Canada Science and Technology Museum

We had a great visit to the Canadian Science and Technology Museum, especially as a family with kids. The museum does a really nice job showing the evolution of everyday technology—things like phones, televisions, and other inventions—from the old days to modern times. It was interesting for adults and also educational for kids to see how much technology has changed over the years. The exhibits cover a wide range of topics and ages, so there’s something for everyone. The kids especially enjoyed seeing older devices and comparing them to what we use today. While the museum is more focused on displays and learning rather than hands-on activities, it was still fun and engaging, and the kids stayed interested throughout the visit. There aren’t a lot of interactive activities specifically for younger kids, but overall the experience was decent and enjoyable. It’s a good place to visit with children, especially if you’re looking for an educational outing that sparks curiosity about science and technology. Overall, worth a visit 👍

A bright, modern museum that engages visitors of all ages. From the moment you walk in, the space invites curiosity — hands‑on exhibits, classic locomotives, and interactive zones are all thoughtfully designed to make learning feel natural and fun. The building is calm, open, and easy to navigate. Exhibits flow smoothly from one area to the next, and demonstrations are paced in a way that feels welcoming rather than rushed. Staff are friendly and helpful, adding to the overall experience. It’s the kind of museum you can return to at any age — whether you’re a curious child, a thoughtful adult, or someone who simply enjoys seeing how technology shapes the world around us. A wonderful place to spend a few hours in Ottawa.

Amazing day at this museum: plan to stay the day, bring a lunch (minimal options at cafeteria). The museum offers demos even on quiet weekdays - we attended 3 shows and they were very engaging, bilingual, and great learning opportunities! The train exhibit is captivating and there are some wooden trains to play with. Most of the exhibits have interactive activities, cycling through times allows you to ride and race on a bike, several microscope, height comparison, etc. A whole zone for under 8 years old allow kids to explore on their own - truly engaging. Parking with Indigo is 9,50$/day We will return. The membership (which allows you access to 2 other Ingenium museum) is a good deal.

This is our second time.Loved our every visit! So many interesting things to learn and explore. Perfect spot for curious kids and parents who want to make learning fun. Museum is open on statutory holidays (except December 25). They offer free general admission daily between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Parking is paid though.

We had a great experience here! The museum is all on one floor, which makes it easy to get around, and there’s plenty to see and do. There are tons of interesting historical facts, and the open layout means it never feels too crowded. Each exhibit has several items on display, which kept things engaging. There are also lots of interactive features that make it fun and exciting—especially for kids! The bathrooms were clean, the gift shop was lovely, and the café was nice, with a good selection of snacks and drinks and lots of open seating. The pricing was also very reasonable! Overall, a really enjoyable visit. I’d definitely recommend it!

Very fun to walk around and learn about the advancement of the technology we see everyday, the the technology we left behind. We loved the Sound section with the fun gadgets we could play around with. The Kitchen section felt the most informative and the steam power section was the most fun to walk around due to the absolute scale of the trains. The building also looks quite nice.

This was a fun experience. We had not been to visit in years so it all seemed very new and exciting and a great learning experience. They also have a massive building adjacent that has a guided tour of the exhibits that are not on display.

Fascinating museum housing a great array of exhibits. Everything from transportation to space is covered here. We spent 2 hours there and could have spent more if we read more of the info on the exhibits or did some of the more interactive activities.

We were able to come here and use our ASTC passport which was awesome. The parking lots have plenty of space and some EV chargers which is great. The staff was friendly and got us in with our passport. They have a nice little cafe with Beavertails in the back, so we stopped there for a quick breakfast and coffee. The displays here are great, so many interactive displays from bicycles, to trains, to audio and visual displays there is a lot to take in. This is a great spot for families or just adults who can tolerate kids being around. The history of sporting for people with disabilities was really interesting. This place really has something for everyone, whether you are interested in the human body, space, housing, etc you will probably find a section that interests you. The kids specific area was a lot of fun, although one of the displays was a bit broken unfortunately. Being able to race cars you build on a track and climb a rock wall was a ton of fun for our daughter. Being able to go race other kids on the bikes was something she really enjoyed too. We certainly had a good family outing and I think we all learned a few new things.

