BCTV

"Just watch us now" A real live TV studio,with everybody you always wanted to leer at right there on public display. Is Norm Grohman hopelessly beyond therapy? The News Hour, the Noon NewsHour and the lottery show Winsday were produced here before your very eyes.

California

High tech is what this pavilion was all about. California's contribution to the space race was effectively displayed with an actual space suit and one of the real Apollo capsules on display.

There were lots for the children here: an ion-charged glass sphere that sent out visible electric charges whereever it was touched, for example. And Hollywood represented in a special effects theatre that had vistors feeling as if they were zooming across California in a flying saucer

You could see that King Kong was actually a person of average height.

You could also participate in the design and production of a bicycle through the use of Computer Aided Design and business applications of computers - the bicycle itself was on display in the Italian pavilion.

The film theatre was found at the far end of the pavilion.

Cuba

An open carriage from the Spanish colonial era greeted visitors outside the Cuba pavilion while inside were cardboard images of Christopher Columbus being greeted by Indians and slave boats carrying their human cargo to the new world. A slide show on modern-day Cuban transportation completes this small pavilion's Expo presentation.

Cuban cigars and well-priced stamps were available here.

General Motors

We expected exhaust systems and overhead cams. Instead, we got one of Expo's biggest hits, the 150-seat Spirit Lodge theatre. A process trademarked Holavision puts a native story teller on stage and as he weaves his tale, smoke from his fire twists and forms itself into ghostly spirits and haunting smoky memories.

You had to get to the Spirit Lodge early or late in the day. Line-ups were long.

Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire)

The magnificent wooden doors at the entrance to this pavilion were alone worth a visit. Inside, a mock wharf and cargo ship showed visitors how much trading was done by this African nation that has an Atlantic coastline. Visitors could choose from many types of coffee on sale. And the beautiful pavilion hostesses with their elaborate hairstyles of dozens of tiny braids were one of the attractions of the fair.

Trying to determine what emotions the masks represent--some were funereal, others were joyful. You could enjoy playing with the musical instruments: a wooden xylophone, the "balafon", and the drums called the "tamtam" and the "cora".Food: There were free samples of cocoa and coffee.

Beautifully carved elephant ivory tusks and wood were available.

South Korea

Windchimes tinkling softly on the plaza welcome visitors to the Land of Morning Calm. Inside, there was the tinkling of cash registers, with a large craft sales area and a subtle mix of ancient artifacts and modern products, such as the Hyudai automobile that took North America by storm.

The KANG SUN YUNG dancers were a professional dance group. Performances were three times daily at 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and lasted about half an hour.

You noted the external Korean architectural design of the pavilion, especially the entrance way, and saw the iron-clad turtle boat at the entrance (a 1/5th size model).

Imagine the pomp and ceremony of the 1988 Olympic games by viewing the revolving model on display.

You obtained a ticket first thing in the morning, then time your trip to coincide with the dance performances. There was also a theatre showing a 20-minute movie on Korea's cultural development. You could catch this even if you missed the folk dance. You could shop for Topaz jewelry, eel-skin bags (starting at about $100), jade (earrings starting at $3.00), costume pearls, and Korean dolls, eat exotic Korean food at a fine sit down restaurant and take a good look at the traditional dresses worn by the waitresses.

Malaysia

Malaysia pavilion had the world's largest pewter mug, 2 metres high and weighing 1.6 tonnes. Inside the pavilion there was a real rubber tree and there was a silversmith and displays of songket weaving using gold and silver threads. Transportation, you say. Well, if you insist there was the made-in-Malaysia Proton Saga automobile.

Spending time viewing the batik and pewter craft displays was well worth while. The slide show, wasenjoyable for understanding Malaysian culture and industry.

The restaurant could be accessed from the rear without going through the pavilion - you ate here even if you missed the pavilion. The meals were inexpensive and good. Shoping for bargains on batik fabric (starting at $3.40/m) and pewter figurines.

 

Oregon

This pavilion was built around the theme of the Oregon Trail when more than 250,000 pioneers went west, you man, to settle in Oregon. The best bet here: the time tunnel that took visitors on a tour through Oregon's history, and it was constructed so you could browse or breeze past dawdlers who wanted to read everything. It was a busy pavilion crammed with lots of information, but it was compact so it wouldn't take long to stroll thorugh.

For children a short movie, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", featured Claymation. Sampling some Oregon recipes in the tourist area.Shops: World famous Oregonian products like Pendleton wool products and myrtlewood carvings were for sale.

The Great Hall of Ramses II

The popularity of the Great Hall of Ramses II, with its collection of treasures, could hardly have surprised the organizers of EXPO 86. Or could it? It's true, of course, that "Ramses II and His Times" is one of the finest traveling exhibitions of Egyptian antiquities in recent years. It's also true that the exhibition is historically relevant to Expo's themes: the early Egyptians developed chariots and boats which became world prototypes, built roads, causeways and canals, and invented ink, papyrus and the hieroglyphic symbols which predate alphabetic scripts.

But who would have guessed that the Great Hall would quickly become the single most popular - and possibly most meaningful - pavilion at Vancouver's Expo 86? After all, Egypt's old hat, no?

Maybe so. Nevertheless, sponsorship of a world-caliber exhibition of art and artifacts from ancient Egypt and its placement in an imaginative building on an urban, waterfront site amid stunning examples of 20th-century technology was a brilliant decision - intended or not.

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/
198604/a.world.in.motion.htm

Telecom Canada

Where communications meets Donald Duck. A children's area gave youngsters an opertunity to talk by video and telephone to Disney characters. No joshing. Some serious adult stuff too. Would you believe a simulated ride through the telecommunications network? Er, on second thought, hello, is that you Mickey? Walt Disney Productions also produced the Circle-Vision 360 movie, Portraits of Canada, that literally had you surrounded:

"A Portrait of Canada/Image du Canada"

It was presented on 9 screens arranged in a seamless circle around you. You stood in the theatre against railings for support. You'd feel like you were in the center of the action-be it on stage with the National Ballet of Canada or at the base of an avalanche fall. The movie lasted about 20 minutes and was shown every half-hour.

United States of America

A voyage into space from past to future with lots of spacecraft models and a good short film. Highlight is the scale model of a soon-to-be-built space station. There was no hype,no hard sell of souvenirs, and the video monitors showed footage of the spacecraft and astronauts in real life action. Labels were asimple, clear and bilingual. It was educational without being boring.

The entrance contained a dedication to the astronauts killed in the Challenger tragedy earlier this year. You could see models of 'Voyager satellites and Mercury and Gemini spacecraft. There was also a lunar landing module used on Apollo missions and pictures taken of Saturn, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. You could learn about the concept of weightlessness, first in the audio-visual presentation of a shuttle flight and space walk, and later in a walk-through model of the interior of a space station.

Washington

The main attraction here has to have been the Travolator, 40-metre moving sidewalk that let visitors view a seven-minute film about Washington on the longest seamless screen - 40 x 4.5 metre - in the world. Next there was a bevy of information kiosks where you could find out everything you wanted to know about Washington by simply pressing a computer button. Well laid-out and wheelchair-accessible.

The film viewed from the Travolator was well-worth the visit. It had beautiful images and a great soundtrack.

Volcanic glass, Mt. St. Helen's soap, and sweet treats were sold here.

Xerox International Amphitheatre

The theatre, for example, scheduled Japan's Ikuto Shrine Performing Group, Indonesia's Gamelan Orchestra, and Saudi Arabia's National Folk Dance Troop, among more than 100 attractions.