A Day at the Canada Science and Technology Museum

We recently visited the Canada Science and Technology Museum for the first time since the $80 million rebuild that took place over the past three years. It was always our favourite museum so we’ve been looking forward to seeing it ever since the reopening in November 2017. While different than the ‘old’ museum, it was a blast and should definitely be on everyone’s ‘must see’ list.

I visited the museum with all three of our kiddos, plus their two cousins, Ashley (age 11) and Jessica (age 14), who were visiting from British Columbia. That left us with five kids ages 10 to 15 and everyone had a great time. The new Canada Science and Technology Museum is very different than than the ‘old’ version but some of our favourite locations remain.

Floor plan for the new Canada Science and Technology Museum

Our Favourite Exhibits at the Canada Science and Technology Museum

Northern Lights

Just when you enter the museum, to the right, before you pay for tickets, there is a waiting area with beautiful lighting. I hadn’t gone in so didn’t realize until I asked Sydney some of her favourite things that these mimicked the northern lights along with beautiful music and birds chirping. She and her cousin Ashley hung out there a few times during our visit and for kids who had never seen the northern lights, they were fascinated.

Trains

The trains have always been a kid favourite at the Science and Tech museum so we were thrilled that the new rebuild included them. It’s a great opportunity for kids and adults alike to explore “old fashioned” trains up close and personal.

Virtual Reality

New to the train area is a virtual reality booth. It’s manned by an employee of the museum and they are very strict on age requirements. Sydney, being 12.5, was not impressed that the age requirement was 13 and above. Lucas and his cousin Jessica really enjoyed it though. Upon donning VR goggles, they had to choose between explorer mode or challenge mode. Lucas chose the explorer mode and was able to manoeuvre different levers and buttons to ‘operate’ the train. The challenge mode was more of a storyline or challenge that you needed to accomplish.

Lucas trying out the virtual reality booth

Sound room

The sound room was super cool and fascinated both young and old(er). Despite the incredible noise in the ‘sound’ area of the museum, this little area, with no doors, was peaceful, serene and quiet due to specialized construction. We really need this for our home office!

Things that spin… and other hands on activities

The main thing that makes science museums around the world a favourite of children everywhere is their ability to touch and manoeuvre things at each station. The Canada Science and Technology museum is no exception. While many of the hands-on exhibits of the old museum are missing (sadly waving goodbye to the pilot deck of the space shuttle, the snowmobile and the overhead tunnels), they’ve been replaced with many others.  I will say though, that for a brand-new museum, many of these hands on exhibits either don’t function properly, or in some cases, at all. That said, the kids had a blast.

Kids building a song

Lucas and Jessica spinning the wheel to explore Canada

Caiden spelling his name in braille

Ashley measuring her height in hockey pucks

Sydney discovering how durable a hockey helmet is

Lunabot Space Rover

Sydney is a huge fan of space so she insisted that we add the space rover to our list of favourites. While it wasn’t accessible to touch and explore, it was interesting to see the Lunabot rover which was created by engineering students at Laurentian University. The rover is a remote controlled mining robot made to collect lunar soil and while its never been in space, it did capture top prize at a NASA international competition in 2011.

Crazy Kitchen ~ At the Canada Science and Technology Museum since 1967!

Ah, the crazy kitchen. The Science and Tech Museum would have never been the same had the crazy kitchen been removed. Anticipation hung over the group until we finally arrived about half way through our day. As a side note, the kids returned to the kitchen four or five times throughout our visit. There’s nothing cooler than entering what appears to be a normal kitchen only to fall to the side due to sudden onset of dizziness. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a fan but the only thing that could have made this better for the kids was if it was bigger!

The Crazy Kitchen definitely had an impact on my senses. Aside from making me dizzy, all my pictures of inside were blurred!!

Lunch

Ok, so lunch isn’t really an exhibit but reality is, if you’re visiting the museum with kids, they’re going to want food at some point. While you could bring your own, we didn’t even think of it. When you combine that with arriving at the museum at 11:30am, it meant we needed to buy food. I have to say, we were pleasantly surprised with the options available at the Maple Cafe. The prices were also quite reasonable. I took a few pics of the menu hoping that it could help a fellow visitor.

They also had sandwiches, fruit cups and other cold items available.

If you arrive at the museum early enough to take a break downtown for lunch or if you’re looking for some place special for dinner, check out this great post about some of the best restaurants in Ottawa. 