We visited this museum. Parking is a bit confusing without proper signage. The other thing is that the parking near the front, the lines are marked with different coloured rocks but it's hard to see so people park very poorly and the spots are quite tight too. The exhibits were pretty interesting. Lots of things to see and read, somewhat interactive. There is a dedicated kids area for kids to play in which is nice for families. The huge train that you can go into was another fun highlight. The demonstrations were really fun, there was one on ice and one on fire that day though the ice one didn't quite work. Overall a pretty enjoyable museum especially if you have kids.

Fantastic museum! It had everything - trains, cars, refrigerators, bikes, scads of other things on display - even a special exhibit on ..er.. poop (which was actually well-done and quite interesting). The museum itself is nicely laid out - we spent about 3 hours to fully browse all the exhibits. We really enjoyed being able to 'board' 2 of the 3 locomotives on display. The special exhibit on ..er.. excrement was interesting - some of the exhibits were actually inside 'stalls' which were quite clever. We did not visit the cafe , but we did make sure to visit the gift shop - which had a nice selection of items. This may be one of my favorite museums - highly recommended!

The museum was free the day we went and it wasn't empty, but it wasn't packed. This is the first time I've been since the pandemic and since having my little guy. Some people wore masks, some didn't. Enough hand sanitizers everywhere. We toured a bit around the museum and went inside the trains and the "Crazy Kitchen", of course. Must-dos when you're here. There was also a pyrotechno demo that was pretty cool. There was a little kid's section that I, quite honestly, did not even notice was there until now, since becoming a parent, but this is where we spent more of our time. It's a "Children's Innovation Zone" called "ZOOOM". We went around the different spaces and played in the 0-2 years old section, which was great because everything was at eye level or below for him. There are other sections for sensory walls, little rock climbing, stationary bikes, a wind tunnel, and more. There's also a University of Ottawa Living Lab, which we didn't go into, but the website says it's where "researchers conduct cutting-edge child development studies with parents and children visiting the museum". Our 15-month old loves this place and I'm sure we'll be back again soon!

They completely destroyed this place. It used to be a really fun museum to go to. Tons of interactive displays, a working periscope, a chicken hatchery, and much much more. Is it's nothing more than a bunch of glassed in displays, and save-the-planet type of kiosks. Super boring. Nothing you can't read about online. I shouldn't have come. It ruined my childhood memories of this place.

This is very much like the tech museum in San Jose but they have a lot of displays about transportation and technology of yore. We really enjoyed the life size trains, old fashioned appliances and other displays. The special exhibit was da Vinci. That will cost you more to look. Parking is sort of weird right now with the construction. However it costs only $6 to park all day so you can take your time at the museum. They have a cafeteria that we did not go into because we ate at the restaurant in the mall next door.

I finally got around to checking out the renovated and updated Science and Tech museum and while I think this museum is more geared towards kids, it was still pretty fun. You can easily get through the whole museum within an hour and half, but you can also spend the day here, especially if you have little ones with you. They have a playroom for small children, where they can go rock climbing, go through a wind tunnel, play with wooden cars and just run around. That room is also geared towards moms who want to breastfeed as they have an area for that as well. There is also a separate room where you can do arts and crafts!! While they removed some exhibits from the pre-reno's, they still have the iconic train that you can climb, with an added on virtual reality component, as well as the crazy kitchen!! I do like how they added tons of bathrooms throughout the museum. There is one at the entrance, one midway through the museum and one by the cafeteria. They were all in pristine condition! I also liked how they had tons of seating throughout the museum so you can take breaks. There are a lot of interactive games they included within each exhibit, with some already out of service or showing wear in tear...didn't this museum just open?!? Regardless, I am still a fan of this museum, and definitely recommend if you have small kids and want to get out of the house...bring them here...and let them go wild!

Pretty good. Went here a few times as a kid 25 years ago and it's been completely redone. The Crazy Kitchen is still here also it's less exciting as an adult. It's no Disneyland ride. More like if you got decently drunk and wandered into your own kitchen, that's what the crazy kitchen is like. With no food though. A lot of kids running around acting a fool. So it's part science museum part wild life zoo. Personally I could go for an "adults only" day since we all know kids are super annoying. So to bring it full circle I'd recommend you get a little tuned up before going in, maybe a flask of some hard liquor or if hard drugs are your thing, go to town. Check out the demo stage as well, cool cryo demo today, except for all the kids in attendance.

