Public access to buildings
Public access to buildings
Libraries: Enriching places to learn and grow
The university library consists of three campus sites: Mills Memorial Library, Innis Library and H.G. Thode Library of Science & Engineering. We also have a dedicated Health Sciences library. The general public is welcome to visit all libraries and use resources on site, including books and publications. Of particular interest is the William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections, which is a principal repository for rare books, archives, antiquarian maps, and related historical material for the McMaster University Libraries.
The McMaster community also has access to a free, tailored version of a web publishing platform called Omeka S, thanks to a partnership between the Lewis & Ruth Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship and the William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections at McMaster University Library. Omeka S is an open-source tool used by universities, libraries, archives, galleries and museums. It allows users to create digital exhibits that share a collaboratively built pool of items and their metadata.
Community Borrower Cards are issued to individuals who live or work in Hamilton. There is no fee for this card.
Community cardholders may use all the services provided by the Library, with the exception of Interlibrary Loan Services and off-campus access to our licensed e-resources.
- Access to our library catalogue is free to all users.
- To access e-resources on-campus, as a walk-in user, you will need a Temporary Guest Internet account.
- Community borrowers should direct interlibrary loan requests to their public library or any other library with which they are affiliated.
Buildings
Located on McMaster University’s campus, the W.J. McCallion Planetarium is a state-of-the-art theatre designed to educate the public about the solar system, the stars, and the universe. It was the first planetarium in the province of Ontario to offer free shows to the public and has continued this tradition for decades. A full program of events is presented each year, many of them focused on bringing in families and engaging children, such as evenings exploring Indigenous cosmologies and astronomy or Astronomy for Muggles.
The McMaster Museum of Art is a community-wide destination for a world-class collection. It offers free public talks, tours, and events for all ages, as well as hands-on educational activities customized to suit visitors’ interests. The Museum houses McMaster University’s permanent collection of more than 6,000 objects that encompass the history of art from the late 15th to the 21st century, and coins and antiquities from Mediterranean cultures and China.
The Museum maintains an active public art campaign on and off campus. The MMA commissions and subsequently maintains a roster of works of public art on campus. The works can be experienced, in situ, across campus and can be more deeply accessed through a campus sculpture walking tour via QR code (located on the front door of the Museum). As well, the Museum annually partners with Super Crawl Productions to support the commissioning of works of public art on James Street North as well as the James Street North arts community billboard.
McMaster Innovation Park (MIP), a world-class centre for innovation and research, partners with Art in the Workplace, a Hamilton non-profit organization that creates opportunities for local artists. MIP hosts three exhibitions a year, each lasting four months and featuring the work of 100 artists. A portion of the exhibit space is allocated for student groups. MIP hosts opening galas in its Atrium for each new exhibit.
LIVELab
Located on the McMaster University campus, the LIVE (Large Interactive Virtual Environment) Lab is a one-of-a-kind concert hall and music research facility that hosts live events and ground-breaking research. LIVELab’s unique 106-seat Performance Hall is designed to investigate the experience of music, dance, multimedia presentations, and human interaction.
Some concerts have focused on audiences who are hard of hearing, while others explore music and cognition involving infants and the elderly. Beyond the research opportunities, the programming offers pure entertainment for the general public. Examples of performances in LIVELab’s concert series include versaCello, a duo of brothers playing contemporary music on cello, and Synaptic Rodeo, which fuses lecture and performance.
Downtown Health Sciences Centre
Located in downtown Hamilton across from city hall, the David Braley Health Sciences Centre combines the McMaster University’s Department of Family Medicine and numerous educational programs with a large family health clinic and Hamilton’s Public Health Services — brought together to promote and easily facilitate these critical health services within the community. The Centre welcomes 54,000 patient visits each year and is home to 550 staff.
Sport Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre
The David Braley Sport Medicine & Rehabilitation Centre is a world-class facility located on the McMaster University campus in the David Braley Athletic Centre. The Centre is open to McMaster athletes, students, faculty, staff, and the Hamilton community. Our team of experts work in partnership with other health-care providers to optimize performance and help everyone from youth to elite athletes achieve their personal goals and improve their well-being.
