School's In BACK

The new Koerner Hall at the Royal Conservatory of Music

When it’s time to break out the laptops and learning, Toronto is rich in academic locales and meeting facilities for hosting education-focused events. But, sometimes switching out a traditional knowledge setting for one with a themed learning flare goes along way in capturing participant interest.

TSEvents XS goes back to school with these uniquely “clever” venues:

In Harmony
Music flowing out of classrooms into hallways makes a wonderful welcome for anyone arriving at the stunningly renovated Royal Conservatory of Music. The conservatory expands its cultural and educational footprint with this month’s opening of the adjoined Telus Centre for Performance and Learning. Sophisticated music studios, wired classrooms, library and media lab make fine learning environments for groups up to 70 people while several acoustically perfect performance spaces fine-tune larger concert, conference and lecture needs.

Koerner Hall, the jewel in the conservatory’s cultural crown, is a breathtaking
1,140-seat concert space. On a smaller but no-less magnificent scale, Mazzoleni Hall has permanent theatre seating for 237 while the new light-filled Conservatory Theatre offers a multi-versatile learning and event setting for up to 150. Invite the school’s students to serenade between-meeting breaks, or segue the day’s learning into a reception and concert performance.

Challenger Learning Centre’s mission control at
the Ontario Science Centre

Team Science
The Ontario Science Centre is all about inventive possibilities and interactive learning. Numerous settings abound for groups large and small with varying sized theatres for presentations and break-out spaces for classroom-style brainstorming. Video and teleconferencing available along with wireless router hubs.

Extend the day’s curriculum with a tour of the centre’s hands-on displays and exhibits such as Body Worlds & The Story of the Heart, which opens October 9, 2009. For experiential learning, call on the Challenge Zone for facilitated teambuilding or a scavenger hunt. Our favourite class setting, however, is the Challenger Learning Centre with its simulated mission control environment that puts up to 40 participants in charge of landing on the moon.

The new Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the
Toronto Reference Library

Bookworms Unite
Ever notice how “ best student behaviour” kicks into high gear as one enters the hushed, hallowed halls of a library? As of October 1, 2009, planners can capitalize on that natural inclination by hosting lectures and workshops (plus receptions, of course) in the new Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library. The second-floor Appel Salon is part of the resource centre’s major renovation (love the new two-storey glass cube frontage!) and programming revitalization.

The 16,000 sq. ft multi-functional salon (Total capacity: 460 lecture-style) is divisible by three and offers two catering kitchens, great views and grab-fresh-air terraces. Striking features include a living wall, super-sized plasma screens, webcasting and other advanced A-V conferencing needs. Check out the library’s line-up of speakers and exhibits for integration.

Cineplex’s big-screen movie theatres make great lecture halls

At The Movies
Give learning the star treatment at a Cineplex Entertainment movie theatre. Stadium seating for 29 to 579 people, surround sound and big-screen projection (six stories high!) deliver presentations (DVD, Blue-ray, PowerPoint, even 3D) for mega-impact. Onsite webcasting and video-conferencing capabilities make sharing the message a cinch by beaming it to your audience waiting in theatre locations across the nation.

What’s that you say? Theatre seating isn’t conducive to laptops and note taking? Cineplex’s Varsity and Scotiabank theatres both have a plentiful supply of portable lap desks that can be shipped to other locations. Some theatres offer stage room with podiums while new-look complexes boast VIP auditorium seating, private screening rooms plus post-work play areas with pool tables, bowling alleys and lounges. Fit in a screening of the latest blockbuster or special request a film that suits your theme.

Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, a working heritage site

Teaching It Old School
Take “students” back in time with education staged against the 19th century backdrop of the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse. This heritage museum is a gem (and a film-set darling!), with its Little House on the Prairie-perfect Schoolroom, complete with rows of wooden pew desks, slates, chalkboard, wood-burning stove and school antiquities. No need to resort to old-fashioned teaching methods (unless you want to): the venue is audio-visually wired.

Located in the Parliament and King Street area, the 1848 Schoolhouse is the city’s oldest surviving building. Simple décor, beautiful gothic windows and exposed beams augment the historical setting. In addition to the Schoolroom, which accommodates 90 people, there’s a small Salon for up to 60 people which flows into the primary event room of the West Hall for a total capacity of 150 guests. 

School’s definitely in at School Bakery & Café

All Work, No Play, Makes Teams …
End or start a day of learning in the tongue-in-cheek “academic” setting of School Bakery & Café. A quirky school-house chic theme is redolent throughout the Liberty Village resto with a wall of clocks stopped in time at 3:30 p.m., chalkboard kitsch, bookshelves, a report card bill … there’s even an apple on every table.  Fun for sure, the over-the-top setting makes for a spirited play on learning.

The space is nicely lit with large sliding glass garage doors (a mechanic’s shop was the former occupant). Two exposed brick rooms hold 60 seated; reconfigure to hold lessons at School or clear the furnishings away for a higher head count. A-v available. In summer, two patios handle a spillover of up to 140. Delish casual fare courtesy of Chef Brad Moore (ex Xacutti) delivers tummy-pleasing meals that we wish were part of our lunch program way back when!

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