Canada Science and Technology Museum

 by Yumi There's something about the smell of the trains that takes me right back.

 When I was little, there wasn't much that I enjoyed more than a trip to the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology. I loved teetering through the Crazy Kitchen, exploring the locomotives and peering through the windows of the various train cars and playing with the telephone switchboard. And oh, my goodness, the buttons you could press. This was a museum where not only were you allowed to touch things, it was encouraged! (Any museum worth its salt now encourages interactivity, but thirty years ago, that was a pretty exciting thing.)

 Today, an outing to the museum brings me as much joy as ever, but for different reasons. I'm introducing my one-year-old son, “Moe”, to this amazing museum. I'm not going to lie – the museum is old and underfunded and would greatly benefit from a new space. But they have been able to work some real magic with their artifacts in the space they have. The artifacts I remember are in new and relevant exhibits, which are hands on and great fun. (And the train area smells as wonderful as ever. My husband and I were trying to identify the smell – it's like engine grease combined with old books. We both grew up in that museum, so we joke that it smells like childhood.)

 For a little guy like Moe, one of the best parts of the museum is the bright and colourful Mini Science Area, for kids under five. There's a train table, Duplo blocks, puppets, puzzles and more. It is a safe place for him to explore. He's also a fan of the locomotives and the canoe ride simulator. He can sit patiently and watch a demo in the amphitheater – we especially enjoyed watching the interpreter play with liquid nitrogen!

 Older kids will love Connexions – The Plugged in World of Communications, which traces communication from 19^th century telegraph to current digital networks. The Search for the Canadian Car, and Canada in Space also provide food for the imagination for little minds and lots to do for little hands. There's also a space simulator that will blow kids away.

 As a parent, I love the gift shop, which is a wealth of educational toys and games. I'm also a big fan of the free parking. We recently got a family membership for the museum – and it's paid for itself already. It allows you entry into the Canada Agriculture Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, as well as more than 290 museums and science centres across Canada and around the world.

 The museum is a great spot to hold a birthday party – they even have sleepovers! There are day camps, family workshops and programs specifically for preschool groups.

 For more information, visit the museum's website at www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca.

Yumi Webster (@yumikid) loves her job, but is dreading her return to work after a year off with her incredible son “Moe”. You can read about Moe’s adventures at kidsquared.livejournal.com, and about Yumi’s own adventures at yumikid.livejournal.com. Yumi has lived in Ottawa all her life.

KITC get together at Starr – A Gymtastic Afternoon! + Giveaway

by Krista We attended the latest Kids in the Capital children’s get together at Starr Gymnastics’ newest location, at 520 Lacolle Way in Orleans. My husband and I brought our two children, aged 3 and 2, and were joined by about 12 other families. We were excited to check out this location, as we have attended the West End Starr, but had not seen either of the other locations. This was also our first experience with a party held at Starr, which may come in handy for birthdays in the near future. They impressed our family on both counts.

We arrived just as the party was getting started, and joined the rush of families who were getting out of their winter gear. There is a fairly open area as you walk in, where you remove your outwear, footwear and socks (for children). There are bins to place little items in, you then walk these down the hall to the coat room. Once the winter wear was stowed, we checked in and were let in to the gym space. (click on picture to enlarge)

It’s a very large bright and open space that was clearly designed to suit Starr’s needs. There is a climbing wall, a swinging rope, several mini-trampolines, balance beams and bars, as well as several large open floor spaces for exercises. There is also a nice quiet room in the back of the space, intended for use by parents with really young children, and a raised area where there are four large round trampolines, and a foam pit for the children to dive into. There are also slides, mini-trampolines, balls, hoops, bean bags, and small play equipment spread through out the space.

The children were divided by age, with those under three heading off in one group with their parents, and those over three heading off without parents. The party was held much like one of the regular instructional classes, starting with a warm up, followed by activities that were geared to age. There were at least two leaders with each group, and they instructed the children (and parents) at the start of the activity, and then left them to their own devices as they tried out the new things. They were always close by and available to step in if assistance was needed. The activities were generally high energy, and the focus was to keep the children moving. They switched things up every ten to fifteen minutes, allowing for the children to try out each station.