Collaboration with the Dundas Museum
As part of a fourth year Humanities practicum course, undergraduate students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in public history through a work placement. One of the groups from the 2021 cohort worked with the Dundas Museum to design historical walking tours of the town.
A scenic and historic campus open to the public
McMaster University is located on a scenic 350-acre campus in the city of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada. The 30-acre central core of campus is designated for pedestrians and bicyclists. A location with considerable historic and natural significance, the campus is open to the public year-round and is used widely as a community green space and a centre for many cultural, educational, and sports events for the public.
The campus is part of a natural trail system managed by the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Conservation Authority. McMaster is surrounded by forested areas, waterways and stunning waterfalls and nestled below the Niagara Escarpment, part of a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. The campus is a draw for nature-seekers from the local community and beyond.
There is also a wide range of public art, performances, and cultural events available to the public throughout the year on campus, in addition to free access to historic buildings, culturally significant archives, and botanical and scientific collections.
The open access to natural areas and cultural experiences is evidence of how deeply McMaster University is woven into the fabric of the community.
The property is located about five kilometres southwest of campus, right on the 5C or 51 HSR bus routes. The closest bus stop is the West Hamilton Bus Loop and then a short walk to the forest down Lower Lions Club Road.
McMaster Forest Nature Preserve is an incredibly biodiverse area of mixed forests, old growth forests, wetlands, meadows, creeks, and prairie. The proximity to campus, combined with the incredible diversity of animal and plant species thriving on the property, make the McMaster Forest Nature Preserve an ideal research, recreation, and teaching facility. Many undergraduate courses make use of the property as well as undergraduate and graduate research projects.
The public is welcome to explore the area, but is asked to please adhere to posted signage, stay on trail, and not disturb ongoing research.
Green Spaces
McMaster Teaching & Community Garden
- In 2012, students from the Integrated Science Program (iSci) collaborated with Facility Services and the McMaster Students Union to open a vegetable garden on the North Side of the General Science Building.
- That summer, and every summer since, the McMaster Teaching & Community Garden promotes local food production and provides teaching and learning opportunities for the McMaster community. In the summer of 2020, students were not permitted on campus due to pandemic restrictions and Facility Services team members continued with planting and upkeep.
- As the buds burst marking the start of the tenth growing season for the community garden, Facility Services began exploring new partnerships with student groups to plant vegetables and reinvigorate the garden for the start of another decade of learning and growing on campus.
- The McMaster Teaching & Community Garden is a University sustainability initiative with the objective of facilitating local food production while providing teaching and learning opportunities and engaging the McMaster and greater Hamilton community. The MTCG is the product of collaboration between McMaster’s Integrated Science (iSci) Program and the Office of Sustainability. The ongoing success of the MTCG is a result of the outstanding contributions from countless students, faculty, staff, and members of the broader community who have supported its growth and development.
Campus Grounds
- McMaster’s outstanding grounds, situated adjacent to Cootes Paradise Wetlands and the Royal Botanical Gardens in the Niagara Escarpment, is a key factor in attracting students, staff, and visitors to campus.
- Facilities Services’ Grounds Department is responsible for providing quality grounds management of approximately 300 acres of campus including landscape design, turf maintenance, floral displays, forestry, special event set-up, litter control, and winter control operations. Full-time staff, augmented by student gardeners and contracted services perform both ongoing landscape maintenance activities as well as landscape construction projects. Grounds staff is proud to be honoured with the 2006 President’s Award of Excellence for outstanding service to the University. Click here to view Grounds service level standards.
- Sustainability is a focus of management of the campus, with stewardship of natural lands, forest, watershed and the urban landscape of primary concern. A haven of diverse ecosystems and wildlife, McMaster’s abundant natural lands provide a unique university setting, and opportunity for study.
- Public safety and inclusivity is also a primary concern, with attention paid to creating year-round safe, accessible roadways, paths and open spaces for the campus community. The Campus Master Plan emphasizes the creation of areas of “compelling spaces”, where people work, play, study and relax. McMaster campus showcases a dynamic blend of vibrant, functional public spaces with many intimate, creative outdoor spaces for people to connect.
- Our grounds are renowned for their excellence in horticultural displays, which is a favourite attribute mentioned by summer conference visitors. McMaster is truly a year round campus jewel.