You might be wondering what UFOs, a cursed box, and science have to do with each other. The answer: all can be found at the National Research Council of Canada on Sussex Drive. In mid-August, Steven Leclair, chief archivist at the NRC, kindly hosted a second group of HSO members on a tour of the NRC’s Sussex Drive facility. Leading us through this remarkable neoclassical structure built to the exacting specifications of Henry Marshall Tory in the 1930s, he pointed out its many architectural and design features. Most importantly, its offices can be easily converted into laboratories and back depending on need. They are also safely isolated from each other in case of an explosion! In fact, so well designed is the building that its laboratories continue to be used for scientific research today, more than 90 years after the building opened for business.

All was quiet in the building when we visited. Our footsteps provided the only sound as we passed down its yellow brick corridors. There was none of the usual hustle and bustle found in your typical office building. The only evidence of anybody working were white-coated scientists visible through glass-panelled doors. Signs posted beside each entrance provided scant clues to what was happening within. Truly this building is a “Temple of Science,” a moniker given to the NRC years ago by a visiting British dignitary.

In addition to the tour, Steve provided a wonderful lecture on the early years of the NRC. He talked about some of the inventions developed at the site, including an early voltage-controlled synthesizer called the Electronic Sackbut by Hugh Le Caine in the 1940s—the forerunner of the Moog synthesizer.

The last stop of the tour was Steve’s “holy of holies”—the archives. Up in his light-filled office on the top floor, Steve showed us treasures seldom seen by the public. This included a mysterious padlocked box. Recently rediscovered, the box had been hidden decades ago by an eccentric researcher who erroneously though he had made an important nuclear discovery. Fearful that his findings might fall into the wrong hands, he hid them in the box, saying that they could only be accessed by the NRC’s archivist when there was world peace. Any breach of these conditions would lead to a curse being placed on the opener. So far, Steve has withstood the temptation to peek inside.

Steve also told us that UFOs give him a lot of grief as the NRC is the repository of all Canadian reports of unidentified flying objects. So far, the NRC has been able to provide plausible explanations for the sightings. No sign of extraterrestrials has been found…yet.

Finally, Steve took the opportunity to tell us that the NRC’s archives are open to the public free of charge. All one need do is ask. Already, tens of thousands of documents and photographs have been digitized and are available on-line. Thanks to Steve’s efforts, these include documents and blueprints related to the fabled Avro Arrow aircraft, the acme of Canadian technical sophistication of the 1950s.

Thank you, Steve, for such an informative and engaging presentation and tour.