When I am on vacation or am travelling, I try my best to visit a museum. I typically come to Waterloo either on business or to shop. I frankly don't know much about the history of the area. Since Canada Day landed on a Sunday this year, a lot of businesses were closed on Monday. However, Waterloo Region Museum broke out of this mode and was open. Perfect! This museum is in Kitchener. You can't miss the museum's colourful exterior and pleasing scenic view as you pull into the parking lot. I parked under a tree to provide some much needed shade for my car and walked in. Admission is $11 plus tax. The woman at the desk was kind to show me where everything was with the help of the map in the program guide. I walked over to the museum area and was greeted by an older gentleman. Everyone I talked to seemed so surprised that it was my first time at the museum for some reason. I looked like a complete tourist, armed with my digital SLR camera in hand. The man recommended that I go outside and explore Doon Heritage Village first. It has been hot outside these days and I showed up early, so the heat wasn't as bad as it could be. I spent nearly two hours exploring each building in the village and understanding how Mennonites lived in 1914. You see everything from the post office to the meat market. There are staff dressed up in clothing back in the day providing good information. There is also a farm with chickens, horses, and more. After I was done, I walked back into the Waterloo Region Museum. I looked like I had done an intense workout. I was sweating buckets, mainly because it was so hot and humid outside. I needed a towel and a shower! I sat down in the theatre to cool off and learn more about the lives of folks living in Kitchener (formerly Berlin) back in 1914. It was fascinating that I watched the whole slide show a second time before venturing into the exhibits at Waterloo Region Museum. The museum houses information and artifacts about the region, including a hall of fame on the second floor. You learn about the history of local industries, such as Schniders and Kuntz, with the latter becoming Carling and then Labatt's. I also learned about Abraham Erb, a Mennonite who settled in Waterloo from Pennsylvania, who is known to have founded Waterloo. The hotel that I am staying at is sitting on the street named after him. I loved my time here. I spent roughly 3.5 hours soaking up all the exhibits. I had a great time despite sweating so much. (250) read more

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If ever traveling to Waterloo or Kitchner, this museum is a great place to visit. The first floor includes the history of the area and the reasons why Europeans immigrated to the region, including great testimonials from people of various countries. There is a large collection of historic artifacts displayed documenting the community's heritage. The second floor displays Canada's Hall of Fame heroes, from military to government to sports figures; it is quite informative and impressive! Outside, behind the museum, one is thrust into the era of 1914, with a steam engine, historic buildings, and artifacts, including workers in period costume. Each worker has knowledge of the respective building. There is even a historic farmhouse that belonged to a Mennonite family. Out back there are chickens and a pig. Toward the front of the house are beautiful horses. It is well worth the time to visit this museum. read more

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I was looking for something different to see while in Kitchener ON.. So we decided to drive here. It's 5 miles away from my families place. In this museum you'll find the Doon Heritage village which was put in together by the Waterloo Region Museum, it is a picturesque 60 acre living history village that shows visitors what life was like in Waterloo Region in 1914. The place is huge and the village comes to life with knowledgeable interpreters dressed in authentic 1914 clothing and features historic buildings, farm animals. The Martins house has been established in 1820 and it still sits there and as part of their tour house. It's a nice place to walk around and feel a different era. Grab some water bottle incase you come here. I enjoyed the time with my Family. A nice place, friendly and efficient staff. You can ask to have pictures with them and they usually agree. Something I really enjoyed to see. Parking is not a problem here. $10. Per adult. read more

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The staff were very nice and friendly! The area was very cool place from the 1914 area! Each store you walk into you feel like you back in the 1914 year. You can also ride on a horse slid(very short but it's very cool). On the short ride you get some information on the horse and history of it. Some example-why bells, name of horse. If you have children this would be a cool place to spend some time and give them some history. But no it's a lot of walking outdoors. read more

Currently the exhibit is about early German innovators and businesses that started here in KW. Lots of information for history buffs or for residents who have been here for a long time and did not know about how everything started, including the infamous Kuntz Brewery which became Carling O'keefe and then Labatts. Old black and white slides and photos have been enlarged to portrait size and the stories behind the people and the industries and how they made the Region grow over the decades are nicely presented. Galt is a very old city and has a very deep rooted history with Scottish and Portugeuse immigrants. Museum is large with clean premises. Worth a visit every time a new exhibit comes up. read more

It is incredible to me that there are only 3 reviews of this museum. Located in a fairly major population area and a short drive from the greater Toronto area so why have so few people commented on this place? There are basically 4 areas (plus a few minor attractions) to see here. The first area (which is how I first heard of this museum) is their rotating exhibit. They bring something in, set it up, run with it for a few weeks, then change to next exhibit. After visiting twice and reading online they have featured everything from Tyrannosaurs to Beer. The T-Rex exhibit was incredibly well done and although smaller than the ROM dinosaurs, it featured an incredible array of interactive displays with their fossils with info for all age groups. The second area is the local history museum which features everything from local industry to trends of the decades (which is quite funny). Local artifacts usually from past 100 years mixed with some odd nostalgia items. The third area is the weakest for me at least; it features a regional hall of fame, local celebrities and sports heros on the upper level. The fourth area is outdoors they have built a Doon Village (same concept as Black Creek Pioneer Village, again smaller but much better). The small town features a couple of streets, many historic buildings they transported here (and a few that needed restoration/replacement work) and people. I can't stress enough how great the people who work here are, I spent over 3 hours going through the buildings chatting to everyone. They really love their roles and so much to see and do. Overall an incredible museum, far cheaper than the equivalent experience in Toronto would cost, and in my opinion in many ways a better trip. read more

