Canadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la nature

We had a wonderful experience visiting the Canadian Museum of Nature as a family. The kids absolutely loved it and were engaged from start to finish. The building itself is beautiful and impressive, with a historic feel that already makes the visit special as soon as you arrive. Inside, the museum is very well organized and easy to explore with children. The dinosaur fossils were a huge highlight — seeing the large skeletons up close really amazed the kids. The water and marine life exhibits, the Arctic gallery, and the interactive areas made the visit both fun and educational. There is a great balance between learning and hands-on discovery, which keeps children interested and curious the whole time. One thing to note is the food options. There is only a café available, with limited choices, more suitable for a snack or light meal rather than a full lunch. It’s a good idea to plan ahead if you’re visiting with kids and staying for several hours. Overall, it’s an excellent museum for families, very educational, engaging, and enjoyable for children of all ages. We highly recommend it when visiting Ottawa!

Awesome place to visit with kids. Informative with lots of different genres ( galleries ) to explore. We stayed there for almost 4 hours but still felt like we were rushing through ; definitely a must go and should plan as a full day event. Time is never enough specially if you love to read and view the numerous informative cards per artifact and videos Multiple locations to sit and rest, also a good cafe with food choices Definitely recommend!

I visited the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa not long ago, and overall it was a memorable experience — especially for anyone interested in natural history, fossils, and wildlife. The museum is housed in the stately Victoria Memorial Museum Building, which combines heritage architecture (stone, stained glass, carved details) with modern touches like a glass central tower added during renovations.  Walking through the galleries, you move through diverse themes: fossils and dinosaurs, mammals, birds, geology, marine life, and Arctic environments. The Fossil Gallery was a highlight — seeing dinosaur skeletons and ancient marine creatures up close gives you a tangible sense of deep time.  The Bird Gallery and Mammal Gallery also impressed me with their detailed dioramas and species variety.  I appreciated how many exhibits include interactive or “hands-on” elements: the “live” insect / invertebrate displays, touch stations, and immersive storytelling exhibits add energy to the space.  Also, temporary and feature exhibits (such as The Man Who Planted Trees) offer fresh perspectives and variety beyond the permanent galleries.  On the downside, when I was there the noise level rose in busier rooms, especially with children in tow, which made some exhibits harder to absorb fully.  I also found that a few sections seemed slightly dated or in need of refreshment to maintain visitor engagement.  I spent around 2½ to 3 hours exploring. For a casual visitor that’s enough to see the highlights; for someone keen on pausing at every exhibit, more time is justified. Overall, the museum offers a rich, educational, and often moving experience. If you’re in Ottawa, it’s absolutely worth a visit.

I recently visited the Canadian Museum of Nature and had an amazing time. The museum is well-organized, informative, and filled with fascinating artifacts and exhibits that appeal to both adults and kids. Each section offers something unique-from ancient fossils and minerals to wildlife displays and Indigenous stories that beautifully capture Canada’s natural history. What stood out most was how well the information is presented-clear, engaging, and easy to follow. You can tell a lot of thought and care went into curating each exhibit. The building itself is stunning, with a perfect blend of history and modern design. Overall, it was a fun, educational, and enriching experience. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in Ottawa or simply curious about the wonders of nature!

A Fascinating Visit to the Canadian Museum of Nature ​My family and I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Canadian Museum of Nature, and it was a truly fantastic day out. Located in a striking "castle" that adds to its charm, the museum is an absolute gem for anyone interested in the natural world. ​The museum's exhibits are incredibly well-designed and captivating. We were all completely engrossed, from the towering dinosaur skeletons in the Fossil Gallery to the live creatures in the "Bugs Alive" and "Pacific Discovery Tank" exhibits. The Mammal Gallery, with its beautifully detailed dioramas, and the Bird Gallery were also huge hits. It's clear that a lot of effort has gone into making the displays engaging and educational for all ages. ​For families with children, this museum is a must-see. The interactive elements and the sheer wonder of seeing things like a complete blue whale skeleton make it a memorable experience for kids. There are plenty of hands-on activities that keep them entertained while they learn. It's a place where children's natural curiosity can truly be sparked. ​A word of advice: plan to spend a full day here, or even more if you want to see everything. The museum is much larger than it appears from the outside, with four floors of permanent galleries and various special exhibitions. We spent a good portion of the day exploring and still felt we could have used more time to fully appreciate each section. The history of the planet and its creatures is explained in such a clear and well-organized manner that you won't want to rush through it. ​ The Canadian Museum of Nature is a highly recommended destination for families. It provides a perfect blend of fun and education, and it's a place you'll want to take your time exploring. We left with a newfound appreciation for the incredible diversity of nature, and we're already looking forward to our next visit.