This place was such a pleasant surprise. I came here with my 5 year old son for the LEGO exhibit but instead of that being the highlight of our visit everything else was. I loved the live exhibit and the fact that event the explanations are simultaneously bilingual (my son speaks French). The pyro-demo was spot on, exciting and informative. We moved to the zoom room where my son just didn't want to leave and just explore. In total we were there over 3 hours and still didnt cover the entire museum, we had such a good time we decided we will come again and even buy the family pass. It may be a little pricey (around 22$ for an adult and 15$ for kids) but it is worth every dollar !

A local told me there was nothing of interest here, because it's all for little kids. I think he hasn't been here in a long time. I spent around two hours and managed to see all the exhibits, but if you had little kids or were particularly thorough it'd be easy to spend much more time. The exhibits have all been updated recently and are in a modern building. The exhibits cover a broad range of topics, from the standard science center stuff on transportation and human health, to wearables for animals and tiny houses. The exhibits don't go terribly deep, but they do a great job of making things engaging for people of various ages and background knowledge. The building is fully handicap accessible and they do a good job of addressing accessibility, with examples of adaptive sports equipment and various vehicles. The cafe options are pretty on par with a bodega. You might want to bring a lunch if you're planning on eating there. There are a ton of options for leaving your coats, boots, buggies, and bags. There are cubbies, shelves, hangers (all free), and lockers (for $1). If you have a membership to another ASTC museum, they'll honor your reciprocal membership.

I was somewhat pleasantly surprised at how interesting the Science and Technology Museum was. Cars, trains, satellites, telephones, and more, all thrown together under the generic umbrella term of "science and technology." The "What Makes a Car Canadian?" exhibit was the main thing that drew me to this museum. Cars built in Canada? Cars *designed* for Canada? Or just cars with strong sales in Canada?? Well, IMO, the common denominator for all Canadian cars is really just this one thing: rust! Hahaha! There are a lot of interactive exhibits, fun for kids. There are lots of buttons to press, video and sound clips, exhibits to peer inside (including steam engines that you can walk through!) When driving there, look for the lighthouse in the middle of the field; that's where the museum is! There's also a rocket, train car, oil pumpjack, windmill, and observatory... but no explanations for any of them?

Awesome place, great experience, interactive, fun and educational exhibits for all ages. Bothnof us adults and our teens had as much fun as our toddler and there was sone fun for baby as well. Highly recommend. We had a favorite exhibit, while we lived then all, this one just impressed us. Music and aurora borealis inspired, the interactive light show was captivating! Staff was courteous, polite and friendly. Will come back again!

This is an affordable museum in the National Capial Region that is particularly ideal for children. A lot of interactive games and gadgets are found here, expectedly, but what was unexpected was that a lot of them can entertain adults as well! While the Kids Zone can keep kids under 14 preoccupied for hours, exhibitions like the ZEEP (Canada's First Nuclear Reactor), Tokamak (creating the sun on earth), and Canada in Space are temporary and long-term staples that fascinating for people of all ages. The museum has a host of collections and information on astronomy and space in particular, which I really found intriguing. First and foremost, howevever, this is a great place for children to learn and have fun while doing it.

Very nice museum of Science. The pyrotechnic and cryogenic demonstration shows are very entertaining and informative. Some interesting artifacts including rockets, electron microscopes, telescopes radios and steam trains with a focus on Canadian history of Science and Technology. The facility was recently and renovated and a giant new version called Ingenium is being built on the site which I'm very much looking forward to.

This is an absolutely fantastic place to take children. So much of the learning is hands on and targeted towards stimulating children while keeping parents interested too. Unfortunately, this isn't the best Ottawa museum choice for strictly adult visitors. I found that out the hard way. When I went with my friend, I think we must have been the only people without a child in the whole building. Every area we'd go to was teeming with kids. We still enjoyed the exhibits, but it was always obvious the information's simplicity was mainly geared towards younger minds. After awhile, we got bored. I don't want to completely deter people from going, but maybe I'd suggest skipping to the sections that most interest you instead of wandering around for hours. Also, try to arrive between 4 and 5pm: that's when admission is free.

