a peek inside the fishbowl

I was bummed to miss the media preview of the newly renovated Canada Science and Technology Museum back in the fall and have been dying to pay a visit ever since to see what I’ve been missing. Happily, the opportunity to go presented itself earlier this week because the eldest was home for reading week and we were looking for something fun to do.

The three of us went (the youngest was in school for the day and Mark took some time off this week) and we were not disappointed.

The entrance to the museum is cool. It reminds me of the War Museum in a way. It’s tough to see in the photo below, but it’s wrapped in a massive, illuminated LED projection screen that hints at what’s to come. (Spoiler alert: it’s SCIENCE.)

Here’s a view once you get indoors. As you can see, it wasn’t too busy on Wednesday afternoon:

There is a LOT of stuff to pack in here, so leave some time. Ottawa folks will be relieved to know that the Crazy Kitchen is still intact. (Ah, so many woozy memories of the Crazy Kitchen!) This photo of me was taken right next to it. I have really strong arms, eh??

I enjoyed so many of the exhibitions. Highlights, for me, include some time with the giant microscope.

There are supposed to be some items to view (there was some cotton string and a bobby pin when we visited) but you can also bring something you want to look at. I kicked myself for not bringing a butterfly wing we have in our nature collection! We looked at our fingernails and our wedding rings, as well as coins we had in our pockets. Other easy things to bring and look at could include tissue paper, onion skin, hair from your hairbrush (or fur from your dog’s brush!), or a sprinkle of salt.

I also really enjoyed an exhibition called Sound by Design, which gives visitors the opportunity to learn about the world of sound. This is the description from the Science and Tech website:

Sound by Design showcases some of the most important – and exciting – innovations in sound technology over the past 150 years: from early scientific instruments used to study sound, to iconic sound technologies that influenced how we listen to music, to electronic instruments that helped us create music in new ways. Visitors will get close to some of the most impressive artifacts in the museum’s sound collection while exploring an immersive soundscape installation, playing DJ on an over-sized record, and experiencing the stillness of the Quiet Cube – a room specially designed to eliminate echoes.

Ahhh. That Quiet Cube was dreamy. The sound of the crowds quickly fell away as soon as moved inside this area. It was heavenly rest for my weary ears:

There was no one inside so we screamed at the top of our lungs.

After that, we enjoyed every opportunity to make as MUCH sound as possible:

Imagine the great sounds we made with the mysterious theremin! (The WEE WOO “music” emanating from it will be immediately familiar to Star Trek fans.)

Of course, the focus here is on science and innovation but I was charmed by relics from my own personal history:

… including a phone I once coveted:

We could have wandered for hours, there was so much to see and so much to learn.

A couple things off the top of my head:

• Pack a lunch and make a day of it. There is a LOT to see so take the time you need. Some of the exhibitions will be familiar to Ottawa folks, others will not.
• Parents: Don’t be shy about bringing your stroller. This place is huge.
• Don’t skip the gift shop! It is rare that I want to spend as much time in a museum gift shop as I did in this one. There’s a lot of great stuff here, including some Ottawa-made gifts that I recognized from craft shows and fairs of days gone by. Sadly, they weren’t marked as such, so I hope they fix that soon. (I think “Ottawa made” is a great selling point, don’t you?)

As I write this I am thinking how much I would enjoy an adult-only after-hours event at the Canada Science and Technology Museum. Would you? They could borrow a page or two from Museum of Nature’s Nature Nocturne event series and even make it a licensed event.

Have you been to the new Canada Science and Technology Museum? I’d love to hear what you think.