There were clearly some favourite activities, with most of the younger ones - and some parents - loving the big trampolines and the foam pit, and some of the older kids liking the climbing wall and the “Tarzan” rope. The focus was on keeping the children moving, so other than the brief moments when instructions were given, everyone was active for the full hour.

The party then moved into one of three function rooms that look over the gym space. These are pretty basic rooms that allow for snacks and a rest after the play time. They are equipped with picnic tables and benches, and are located very near the washrooms and tiny kitchenette. As Starr does not offer any refreshments, those in attendance brought stacks for a potluck snack extravaganza. We did have access to the fridge and kitchenette to store and prepare any of the food that needed it. I imagine that these rooms could also be used by parents to watch over parties with older children, but I was having too much fun to consider this. a look at the party rooms

All in all it was a great experience. The children got to try new things, were active for an hour, and had lots of fun with new friends. The staff members and leaders were very helpful, energetic, and constantly encouraging their charges. I would definitely go there again, and would consider hosting a party for either of my children. There were two things that I would like to change, the first being the volume of the music, so the leaders didn’t have to yell to be heard by the children. The second is the flow in the entrance. The way it was set up you sat on a bench to remove you boots, then crossed the very wet floor to hit the play rooms or gym space. This problem will hopefully go away soon, with spring’s arrival.

After the fun - for more pictures, see the KITC flickr pool

Krista is married to Willy and mom to a 3 year old son, Woo, and 2 year old daughter Goose. You can find her at Life in the Hutch or on Twitter @kgraydonald

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Thanks Krista! Are you a fan of Starr Gymnastics? Would you like a chance to find out?

Starr Gymnastics is giving away one two-hour birthday party package, including one hour of gym adventure and one hour in a party room, for up to ten kids.  The birthday party package can be redeemed at any Starr Gymnastics location, pending date and time availability.

To be entered in the giveaway, leave a comment letting us know which Starr Gymnastics location you would pick for a birthday party. For an additional two entries follow Starr Gymnastics on Twitter and like their Facebookpage. Please leave a separate comment for each entry!

The giveaway ends Tuesday February 22nd at 11pm. It is open to residents of Ottawa and the surrounding area.

Good luck!

The best thing about Winterlude: Beavertails

by Brie We make a trip to the Rideau Canal every year for Winterlude. But we don't always bring our skates. We aren't big skaters (we just finally got my four year old a pair this week!). We do, however, bring our appetite.

My favorite part of Winterlude is watching other people skate past while I sit and eat a warm, gooey, yummy Beavertail. I think that is the girl's favorite part too.

In fact, she has been asking when we will be going for a Beavertail. I did manage to get both kids to the canal once this year, but I forgot my wallet at home. I don't think she saw any point of hanging out and watching the skaters after that.

My favorite Beavertail is the sugar and lemon one. We always get the kids a cinnamon sugar one to share. I'm sure that will only last until they realize we have been denying them a Beavertail smeared in hazelnut chocolate.

Mmm.

What's your favorite Beavertail? And if you are headed to the Winterlude this weekend, enjoy a Beavertail for me.

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

Family fun at Winterlude

by Laura This Friday marks the first day of Winterlude in Ottawa.  It is an excellent festival starring the largest outdoor skating rink (7.8 kms long!), the frozen Rideau Canal.  The Canal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Estimates of over 700,000 visitors come to Canada’s capital to celebrate winter and unique events and activities.

 If you have never been to Winterlude, this is the year to consider visiting. The conditions are perfect. It is freezing!  Therefore, the canal is nicely frozen and we have plenty of fluffy white snow to make the city a perfect winter wonderland.

Although skating is a wonderful attraction at Winterlude, there are many other activities to enjoy , often free of charge. Some examples include Aboriginal storytelling and dance performances.  Visitors can watch ice carvers from around the world create magnificent sculptures. There are learn to skate lessons or an opportunity to visit a real arctic ice camp and meet with experts in glaciology, climatology and seismology.  A local blog called OttawaStart has an excellent guide to Winterlude for a comprehensive list of events and activities.

My family loves to visit the Snowflake Kingdom at Jacques-Cartier Park.  There are giant ice slides, a snow labyrinth, furry mascots, ice sculptures and other fun.  