Special Exhibit at the Canada Science and Technology Museum: The Art of the Brick

I hadn’t heard of the special exhibit before arriving at the museum and at $30 more for the family ticket, it seemed a bit steep to look at Lego but I was outvoted so we bought the ticket including the special exhibit. I’m so glad we did! It was phenomenal! It is said that the exhibit is one of CNN’s Top Ten “Global Must-See Exhibitions” so that means that even if its not in Ottawa after September, you may get a chance to see it elsewhere.

The first part of the exhibit is the artist’s recreation of world class art pieces from around the world. Because of our travels, the children have seen many of the originals so it was incredible to see them made from Lego. The amount of work and skill that went into this part of the exhibit is incredible.

The Thinker: Original in Rodin Museum Gardens, Paris

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel: Original in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

Mona Lisa: Original in the Louvre, Paris

Venus de Milo: Original in the Louvre, Paris

Winged Victory of Samothrace: Original in the Louvre, Paris

Beyond recreations, the original works of the artist, Nathan Sawaya, are equally, if not more incredible.

Title: Think!

Title: Trapped!

Caiden was fascinated by it

Title: Blackwhite: “If you only see the world as black and white, you are probably missing the many shades of grey” – Nathan Sawaya, artist

Part of an exhibition created with an Australian photographer. Look at the photograph behind it. The artist’s red lego umbrella is in the picture! So cool!

Caiden’s favourite piece!

Based on artistry alone, they are wonderful but when taken with the quotes from the artist and explanations accompanying the works, the artist shows an insight into the way we think and delves into the depth of human emotions. Who would have thought Lego could do that!?!

A body in layers

I’m not sure if this exhibit is always available as there was a staff member with it but if you can find it, track it down and ask a few questions. Caiden was fascinated by it. It’s basically a half body, from top of the head to top of the legs, that is sliced horizontally so you can push aside part to see the organs, veins, etc. The staff member was a biologist and told us about several organs and also why the crazy kitchen makes us dizzy!

Science exhibitions

In the center of the museum there is a mini auditorium with a small stage where several staff members conduct science experiments based on specific topics. It’s a good idea to check the schedule beside the auditorium when you arrive so that you know what time the shows will start. The day we visited the topics were liquid nitrogen and electricity. The shows alternated. They always ask for a helper from the audience so if you’re little one likes to participate, there’s a great chance.

Pooff!

Zooom zone

Technically the Zooom zone is for children under age 8 but everyone is allowed inside and our 10-12 year olds had fun making cars and playing with them on the ramps and hanging out in the cubbies. Little ones would enjoy it even more as there are lots of other things for them to explore in the area.

Artifacts Alley (progression of technology through the years)

One of the issues with the old Science and Tech museum was that many of the artifacts the museum had acquired were kept in a building behind the museum because there simply wasn’t enough space. With the rebuild came a brand-new exhibit that goes throughout the entire museum. The displays show a particular device and how it changed through the years. There are typewriters, telephones, toasters, refrigerators, and many other items. This was one of my favourite exhibits in the museum (so much so that I forgot to take pictures!) and the kids enjoyed it too, especially when I could tell them the kind of things I used when I was a kid!

Snowmobiles through the years

Vintage car and trailer

Tiny House

Have you ever watched one of those tiny homes shows on television? If you’re like me, I’ve always wondered how anyone could want to live in a home that small. Well, the Science and Tech Museum has a 300 square foot tiny home on display. Incredibly, it felt way larger than I expected. We had a great time exploring all the nooks and crannies inside and realizing that living in a ‘tiny home’ would really be possible … if we didn’t have a family of five!

Dogs, and cats, and horses!

This was our last stop at the museum but the kids thoroughly enjoyed it and had to be pulled away. The exhibit covers high tech devices used by or for animals of all kinds. Of special interest was the light up tail used by horses so they could be seen at a distance and the hands on exhibit that allows you to find the owner of lost cats using their microchip. As Zermatt has a microchip, Caiden and Sydney had a great time using the scanner to find the cat’s owners.

Bottom line, the Canada Science and Technology Museum is definitely worth a visit whether you live in Ottawa or are just visiting. The price of admission is individual, with discounts for children and seniors, or family which covers two adults and up to four children. Worth consideration is the membership that includes this museum as well as the Agricultural Museum and the Aviation museum. If you plan to visit each, the annual membership is a bargain. Check the official website for up to date admission fees, opening hours and special exhibits.

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