Canadian Museum of Nature / Musée Canadien de la Nature

This is a lovely museum, fun for any age. Compared to the cost of admission of museums in Toronto, it’s also super cheap! Plus there’s a Unilocal check in deal for $ 2 off general admission. Apparently I was the first visitor the staff member had seen with the Unilocal deal in since they put the deal online? It’s not the biggest difference in price, which might explain why he hadn’t seen one before.
Anyways, there’s tons to learn and see. I especially liked the rock/​stone/​gem exhibit and the dioramas. But for me, the most interesting part was the history of the building. How it’s houses so many different «museums”/collections. How the removal of part of the building and the subsequent addition is called the Queen’s Lantern (and it does look like a lantern, beckoning you closer when it’s nighttime). We visited on Family Day and while there were many families present (especially because there was a CBC event happening for the kids) I didn’t find it overwhelmingly crowded. All in all I had a great time here and we were able to see everything in approx 2 hours!

My favourite indoor wedding venue in the entire city. Several great locations for ceremony, cocktail hour & reception. So much gorgeous natural light.

We really only came for the Animal Bodyworks exhibition they were having as the Human exhibit was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. We both loved the exhibit, especially the boyfriend since it was his first Bodyworks experience.
In terms of the rest of the Museum, after reading Elaine’s rave review, I probably got way too hyped. As compared to other Natural History Museums ie ROM, NY, this is really nothing special. You can gloss over the whole thing in under two hours. Nothing you can’t see in other major North American urban centres. It’s really a better spot for kids as they’ll appreciate all the games and mini-​versions of things they have set-​up ie cave with stalagmites, tiny aquariums, dinosaur movies, etc.
For adults, if you’ve taken a Bio101 class or have some basic understanding of geology, you will be pretty bored. If you have a limited amount of time in Ottawa, this is probably one you can skip.

The Museum of Nature is always one of my favorite museums in Ottawa because of the special exhibits they bring to the city. Granted, if you have little interest in nature this is probably not the best place for you; and yes, the displays consist of taxidermy animals, mounted leaves and inanimate rock but that is, in my opinion, an appropriate display for the Museum of Nature.
The permanent collection is mediocre, especially when compared to things like the Biodome in Montréal or the Vancouver Aquarium, but the special exhibits are what makes this museum great and what makes me return to the museum a couple of times a year.
The latest exhibit, Animals Inside Out, is part of the Body Worlds exhibition which used «plastination» to create displays of human and animal anatomy. The exhibit is broken down into 4 categories: skeletal system, muscle system, nervous system and internal organs. Most of the animals are displayed in each category (for example you see the skeleton of a horse in one section, the musculature of a horse in another and so on). What’s great is that there are also human displays so you can compare various species to the systems we have as humans. The information is presented in a language that is easily understandable to the general public. My only recommendation would be to have an audio tour available, perhaps a podcast or something of that sort to guide you through the exhibit but at your own pace.
It is a fascinating display with the only drawback being that it is fairly small (it takes up half of one floor of the museum) but I think this is simply because of the size of the museum.
It can be a pricey outing — $ 13 museum admission and $ 10 special exhibit (plus tax), so I recommend going on a Thursday between 5pm-​8pm when the general admission is free. This will be plenty of time to take in the exhibit. The museum is pretty busy during the free hours so be prepared to wait in line (probably no more than 10 minutes) and put up with large groups throughout the exhibit (otherwise pay the $ 23 and go when it’s not as busy). I would say it is DEFINETLY worth $ 10 and probably worth $ 23 (probably, because of the relatively small size of the exhibit, not because of the content which is exceptional).
The most prevalent question seems to be whether this exhibit is appropriate for children. I don’t have kids, but from the many children I saw at the museum none seemed disturbed by the displays, most seemed to be fascinated (and one or two seemed bored).
Overall I would highly recommend the Animals Inside Out Exhibit to people of all ages and backgrounds!

I visited here today and everything is first class from the friendly staff to the amazing displays. there is a wide range of displays including dinosaurs, aquariums with aquatic life like turtles, and minerals. I really like the inland seas section. There are water fountains all around, a nice gift shop, and a pleasant cafeteria. The castle like architecture is an attraction in itself. The whole family will enjoy the day. Pretty much perfect!
Cost is $ 13 for general admission and extra for 3d movies

Best museum even for kids. It’s the one museum we take all of our out of town guests. The kids love it we must go twice a year or more. We always learn something new. And the best part is the recent renovations just made it more appealing.

This was a huge disappointment after reading so many good reviews and seeing all the marketing hype for the current exhibit.
Many of the displays are taxidermied animals, photos and small video displays. \
If you’ve never seen stuffed birds before, then this is the place for you. If you have, then move right along to another museum.
There are several activities for children — many of whom were running around screaming throughout this museum on the day that we visited — but not a lot of interest for adults.
As we walked through, I kept thinking that I could easily have found similar photos, charts and videos on the web — so why did I have to pay an admission fee and wade through the crowds to see it here?
There are some mildly interesting fossilized dinosaur skeletons, but I had hoped for a large aquarium rather than a couple of small fish tanks and lots of photos, or «models» of actual sea creatures.
The cafeteria is adequate; the gift shop is small; and the building could certainly use some air conditioning.

