Diefenbunker is a unique museum highlighting a very specific time in our history, namely the Cold…read moreWar years. It is unique, educational, and eye-opening. They obviously went through a lot of work to convert this into a museum, to maintain it, and to create the wealth of educational documentation provided. As someone old enough to remember the latter part of this era, there were a lot of memories here. It was also fun, as a former employee of a large computer company, to see all the old devices still set up as if someone were about to use them. If you do stroll through the museum, there are decals on the floor indicating directions you can go to see everything, but at some intersections, they conflict. Better yet, pick p a map near the entrance, with the floor plan and all the room numbers.

The Diefenbunker has been on my list of museums to check out for years. I absolutely love the…read more1950's era, and was in awe at how the whole bunker has been left untouched. From the pastel yellow and blue paint used to the decorations in each room, it was quiet the experience to look at, and a step back in time. Walking through the tunnel upon entrance was chilly, literally, cold. Bring a sweater. The temperature in the rest of the museum was fine. My 5 year old thought it was cool in the beginning, but got extremely creeped out mid tour, and decided it was time to go. My 2 year old loved it and was laughing the whole time. Keep in mind there is not much for children to do here, but walk, and look. Keep an eye out for the TV and green chair that is set up. They were rolling commercials and announcements from that time era. It was pretty cool to watch. Parking on site, bring a lunch as there is no food to purchase on site (that I could find anyways). 5 and under free entry.

It was as much fun touring this museum as it was watching the smaller kids get excited looking at…read morethe dinosaur fossils and the live insects. There was so much content even limiting it to just Canadian flora and fauna. The building itself is impressive, and everything is nicely organized inside. Parking would be my one peeve. You can walk to it from the light rail if you're okay with that and it's night weather, but we found that for a group, it was actually cheaper to take a Lyft, ironically. While this museum is designed to be a great source of information for kids, adults will like it too.

Have been several times but finally decided to leave a review. During public holidays, sometimes…read morethere is no entry fees. The parking on site is limited ($12 etc). There is street parking around (paid). Once inside, there are 4 levels, level 1 has the cafeteria serving beverages and pizza/ sandwiches, Fairly pricey. This level also features the fossils. There's even a video on how became extinct. Plenty of sensory experiences, lots of information. You can easily spend several hours checking it out. The bathrooms were clean and despite it being extremely busy when I went I didn't feel claustrophobic. Also checked out their bug adventure. Lots of information on bugs, several mini exhibits. Overall, informative.

This place is a gem! So much about it is breathtaking, from the architecture, to the views of…read moreOttawa on the other side of the river, to the totems on display - everything! The layout is well organized, the history is thorough, the exhibits are interesting. One thing I truly appreciated is the total frankness of the documentation. They kept it real. Nothing was sugar-coated, nothing was whitewashed, they didn't attempt to erase or hide any history, and they made a point of trying to learn from past mistakes. Other places could learn from this. I hope the museum will be able to add on, to cover events in Canada's more recent history.

We came here to learn more about the indigenous cultures of Canada and for the children's museum…read more They have a great set up here, we were able to go to the children's museum right after getting our tickets to wear out our daughter a bit before going to the main museum. The children's museum is really interesting, much more than we had expected. It is really great that they have so many interactive and educational displays about different cultures around the world. Following the path from Asia, to Egypt to Mexico was a lot of fun. They have the room to rent marbles and other things to build as well. Definitely a must stop if you have kids. After she got a bit of her energy out we went upstairs to see the main exhibits. The long hallway with the mirrors telling the stories of places around the country was really interesting, a bit tricky to read, but very unique. The layout to walk through is fantastic. Walking through history from the indigenous communities, to the invasion from the French and British, to the modern day is so well laid out. Not too many interactive displays to keep our daughter entertained, but just enough. It was absolutely fascinating to basically walk through the history of Canada. Going downstairs to the great room/hall was incredible, the totem poles are enormous. Getting to see them in person and read about how the people carve them out was really impressive. I'm really glad we made the trip here.

A really neat exhibition that outlines the role of Parliament in Canadian government; the first…read moreroom is like a usual museum space, but the second room contains a 30m-or-so video, projected onto three walls, that identify some of the images of the main parts of Parliament. Though touted as a "360-degree" experience, it wasn't domed or circular, more like four walls, onto which cinematic images were projected. The inner exhibits told the story of various highlights in Canadian laws being passed. This exhibit I believe was produced to help make up for lack of visits to certain areas of Parliament when it's under construction and renovation until 2032.

Amazing exhibit on Parliament as both the Senate and House of Commons meet at temporary locations…read morefor the next several years due to renovations. You can book a tour online and the staff will welcome you in during your time slot. Amazing pictures, texts, and videos that are accessible to all. Loved seeing how Parliament works in Canada compared to the US government and while the tours were great I learned much more here. Hopefully much of the exhibits will be available in the parliament buildings across the street when renovations are over.

Very powerful museum and maybe the best one we have been. We came here about an hour before close…read moreon Rememberance Day so only saw the Women and War exhibit and parts of the permanent collection. What is unique is they show various aspects of war from all perspectives including persecuted populations. Highly recommended for all and we hope to see the rest of the museum sometime.