My group had the pleasure of visiting the Waterloo Region Museum and for starters it was an all-round amazing experience that I recommend to anyone new to the area or someone who wants to gain some more knowledge about the Waterloo/Kitchener area. Referencing from Lecture 2b, Tom Griffin states that "Tourism and immigration have additional similarities; both are forms of human travel and involve newcomers attempting to interpret and make sense of a new environment" (1) Finding information about the Museum was fairly easy since their website pops up immediately on a simple google search. Making references to the 3rd Lecture about marketing, the museum does an excellent job with marketing themselves in my opinion due to their easy accessibility for customers to find their website and museum as well as the building practically being a free billboard with the words "Museum" placed on it with huge characters.(3) In addition to their marketing, they are on all some very major social media platforms such as "Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook" which allowed my group to get an idea of what we could possibly experience when we visited.(3) On the website itself, it is easy to pick and choose what days you can go and even has admissions cost listed as well as their operating hours which can be very convenient for a customer.(3) Finding our way to the museum was fairly easy since the address was both found on their website and on google, and google maps gave my group options as to how we can reach the museum whether it be by car, bus route, or even walking. (4) Upon arrival, the parking was moderately close to the museum itself and was free as well, therefore played another convenient part for the customer. This itself can be a strength when it comes to marketing because customers would not necessarily be willing to pay for parking if they have to also purchase tickets for themselves or people they bring with them. Once inside, the help desk was not hard to miss since it was right as you walk through the doors, right next to the gift shop. The placement of both of these places adjacent to the only entrance and exit in the building was a genius promotional move by the Museum. Since the foot traffic around the entrance and exit would be at a fairly high rate, the gift shop would surely attract some customers and possible drive up some business making it a strength for the museum. After purchasing our discounted student tickets, we had no trouble whatsoever finding our way to the main exhibits due to the museum employees close by. The ticketing prices could seem a bit pricey if you're not getting them at discount, which could play as a negative factor in a customer's decision to travel to the museum. I would recommend that they lower the prices to suit the demand they are getting for people wanting to visit the museum. Every display had some sort of informational plaque to explain the history of it as well as some exhibits even having some displays to which you could even participate in or become involved in. Such as the "Work Clock" in the main exhibit which allows you to punch in a work card with the date and time. Such displays that involves the customer adds a specialty factor to which a customer would not find anywhere else som that gives the museum a very good strength they could market themselves off of. Through the entirety of the trip a museum employee would not be far from our party to explain displays or answer any questions we had. Now as helpful as it was, I would recommend the museum place a "help" button around certain displays so that if a customer would like something explained or has a question about a certain exhibit they can just press a button. Because in my opinion, someone could find themselves easily pestered or bombarded with information from museum employees without their acknowledgement to do so. Overall it was a great experience and I would highly suggest that the museum become more involved with the community than they are to drive up more of a brand name for themselves as well as publicity. Reference List 1. Griffin, Tom (2015). The Experience of Hosting Friends and Relatives for Immigrant 2. Homepage. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2018, from http://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/index.aspx 3. Google Maps. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2018, from https://www.bing.com Cameron Crofts & Carmen Andiel read more

Excellent afternoon with kids. Terrific history, interactive exhibits. Beautifully designed building.

Overall, the experience was a positive one. I went with my girlfriend and my guide dog (puppy) that we are training. We went on a Tuesday morning so it was fairly empty, other than one grade 11 class. This was a major benefit for us as the employees were very helpful and basically dedicated to us and any questions we had whenever we had them, or simply just adding additional information to the things we were looking at or engaging in. You could tell the museum staff were well trained and had seemingly unlimited knowledge for the section of the museum they were taking care of. We also left behind one of puppies toys and couldn't find it when we went back to look because one of the employees found it and brought it up to the front desk. The advancement in technology is key for any company to take advantage off. Obviously marketing is the easiest way to see the use of technology but the WRM made it evident through their wild weather exhibit by how hands on and technology based it was. The special presentation (wild weather exhibit) was very hands on and engaging, making the actual museum section seem less interesting as it was mostly just reading about or looking at items. We definitely did not go during the tourist season, or optimal time to go, as the outdoor aspect of the museum was closed, limiting the full potential of our experience. The WRM has done a good job at making the experience appealing for all ages, as the have a large and many smaller play sections for toddlers and young kids, but also make it intriguing to be involved with certain hands-on sections and ways to learn, such as a question competition and a mini igloo to climb in. Also, this is my first time being to the museum, but the only reason I could see myself going again would be to see the outdoor aspect as it would not be worth another admission to go again any time soon, as very little will likely be changed in the museum section. The other positive is that the WRM is owned by the region of Waterloo, allowing funding to come from taxes as it is owned by the municipal government. This is good because it relies on taxes and donations if it is not doing good financially, compared to private companies that not only have to pay these taxes but also don't receive any to keep the company going. The gift shop had very limited souvenirs that were specific to the WRM, like items with the logo or name on it, as most of the items were just games. The only other issue is that weather may have impacted some peoples route that day. One of the roads headed into the parking was flooded with water, making it inaccessible and even dangerous to visitors, as it was not properly blocked off. read more