To be fair this is just not my thing.
The exhibits were just so very bland, hands off and not informative that none of my children or I cared for it at all. It just seemed to lack a spirit. Even the gift shop was lame. First time we left a Museum shop without a single request from anyone.
The grounds are lovely and the staff was friendly. I did enjoy the stuffed animals. The paintings in those displays were amazing.

Best museum in Ottawa in my opinion.
They have such a vast assortment of areas and activities that it makes the trip there oh so worth it!
I especially love their geological collection and exhibit which really engages people of all ages!
Definitely recommend this one!

«Nature Museum — A must stop in Ottawa»
It’s an awesome museum and a must see when visiting Ottawa. You will truly enjoy it! First of the building is just beautiful and great to admire the building and take some pictures as it gives out a classic Gothic look.
Once in the museum, you would find it contains something for everyone. I would allow at least 3 to 4 hours for a visit as the museum entails exhibits for the water, mammals, dinosaurs, birds, minerals, and live animals. My favorite were the dinosaur bones are a must see! But there are several sections, such as life at the Arctic and in the ocean, rocks and gems, how volcanoes and earthquakes works, birds and more and they are equally good.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED — for a great few hours!

I love museums with animals in them. And I LOVE museums that have dinosaurs in them. This museum has both!
We came in on a sunny Saturday and were told that it was FREE ENTRY THAT DAY! Why? I don’t know!
One of the smartest things a museum could do is have the dinosaurs right away. I mean, that’s what you want to see right away, right? Not only do they have a fantastic collection of dinosaur and other prehistoric creature bones, they also have this one room that looks like a dinosaur habitat with possibly realistic looking dinos. It’s something that I’ve painfully missed at Toronto’s ROM, which now has a dino display that would be more fitting in an art museum than an educational centre. Museums are supposed to fire the imagination and take you places. This museum takes you places. There are a zillion interactive machines, tables, screens and toys to fiddle around with, which really appeals to the super tactile kid in me. The Hubster basically had to drag me away from them to see the rest of the museum.
We walked through the entire museum, loving all the exhibits, all the preserved and stuffed items (creepy!) and all their habitat displays. The only complaint is that you have to double back on each exhibit to get back to the central area that takes you to other exhibits, but it’s not a huge deal.
The museum itself is very beautiful, with a huge blue whale hanging in the atrium and a super cool frosted glass staircase.
In my opinion, it’s a must-​see if you’re in the city and like this kind of stuff.

The museum is quite interesting, I wish I had picked a different time to go as there a bunch of young kids there from a few different schools that day. The bird exhibit is quite extensive. The building itself is stunning.

I’m a visitor from Toronto, and I’ve only been the once, but — it’s a beautiful building, exhibits are well-​maintained, lots of fun areas for kids. Would definitely recommend to parents with children.

One of my favourite things about living in Ottawa is the plethora of culture. We have a ton of galleries, a national historic site, arts buildings, and perhaps best of all, a ton of museums.
While I enjoy the Civilization and Science and Technology museums, Nature is my absolutely favourite. First of all, the building’s architecture is simply stunning. I still get a hitch in my breathe when I’m standing in front of the massive staircase, and the five-​year-​old in me daydreams about being a princess — even if just for a second.
I used to love coming here as a kid, and I still do. Yes, they do have a lot of old mainstays, but I think this is part of the charm. I love knowing I’ll be greeted by monstrous dinosaurs and be able to examine tarantulas. While I love checking out the old, I love seeing the new things the curators come up with to keep a new generation of kids entertained. My newest fave? When you’re heading through the different eras (Mesozoic, Paleozoic, etc.), there’s a terrific little theater presentation explaining the extinction of the dinosaurs complete with wind, mist and flashing lights. A little creepy — a LOT cool!
One pleasant surprise that I noticed on my last visit was the café. We had a delicious meal of mac and cheese and soup that was simply devine. What a great spot to stop for lunch or coffee. The gift shop never fails to disappoint with tons of models to build, animals and dinosaurs to collect and tons of other fun stuff.
Bottom line? If you’re in Ottawa and you have kids, be sure to drop by. Thursdays are free and it’s usually much quieter later on in the evening. No kids? No problem! You should still come and check out your favourite old exhibits and take in the new ones.

Another great Canadian museum! This time with all you could hope for with kids in tow. Lots of interactive exhibits and a great short film on the extinction of the dinosaurs with sense-​bombarding film with lights and smoke. Lots of variety and, in common with the Canadian War Museum, organised into logically grouped exhibition rooms and areas. Modern and well cared-​for. There’s a gift shop with the usual selection on offer and a café which serves a purpose but was haphazardly run on our visit. Food was good enough though. Typical museum café pricing is offset by cheap entry. Parking fees are also steep ($ 2.50/half hour up to max of $ 12) but again, given it helps fund the museum, this isn’t really an issue.