I have been in this museum before. Although I am no longer 'biologically' a child (and haven't been for years) I do have the same levels of curiosity, joy for button-pushing, and the same attention spam. I blame the internet for the last one. For a museum geared towards children, I think I can shed some light on the experience. I find the general layout of the museum very confusing. Imagine this: you begin your journey near cars. You take a few steps, then you're in a kitchen. You take a few more and you're in an exhibit on energy. The whole time frantically looking for a map, you come across an employee who is doing the best s/he can to provide directions, but then you end up near canoes. Makes for a frustrating experience. Anyway, we recently returned to the museum in hope of visiting the new temporary exhibit "SOCKS: A TELL-all Exhibition". (I gently modified the title to not be reported as a "dirty person". It is not an exhibit on socks...although that might be interesting.) I have mixed feelings. I commend the museum for putting on an exhibit that is very much needed in North America. Teenagers and children and even some adults are starved for this information. It's not dirty. It's natural. As natural as eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom. It's the reason you're alive. And, if people are well-informed, things like infections, unwanted teen pregnancy and rape (yes, I went there) would happen MUCH LESS. With education comes power and self-respect. Besides, your kids are looking it up/doing it anyway. Wouldn't you want them to be safe? I can understand how the pictures of naked people (especially children) can start you on the wrong foot. It was overwhelming for a "Hello. Welcome to this exhibit...Ummm nice to meet you?" Yes, body development is natural, but some people could be put off from the get-go. This is unfortunate. There are important lessons in the exhibit and all parents with tweens should visit with them in hopes of starting conversations. My real problem with the exhibit is it's one-sided view on sexuality and pleasure (yeah, I went there too). Like in the research before the museum's exhibit, sexually is usually mostly focused on the men. Yes, they have the factory, but if you want to tell a story scientifically, you need all of the facts. In general, everything is done tastefully. Anything riské is hidden, children need to be accompagnied by parents at all times and the exhibit is friendly and written in a way that people of all educational backgrounds can understand. Probably to prevent situations like "Mom, what is a ----?" "Ummm" Go see it. Even just to show support for education and healthy socksuality.

it's really nice & has great exhibits however because of the pandemic a lot of the interactive portions are closed. you should wait before going! there's not a lot right now

I'm torn on this one. I'm going with a 3.5. This was, by far my favourite museum as a child. The lighthouse shone brightly, beckoning me to the crazy kitchen, the space ship and the climbable locomotives. I recently brought the children I look after here for a day of science and tech fun and was sad to see the museum is looking a bit dreary. The exhibits are literally almost all the same ones I saw as a young kid. There is a part of me that loves the nostalgia, but unfortunately everything's looking a bit dated and run down. It's not horrible, and I'm sure the little ones continue to love the exhibits, but this just isn't worthy of the title "NATIONAL Science and Technology Museum." I'd love to see some touch screens, even a flat screen TV would be a step up. The cafeteria is pretty small and doesn't offer nearly the selection as the other museums in the city. We went on a weekday around 11 a.m. and there were kids running wild on a field trip, which was good to see. They all seemed to be enjoying it, so maybe it's just my jaded adult-vision that's left me with this impression. Let's be real though - wouldn't it be nice to take young ones here and be entertained and impressed yourself? So why not a lower star rating? Because it's still a great spot to take kids. As an adult, I wouldn't spend my time here, but there's no denying the pull that the lighthouse still has on those under 10.

Other than the crowds and parking (which just shows how popular it is) the new version of this museum is fun, educational and even a workout for some given the walking you have to do. I'm also a big fan of the trains.

The exhibits themselves are mostly excellent. Particularly, there is lots to engage children. But the attitudes and demeanor of the staff towards the end of the day are completely unprofessional. At 4:50 pm, a staff member named Alne or Aine was taking toys out of my child's hands because she (quite transparently) didn't want to have to clean them up at 5:01 pm (the museum closes at 5 pm). Other staff similarly stated that certain sections of the museum were "closed" at 4:55 pm and that we had to leave, basically glowering at us to go. However, the museum officially remains open until 5 pm. As someone who has worked at a popular museum as a tour guide, I got the thinly-veiled sense from these staff members that they couldn't wait until everyone left so that they could leave too. There is absolutely no place for these types of attitudes - especially ones that lead to taking toys out of children's hands - in a public-serving institution like this. I will be returning again to this museum, as the actual quality of the exhibits is excellent. But I will never again visit towards the end of the day, because neither my children and I nor any other paying customer deserve to be treated that way.