It would be a gastronomic crime to neglect mentioning Winterlude food.  Skating, sliding and enjoying the outdoors make for good appetites. Last year I wrote about my weakness for BeaverTails.  If you have not experienced this sweet pastry before, I highly recommend sampling one. For those with a real sweet tooth, maple taffy poured over snow is something different to try.  My husband is partial to his once a year steaming bowl of poutine.  Either way, Winterlude  is not the time to count calories.  Trust.

This season the Dows Lake gallery, an outdoor space presents an exciting exhibit of original art from young photographers.  The theme is the environment. This eco-art exhibit sponsered by the National Capital Commission (NCC) runs from January to February 2011.   I am looking forward to checking that out.

If you are looking for a fun weekend getaway this February, consider coming to Winterlude.  I suggest calling your Ottawan friends/family and tell them about your need to spend quality time together.  Earn extra points if you own an air mattress and offer to shovel some snow. (Sorry, we have visitors already booked!)

Some of my advice for Winterlude enjoyment.

• Don’t ask where Bonhomme is – wrong winter carnival.
• Put aside all vanity and wear long underwear, snow pants, real winter boots (no heels ladies!), hats, neckwarmers and waterproof mittens.  Dressing for the elements makes it waaay more enjoyable.
• Knapsacks are an easy way to cart around skates, a camera, drinks etc.
• If the selection of Beavertails has your head spinning, go for the Killaloe Sunrise.  It is delightful.
• Try to skate on the canal after sunset.  It is a very different experience…romantic actually.
• For up-to-date skating conditions, check out this webcam. 
• If you have an iphone you can even download a free app to help plan the perfect Winterlude outing.

 Hope to see you out on the canal.

Laura is a wife and Mother to beautiful 8 and 10 year old girls.  She describes herself as an eco-advocate and moderate neat freak with a recessive frugal gene.  Laura provides light-hearted commentary for every day, practical green living on her blog the Mindful Merchant.

Kids in the Capital is conducting a survey this week to learn more about our readers and better understand what kind of information you’d like to see here.  Please take 5 minutes to answer, and you’ll be entered into a draw for a free photo from Sara McConnell Photography at the Red, White and Love event on February 12. Click here to take survey

Oh My, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs!

The renovated Canadian Museum of Nature with new glass lantern. Martin Lipman © Canadian Museum of Nature

What is it about dinosaurs that captures every kid's imagination? Miss Bea has a vocabulary of about 20 words, and "dinoshaw" is already in there  (along with "mooshe" and "buddafwy"). So today we decided to pay a visit to the dinoshaws at the Museum of Nature.

The Fossil Gallery. Martin Lipman © Canadian Museum of Nature

I'll be frank with you: natural history is not really my thing. I'm more of a science & tech kinda girl. But who can resist dinosaurs? So our first stop, after admiring the beautifully refurbished atrium, was the fossil hall.  There are fossils hanging from the ceilings, fossils on the walls, but I think my favourite part is at the far end, where you round the corner and find yourself in a prehistoric forest, surrounded by life-like models of Very Large Beasts.

The Dinosaur Diorama. Martin Lipman © Canadian Museum of Nature

From there, we headed up to the top floor: the bird gallery. "Bird" was one  of Miss Bea's first signs - after "milk" and "cookie" - so the first opportunity for her to tell us about what she found interesing in the world around her.

At the exhibit we explored the kid-sized bird rescue centre, played a bird guessing game with daddy, and then had the all-important weigh-in: she now weighs 1182 hummingbirds. That's 39 blue jays, or 3 mallards (for those who prefer working in ducks).

The Bird Gallery. Martin Lipman © Canadian Museum of Nature

That was about all we could fit between breakfast and nap time, but it's certainly not all the museum has to offer! We knew we'd be back so we picked up a family pass, which will also get us into places like the Ontario Science Center when we head to T.O. in January (but if you're smart you can also get in free). There will be more visits, with more exhibits to explore, and I definitely want to check out the animalium and the children's area.  Besides, we still have to hunt down some mooshe and buddafwys.

This is what you get when you Google for Creative Commons images of moose and butterflies. In case you were wondering. Photo © Vicki & Chuck Rogers

Tell us about your favourite Ottawa museums! What do you like to see and do?

Sasha is mom to 2-year-old Miss Bea, and 4 month old Baby Em.  Her ramblings can also be found on her blog, The Rambling Stroller.