The fam and I came here during a quiet Saturday, and ended up spending the afternoon here. The…read moremuseum itself is stunning and I love the grand hall when you first walk in. With someone who is sensitive to light, I do enjoy that this museum is on the darker side. They made good use of the space in the museum and split each section into four galleries, plus a room for the special exhibit and a room for the tanks. There are a lot of nooks to check out and I feel like I missed a lot of things, so I may have to take a second trip back. I loved the small nook( I believe in gallery three) that we stumbled upon. We almost walked right past it, but I noticed this shiny red diner seating and grabbed a seat. There was an option to play some oldies music and it was so fun and took us back in time. The fam and I spent a good 20 minutes jamming out to some music and dancing. Of course we had to check out the cafe. They didn't have a lot of prepared items. A couple salads, cookies, typical egg sandwiches. They did have staff to prepare fresh food though like fries, poutine, chicken nuggets. We went with the poutine and it was outstanding to be honest. Tons of cheese curds, perfect chip wagon style fries and a tasty gravy. Plenty for sharing, but I ate most of it myself. The food was pricey, so bring extra snacks if you want to save some $$$. The LRT stops close by, and there is plenty of green space for picnics. I can totally see myself coming back in the Summer.

I had a great experience at this gallery. It was our first time with my family and we were able to…read morelearn about different art installations, it was cool. It wasn't too busy and it was clean and well-maintained. They also had multiple security stationed inside. Fairly priced and would definitely recommend checking it out at least once.

We spent about two hours here as the last activity of a busy day touring around Ottawa. The museum…read moreis amazing with a wonderful collection of works by contemporary Canadian artists including indigenous artists. They also have galleries that include works by Picasso, Dali, Van Gogh and many others. Parking is easy and very affordable in the underground parking garage. This is definitely a good option if visiting the city! It is walking distance to parliament hill so easy to combine visits to multiple attractions.

We were able to come here and use our ASTC passport which was awesome. The parking lots have plenty…read moreof space and some EV chargers which is great. The staff was friendly and got us in with our passport. They have a nice little cafe with Beavertails in the back, so we stopped there for a quick breakfast and coffee. The displays here are great, so many interactive displays from bicycles, to trains, to audio and visual displays there is a lot to take in. This is a great spot for families or just adults who can tolerate kids being around. The history of sporting for people with disabilities was really interesting. This place really has something for everyone, whether you are interested in the human body, space, housing, etc you will probably find a section that interests you. The kids specific area was a lot of fun, although one of the displays was a bit broken unfortunately. Being able to race cars you build on a track and climb a rock wall was a ton of fun for our daughter. Being able to go race other kids on the bikes was something she really enjoyed too. We certainly had a good family outing and I think we all learned a few new things.

We visited this museum. Parking is a bit confusing without proper signage. The other thing is…read morethat the parking near the front, the lines are marked with different coloured rocks but it's hard to see so people park very poorly and the spots are quite tight too. The exhibits were pretty interesting. Lots of things to see and read, somewhat interactive. There is a dedicated kids area for kids to play in which is nice for families. The huge train that you can go into was another fun highlight. The demonstrations were really fun, there was one on ice and one on fire that day though the ice one didn't quite work. Overall a pretty enjoyable museum especially if you have kids.

"Magic of Lights" is a light display at Wesley Clover Park. This year it is November 21, 2019 -…read moreJanuary 4, 2020, every night 5pm-10pm. It's $20 if you advance purchase online (any day of the week). If you pay at the gate, it's $25 Monday-Thursday and $30 Friday-Sunday. You can also tune into MAJIC 100.3 FM on your radio to hear Christmas music while you drive through the lights show. I thought the display was pretty, and I think it would be a fun activity to do with kids. They had different themes through the display such as fairy tales/nursery rhymes, Nativity scene, the 12 Days of Christmas, Christmas around the world, and a few others. This year is the 4th year of Magic of Lights. I'm glad I did it, but I think it's more of a one time thing. I doubt that I would go again.

One word. Spectacular! The place opens at 5pm, but be…read moreprepared for at least half an hour wait as the two long car lineups merge into one. Well worth the wait, driving at snail pace to the gate, as the 2 km journey inside takes just under 40 mins with lights display on each side of the one-way drive. Get your camera ready and as you tune in the 100.3FM, your video picks up all the Christmas Carols. Fortunately, it was not too cold and we were able to get lots of shots through the sunroof. Happy is see many Christmas themes in all the truly magic of lights coming alive. As we exit just before 7pm, we see the lineup way longer than we started. A must see annual attraction.

September 2014: need to update my review!! The city of Ottawa is spending wisely on museums!! The…read moredisplay changes every year. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. And best of all is the local history! The older I get, the more I appreciate history. This museum used to be the financial district of Stittsville when people first started populating the area. There's a picture posted inside of two women sitting in front of the building in the early 1900's. Amazing how much it is the same! Best of all, on this last visit, I made friends with another knitter attending this event, only to discover that we knew each other and were friends years ago (when we were kids) in Toronto!! History is indeed amazing and fascinating! November 2014: I added a photo to show the museum being "yarn bombed" LOL! There's nothing more warming in a cold outpost than a good bit of knitting to warm things up! Besides, it'll brighten the outside of this lovely little piece of living history. December 2014: they had a marvellous and wonderfully organized craft fair at this site this past weekend (Nov. 29 and 30). There was handmade artworks for sale, music (recorded), hot chocolate around a fire pit, and the staff were all divinely dressed up in period costume. Well done! And lots of fun.