I just went today to go to the laid exhibits...the butterfly exhibit and the immersion "The Man Who Planed Trees" exhibit. Both were amazing. I will be going back in a few days to see all the free exhibits. The museum is amazing! All the staff were very friendly and helpful! I can't wait to see the rest of it!

You need to give yourself plenty of time to check everything out. We were there for 4 hours and could have stayed longer. You are allowed to leave and go back in. So you can go grab at bite to eat if you want. There are elevators it is 4 stories high. The amount of fossil displays are awesome. They have beautiful displays of wildlife from birds to Polar bears. It wasn't bad in price 58 dollars for 2 adults and a child with the Butterfly exhibit interactions My son who is 35 enjoyed it just as much as my 6 year old granddaughter.

I had so much fun at the museum. It wasn’t what I expected but exceeded my expectations for sure. Buying the tickets online makes your life so much easier. We were able to sign up to both the butterflies and man + trees exhibitions and it was surreal. I honestly would recommend it to everyone to have those visits this summer before it ends because it was so much fun. Take a look at the photos and videos below for more context and a sign for you to pay those tickets and see for yourself

Have been several times but finally decided to leave a review. During public holidays, sometimes there is no entry fees. The parking on site is limited ($12 etc). There is street parking around (paid). Once inside, there are 4 levels, level 1 has the cafeteria serving beverages and pizza/ sandwiches, Fairly pricey. This level also features the fossils. There's even a video on how became extinct. Plenty of sensory experiences, lots of information. You can easily spend several hours checking it out. The bathrooms were clean and despite it being extremely busy when I went I didn't feel claustrophobic. Also checked out their bug adventure. Lots of information on bugs, several mini exhibits. Overall, informative.

Definitely a museum worth visiting if you're in Ottawa. It's big, there's so much to interesting things to see and explore. It's a very family friendly museum. I brought my kids and they enjoyed it a lot especially learning about the dinosaurs as they are into it.

Sort of the quintessential place in Ottawa for neurodivergents to visit. Have a neurodivergent kid or partner or friend? Just take them here. They'll have something to infodump about, whether it's bugs, rocks, taxidermy, or more. I recommend going during the day on a weekday though as weekends and ESPECIALLY Thursdays evenings can be quite noisy with school groups and daycares and such. Bring noise cancelling headphones just in case!

I am a museum junkie and this place did not disappoint! .. even my boyfriend enjoyed it and he could not care less about museums ha! It takes about four hours if you take your time and read. There are five floors. The architecture is divine and I like how there is a section that explains the history of this historical landmark. There are a variety of exhibits, interactive sections and immersive displays. I work for an indigenous organization and their last section was exactly about that. It honestly was the cherry on the Sunday. This is a wonderful place to bring your family on the weekend and the price is reasonable. It is hard to find street parking in that area so we decided do their pay parking at $14.

01/04/2024 We had an exceptional visit at the Canadian Museum of Nature! We visited every gallery, including the Fossil Gallery, Water Gallery, Mammal Gallery, Under the Canopy (special exhibition), etc. It took us about five hours to visit every gallery (though towards the end, we were speeding up a bit). The Under the Canopy exhibition is exquisite, with many live animals and rainforest facts, with the sloth being my personal favourite. We went on a Thursday afternoon, so in the evening it became much busier (with free Thursday evenings). We have a museum membership, so the visit was free. Can't wait to come again!

What a gem to have in the heart of Ottawa. Beautiful building and grounds. Well put together exhibits. Frequently have new exhibits to view so even locals can appreciate going multiple times a year. The new exhibit under the canopy has a good collection of live creatures including a sloth! I was surprised by how quiet the room was so we had lots of time at each station. Of course, you have to touch the iceberg upstairs and don't forget to see the dinosaurs! New to me this time was the video and the bug exhibit. Both are totally worth seeing as well!

This place is awesome! Took my two kids on a Saturday (one in a wheelchair) and it was great. Lots of space to move around, huge elevators. Exhibits were fun and interesting. I don't think the Under the Canopy was worth the extra cost we paid but that's minor. Daughter had an especially fun time in the geology section. Had to pry her out so we wouldn't miss the rest. And because I always comment on this when I have our son with us.... bathrooms/changing ability was good! They had a larger sized change table in a private stall that was able to accommodate his wheelchair, myself and him easily with tons of extra space. THANK YOU!

