SUDBURY -- There was no busier place in the City of Greater Sudbury on Sunday than Science North.

In what has become the largest joint project ever launched by the world’s science centres and museums, 3,000 people made their way through the northern Ontario science centre to mark International Science Centre and Museum Day.

They came early from across the province to celebrate all things science.

Julie Moskalyk is the science director at Science North.

"Within an hour of opening today, we had just a little over 1,000 people in the science centre and that’s a busy time for us," said Moskalyk.

Science North opened its doors with free-admission as part of an international event focusing on the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

"But on a day like today, we pull out even more goals that maybe we don’t highlight as much all the time. So for example, gender equality. So, we really celebrate women in science on a day like today," said Moskalyk.

Kaylee Dugas works at the science centre teaching kids about the impact of concussions.  

"It’s really cool, because some people don’t get a chance to learn about science inside of the schools, so it’s giving them a different perspective on what they can learn," said Dugas.

Femur the snake is one of the many animal ambassadors at Science North that the science demonstrators, called blue coats, use to teach visitors about the creatures they have in their backyards.

Megan Mitchell is a science demonstrator.

"We love seeing the people’s faces light up and when they realize the snake is not as scary as they thought, it’s what we live for as blue coats," said Mitchell.

Eric Dumais is the Discovery Theatre presenter at the science centre and he has the enviable task of performing experiments with a "bang," including one called the Gummy Bear Torture Chamber.

"The potassium quart, once it’s melted, turns into potassium chloride and the potassium chloride helps destroy the glucose molecules inside the gummy bears releasing energy," said Dumais.

Inside the crowd of people at Science North, young visitors listened to every word, and some will likely work in the fields of science, technology, engineering or math.

One young person that talked to CTV News got to hold a stick bug for the first time, "it was kind of spiky, and it tickled."

Another young visitor told CTV News that their favourite part was seeing the butterflies.

"My favourite part would probably be going in the butterfly room. We got to see all sorts of amazing types of butterflies."

If the goal was to leave a lasting impression through their interactive exhibits, one thing is for certain, the smiles on the peoples' faces say it all.