When BC Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Lana Popham was finishing up dinner at a restaurant the other night, her server asked her where she was going next.

“I’m heading to Science World to turn the lights back on,” she said proudly.

The server looked at her quizzically. “Oh, were they off?”

I won’t lie: I had much the same initial reaction. Science World is such a staple of Vancouver’s skyline that it wasn’t even on my radar that the lights could be off for a week, let alone a month—let alone the year it took the organization to complete this upgrade.

But there we were, 12 months and millions of dollars later, ready to light up the sky once again (and, ahem, rival BC Place for best unofficial light show).

“They asked me to speak because I’m the employee who most resembles the dome,” a bald Brian Anderson, Science World’s Director of Fun, told a small group of media, executives, and board members. He then proceeded to demonstrate an entertaining “history of electricity in four minutes,” including one experiment using a pickle (who knew?). Anderson was actually on staff nearly 20 years ago when they got the idea to light up the dome, and his excitement for its re-do was palpable.

The new lights are a true feat of electrical engineering, with a total of 651 bulbs—triple the previous number—now covering the iconic dome. Of that number, 250 lights actually face inward, allowing for more effects, colours, and patterns than before. (“It’s been no easy task to get to this point,” confirmed Science World president and CEO Tracy Redies.) And notably, these lights use the latest LED technology, making them significantly more energy efficient.

Science World welcomes close to 800,000 visitors every year, with the important goal of engaging children and youth in the fields of STEAM: science, technology, engineering, art and design, and math.

“We see the impact of climate change across the world,” said Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of Emergency Preparedness, specifically referencing the current fire devastation in Lahaina, Hawaii. “We need the youth of today to come up with solutions that some of us could not figure out—and that’s what Science World represents.”

The new lights really do look cool; the whole dome sparkles and shimmers in a way it didn’t before. And it feels like a legendary part of Vancouver’s night sky has been restored. I bet Popham’s restaurant server will notice it now; I know I will.