Trains, push buttons, a toddler room and the "crazy" kitchen. On vacation, we decided to visit this museum for our little toddler after pleasantly finding out that our membership from our local science museum entitled us to free admission here as well.[1] In all, it's a small but "open"[2] concept museum with a cafeteria and several interactive zones. Depending on the age of your child (inner or actual), some exhibits may or may not be age appropriate. [3,4] Due to our toddler's affinity to trains, we were disappointed to learn that the train rides only occur on Wed and Sat. However, we were pleased to find an expansive room full of locomotives on permanent display which evoked tons of "wows" from him. IMHO, the space exhibit was a bit dated with CRT screens and scale models. Our young son was too busy trying to push the screens thinking they were touch screens! ;-) But there seemed to be enough here to keep his attention occupied (i.e., those red push buttons). Truthfully, this museum may be a bit too old for toddlers and might be better suited for an elementary school aged child as evidenced by the bus loads of kids (i.e., day camp) we ran into on a Thursday late morning. Many of them seemed to enjoy the more interactive Connexions exhibit. The crazy kitchen with it's equilibrium challenging course was more nostalgic for my wife and evoked a short, but crazy fun house experience for us non-Ottawans. Next to the "crazy" kitchen, we spent a majority of the time in the playroom which does sport a decent train table with limited Thomas trains, some lego blocks, a play kitchen, and other assorted toddler-ish activities. It's unfortunate we didn't get a chance to ride the train, but this museum does pack a punch for those with limited time. While we didn't partake in any of the scheduled activities, they seem to sport quite a few. Overall, for toddlers I think there are better places and this museum is better suited for older kids. Still, 4 solid stars for the membership reciprocity, play area and locomotive hall as well as 2 hours of distractions for our son. Oh yeah, free wifi too. ;-) [1] Membership reciprocity is available for participating Association of Science and Technology Center museums/centers http://www.astc.org/members/passlist.htm [2] Mostly in the "back" section, but everything for the most part connects through meandering sections that you can walk to/fro without too much problem. [3] A "sex" exhibit for older kids was on display. [4] The play area in back near the "crazy" kitchen and the Connexions exhibit were both recommended by the museum staff person.

Feel like I lived here growing up. I used to adore it. Went back on a visit to Ottawa with my kids and it was. ..meh. It was lame and tiny and not very interactive. As a National museum is really, really thin and a bit sad. The trains rock, always have, always will. Otherwise it's just kinda empty and a bit dull. And you have to pay for this dinky little outside parking lot. Go to Toronto, see the Ontario Science Center. That's a museum!

Supercool "The Art of the Brick" exhibit. Kids (ages 14 to 5) loved the installations. Interactive play area at the end instead of ending at the standard "gift shop".

A very good museum to visit -once a year. A lot of good information but lacks a state of the art facility. Not as clean as would be expected of a science museum. If you are in the area with spare time, you might want to stop.

it used to be better. before it was renovated, there were way better exhibits, and everything felt more interactive. I'm still happy they left the trains and the crazy kitchen, but even they used to be better. for one, the trains didn't have all of the boring signs that they have now, and I remember walking up to them without the glass wall sh*t they have now. they seemed to have put more signs up on the 2 original exhibits. I don't live in Ottawa, and every time we went, we always went to the museum. but when they did the renos, they took out all of the original exhibits, including the networking tube exhibit that went across the ceiling, the periscopes that allowed you to look out on the parking lot, and even some small stuff you might not have taken notice of, including a snowmobile simulation a canoe simulation, a thing to do with the national research council, and some weird stuff like a traffic light for the old car exhibit (that one is intact, but I remember it different) but the one thing I liked was the modernization. if they could have kept the exhibits the same and just made the outside look modern, it would of been better.