Perfect spot for a school field trip, or to take your kids to see just because. That being said, I am not a kid and didn’t go with any to the museum, so I wasn’t really enthralled.
The building architecture seemed so cool on the outside, I was a bit disappointed after going inside. The museum is set up in a very non-​linear fashion; after viewing each wing, you have to backtrack through all the exhibits and return to the center of the museum to visit the next wing. It was a hassle for me, but a potential godsend for parents who easily lose their children, since each wing only has a single exit point.
To the museum’s credit, each wing, be it dinosaurs, marine life, birds, or geodes and gemstones, had informative displays set up in interesting fashions. There are even a few hands-​on exhibits, where you can touch polar bear fur, or a sabre-​tooth tiger’s tooth!
HOT TIP: Personally, I wouldn’t have paid to go see this museum, but there is FREE admission on Thursday nights! That’s how they earned four stars from me!
(Parking is just a couple bucks in their own lot).
It was also interesting to learn that Parliament resided here in the years after a fire burned down their original building!

Whatever your thoughts were about the original museum — let them go and go check out the revamped Museum of Nature.
It re-​opened this spring and they’ve done a pretty bang up job of updating the place. The building itself is worth the price of admission. It’s an old space with high ceilings and marble floors but most impressive of all is the new lantern they built to make the place look more modern and edgy.
The exhibits range from fake dinosaurs to artifacts and bones to even real animals. I must admit that I was expecting a few more live small animals but then again you have to consider it’s a museum and not a petting zoo.
I bypassed most staff here because I went in the first week it was opened and managed to score some passes. The layout is really easy and unlike the other big museums like Civilization and War, this one is laid out so that you can easily pick up where you left off should you return.
The rooms are split by floor and east and west so you can remember what you did or didn’t see the last time you were there.
My only complaint about this place was that it was TOO popular so avoid going on school holidays or busy long weekends and try to get in there when it’s free or reduced prices and you’ll probably really enjoy it.
Civilization and War are still my favourite two museums but this one is a very close third.

My family and I came here with an hour and half till closing. The museum is free on Thursdays, so we paid for parking and rushed in. We spent our time at the fourth floor and rushed through the third, second and first floors. Their bird exhibit was more extensive than I expected, describing different bill types, extinct birds, different types of falcons and their prey. The bird exhibit had an area for teaching kids how to take care of the birds and throughout the exhibit there are interactive learning modules for adults and kids to learn. we also saw exhibit that was a gallery of moths. Connected to the moth exhibit, there was a frog exhibit. Love looking at the different types of frogs. You read about the frogs on one side and look at the live specimen in the tank.
I also enjoyed looking at the tank depicting oceanic creatures. Once you enter, the first thing you see is a small tank with anemone, mussels, clams, clown fish, and sea cucumber. Then you stroll though the rest of the exhibit and there is only one other tank in the back.
The first floor had fossil exhibit and frankly, I was a little disappointed. I’ve been the Museum of Natural history many many times and their fossil exhibit is much more extensive. The exhibit at the Museum of natural history has many large fossils, different types of fossils and how they are related to another and with each fossil shows the evolution tree.
I did enjoy this Museum but I’m not sure I would come back if I had to pay.

My boyfriend and I hadn’t been to the Museum of Nature since we were kids, so we thought it would be fun to see how much it’s changed. He had a day off in the summer, so we went on a Friday afternoon in August 2010. Since children and students were still on their summer break, the museum was pretty busy with many families, but even so, we only stood in line for about 10 minutes to buy our admission tickets, which were only about $ 25 with tax for 2 adults. We were offered tickets to a movie about water in their 3D theatre, but the show times were every few hours, so we declined. We were also given a very much needed floor plan before we began exploring.
As the museum has been renovated quite a bit, there were now areas that were very new or that were still in a reconstruction phase. The Animalium, in what was more like the basement, seemed a bit out of place because it was a little out of the way. The Special Exhibitions area on the third floor was empty, but not closed off, so it was slightly confusing at first when we walked through the doors. The Salon on the top floor was also a fairly empty space with a few inexpensive chairs and tables, which would have been nice for taking a rest if the space was cleaner and more inviting — it did not seem renovated by any means. Other than this area, there weren’t too many other places to sit. After walking up and down the stairs, and waiting 15 minutes for an elevator, more seating areas would have been useful.
The exhibitions and galleries themselves were fantastic. The dinosaurs are a classic display (if you have ever been to the museum in the past, those dinosaurs are still there). The skeleton of a blue whale in the RBC Blue Water Gallery is huge and amazing to see. They have live animals and insects in some of the galleries, plus a play area and washrooms on every floor, so it’s an overall great experience for kids and families. They also have days and times when admission is free, such as Earth Day or on Thursdays from 5−8pm, when they’re open later. It does take some time to see the entire museum (it took us a few hours), so make sure to wear proper footwear!

Omg what an awesome museum! Pass on the café though because not only is the service dis-​organized and dismal, they don’t offer soymilk (bummer) and are expensive. However sitting in the café was a nice rest after being on our feet. If you have a short time here be sure to start with the dinosaurs then go onto the earth and sea exhibits.