Vintage Village of Lights at the Cumberland Heritage Museum

By Wendy Sure, you can find Santa in just about any mall these days, but one of my favourite places to find him is at the Cumberland Heritage Museum Vintage Village of Lights.  The Museum, which depicts rural life in a circa 1920s-30s village setting (think Upper Canada Village on a smaller scale), is located at 2940 Old Montreal Road; just 30 minutes from downtown Ottawa – and mere minutes from Orléans.

Since November 30, when the switch for the thousands of twinkling lights adorning the heritage buildings was flipped on, the Museum has been open to welcome the young and young-at-heart on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from 3:00-8:00pm.   There are still two more weekends to enjoy the magic of the Village (December 13, 14, 15, 20 and 22 – note that the Museum does not seem to be open on Saturday, December 21).  The cost of admission is $7 per person or $18 for a family.  Having enjoyed our visit last year, our family will be heading out this weekend to experience the festivities once again!

Last year, upon arrival, the kids (then ages 2 and 6) were given pennies to purchase vouchers at the General Store for cookie decorating and two crafts, as well as a map to find the buildings on the village site where the activities would take place.  Before leaving the main reception building, they were given the opportunity to send a Santagram at the Village telegraph office, but opted out of this activity, having already written and sent letters to Santa via snail mail!

Dashing through the snow (from building to building - it was cold that night!), enjoying the warm glow of the lights, the kids decorated and devoured gingerbread cookies, made tree ornaments from buttons and pipe cleaners, and built and painted wooden planes with the help of friendly museum staff.   We toured the site in a horse-drawn wagon while singing Christmas songs, and enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate by a bonfire.  And, of course, we had a visit with the man in red himself – no line-ups, and no photographer or fee – definitely bring your own camera!

The actual program of activities for this year’s Vintage Village of Lights may vary from those described above; let me know if you make it there and what you think! I will be sure to check back in with a report on our visit too.  Nevertheless, if the Museum follows last year’s winning formula for a magical night, a visit to the Cumberland Heritage Museum will definitely make many spirits bright!

For more information, including directions to the Museum, visit:  http://ottawamuseumnetwork.com/index.php?page=cumberland-heritage-village-museum ; or   https://www.facebook.com/cumberlandmuseum .

The Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest

Our new sponsor, The Ottawa Public Library, is once again launching The Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest! Children and teens between the ages of 9 and 17 are invited to submit their original, previously unpublished poems and short stories in either French or English to any branch of the Ottawa Public Library You can submit either in person or online.

You can find all the contest details and submission form on the Ottawa Public Library website. The contest deadline is February 9, 2014 and winners will be announced in the spring and you can win lots of awesome prizes! Local authors Tudor Robins, Michel Lavoie and JC Sulzenko will judge all the submissions.

In order to help Ottawa's young authors get ready to write, the contest judges will be offering English and French workshops to share their knowledge and experience with young authors. Registration for workshops begins January 10, 2014.

Get your kids ready to write and help them share their words with the world! Good luck to all.

Letters to Santa

By Kamerine I know it's still November but I've been thinking about Christmas. I'm thinking of great gift ideas for friends and family, and making a wish list of my own.

The kids are thinking about Christmas too - as soon as they saw snow falling, they started asking about Christmas. Is it Christmas yet? It's going to be a long month.

A fun tradition is writing a letter to Santa, one that I may start this year with my kids. We've done Christmas lists, where we sit down and ask the kids what they would like for Christmas. We get a mix of things they do actually want, and things that they see when they look around.

But back to letters... I'm happy to tell you that Canada Post has a deal with Santa. Write up your letter to Santa and drop it in any red mailbox around the city, no stamp required. Santa's elves will get your letter to the North Pole.

Use the address below, include your return address, and keep the Christmas spirit alive! To get a response in time, make sure to mail your letter by December 17th.

SANTA CLAUS

NORTH POLE H0H 0H0

CANADA

The Santa letter-writing program is an employee-led volunteer program where current and past employees volunteer their time. It encourages children to read and write letters, and helps teach them about the postal system. For more information visit the Canada Post website or contact Media Relations at 613 734-8888 or email medias@canadapost.ca.

Canadian Museum of Nature 2013-2014 Season Preview

By Helene The Canadian Museum of Nature is largely defined by its impressive collection of prehistoric fossils, so with the 100th anniversary of the museum’s fossil gallery this year, it is a great time to visit. The museum celebrated the milestone at the recent launch of the 2013-2014 season. It has interspersed photos and short stories about the fossils on display, telling the story of how far they’ve come. The gallery easily impresses all ages; however, with primarily framed black & white images, this programming will mostly appeal to adults.

More intriguing for kids will be the live fossil preparation Saturdays from 1- 4pm only in November. The winner of last spring’s Dino Idol “Canadian Club” will be among the fossils to be prepared for study (right in the fossil gallery!). They have been sealed in large plaster field jackets since they were collected in Alberta about 100 years ago.

Other highlights this season include Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants, from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, looks at how ants live, work and play through photography.

Also, the return of a favourite - Frogs: A Chorus of Colours, 25 Sept 2013 through 11 May 2014, was a highlight of my family’s visits to the museum in 2010. Finding frogs from around the world camouflaged in their “natural habitat” is fun for all family members. Hint: bring a stroller or folding stool as many of the displays are out of a toddler’s sightline. A number of hands-on activities such as frog mini-golf complete the experience.

Looking ahead:

For adults and children alike:

Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence, from 3 May – 9 November 2014, focuses on organisms (from the typical fireflies to fish and mushrooms) that light up or glow in the dark and promises to be awe-inspiring. On view for the first time in Canada, it is organized by the American Museum of Natural History Museum in collaboration with the Canadian Museum of Nature and The Field Museum in Chicago.

For the culturally-minded:

Arctic Fest, 2nd Edition (April 2-6, 2014) and Arctic Voices (Nov 2014) First introduced last April, this festival aims to connecting Canadians young and old to Canada's northern heritage through fascinating stories. A collaboration with Science North.

For the science-buff:

X-rays of Arctic Fishes (Jan – June 2014) A small exhibit looking at the architecture of Arctic fishes.

For the explorer:

Passenger Pigeon – Extinct for a Century (June – December 2014) This once common bird in eastern North America became extinct with the world's last Passenger Pigeon dying in 1914.

For the visual:

Canadian Wildlife Photography of the Year, 6th Edition (May –September 2014) Award-winning photos from Canadian Geographic’s 2013 national photo contest.

For the movie buff:

3D movies Penguins 3D and The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D round out any visit.

A surcharge applies for entry to the special exhibitions, Frogs and Creatures of Light, as well as 3D movies.

Send Us Your Halloween Pictures!

Halloween is coming and there's nothing cuter than kids dressed up as monsters, ghouls, princesses, pirates and minions. We'd love to see pictures of your little monsters as they get ready to trick or treat. Send your photos to kidsinthecapital@gmail.com and we'll post them here!

Stay tunes for some cuteness.....