of repairing it, the government decided to put the funding together for a new building at a new location. It was a controversial decision. The Ontario Science Center would need to survive through a very long interruption, instead of possibly still operating in its old building under repairs.

The other day, I walked past its programming taking place at the Harbourfront Centre. I saw an advertisement for its summer camp, similar to the one I’d attended at the old building when I was a teenager. 

While this interim building was smaller, and the programming was much more modest, it ensured the Ontario Science Centre could maintain a connection with its customers until the new building is finished. It’s not entirely interrupted. It continues to build trust. It enables the organization to show up.

Continuity isn’t the default. It needs people to maintain it. That person might be you. Compounding means biasing towards continuity. Ideally, interruptions are as short as possible.