Hmmm, I am a bit torn about this museum. It is absolutely beautiful and it used to be up there being one of my favorite museums, but the more I go, the more I find it needs a good updating and more interactive features. Tickets have been hard to come by, with them being always sold out (pandemic, museums finally being allowed to reopened, limited guests allowed in at a time), but we were finally able to snag a couple. Check in was a bit long as each guests were explained restrictions and had to go through a series of covid related questions, which I totally get and understand, just be prepared to wait in line a bit. The dinosaur exhibit is super cool, which is the first exhibit upon entering. Since this is a nature museum, I wish they put more emphasis on other things that nature has to offer us, like weather and seasons. Maybe I missed those exhibits? To be blunt, the museum is mostly filled with stuffed dead animals, and butterfly and bug displays. Our family frequents museums monthly, but my toddler grew bored of this one. If you can, I recommend visiting on a free night if you can get your hands on those tickets.

Fun place to take the family! Lots of exhibits! My kids enjoyed it! Great place also for photographers!

Fantastic museum for the whole family. Lots of little things for kids to look at and play with as well. Stopped by the museums cafe for lunch and it wasn't too bad but a little expensive (as you can expect) mainly cold sandwiches and wraps.

Amazing exhibits, open spaces and a wealth of information. A great place to take the kids. All the kids there seemed to be having a great time. Stroller friendly.

Whenever I'm in Ottawa with my kids we always take some time to visit the Canadian Museum of Nature, mainly because one of my sons is a huuuge dinosaurs fan, he absolutely loves it there! This time I've purchased the 3 days Museums pass as I knew that we would be spending a few days in town (app. 79$). The coat check is free but there's no supervision anyone can get in and out. On the 1st floor, you will find everything dinosaurs related as well as other fossils and prehistoric creatures and the museum's little café, on the 2nd floor you will find the water and mammal section, on the 3rd floor you have the birds and other insects section and finally, on the 4th floor you will find the special exhibitions section, that time it was dedicated to reptiles and needless to say that my sons really enjoyed it. I strongly recommend if you're in the area!

This is my favourite building in all of Ottawa! Hurry up and go in, and use Yelp to get a discount! I love the construction of the building which looks like a castle, and the inside, with the stained glass windows and that beautiful floor with the moose motif! We went here to attend a speaker series - Cristina Mittermeir of National Geographic fame, came to talk about the state of Canadian Oceans, and does she ever have a scary story to share! If you don't know who she is, she is married to Paul Nicklen - a Canadian - and they live in B.C. They use their photography - under water and on land - to promote special causes that relate to conservancy. They have done many, many articles for Nat'l Geo. This event took place in a small theatre, which I will have to bear in mind for future events. This would be a great space to rent for meetings and info sessions. And top it all off with the fact that's there's a fabulous museum in there too! Time and money well spent.

This museum was okay, more like a 3 1/2, but i''ve been to much bigger and more interactive museums of natural history in NYC and dc, so I wasn't too impressed with this one. The live insect room was pretty small as well as other rooms of artifacts and findings. Great for younger kids, but not too much for teens. What they did have that was unique was one room dedicated to research and findings of global warming in northern Canada and how it is impacting the sea and land animals, ocean, land and environment. I enjoyed the short clips of televised information next to each exhibit. There's 24 hours paid parking on the street in front of the museum, but we smartened up and found free parking (on sundays only) on the street perpendicular to the street in front the museum.

The 7-day Tour East Bus trip that I'm traveling on stopped here; we have 50 tourists in our group. The $222.50 attractions package includes access to the Whale Watching Boat Tour, Thousand Island Boat Tour, Hopewell Rocks, Maritime Museum, etc., of which this attraction is one of the experiences. This is the final day of our trip and time to pack in a few more sights before heading home. Although we only spent one hour at the Canadian Museum of Nature, it wasn't enough to see all 5 level of this building. I decided to concentrate my efforts on the 3rd (Earth, Bird, Nature Live) and the 2nd (Water, Mammal) level exhibits. Historical & Fascinating Canada

Canadian Museum of Nature! This review is specific to Nature Nocturne Nature Nocturne is held on the last Friday of every month from 8pm to 12am Nature Nocturne is a themed evening for adults at the museum to party and have fun. A night out at the museum. It's a super cute date idea or evening out with friends. Tickets are 25$ + tax I absolutely have a blast everytime !! I think the ticket price might deter a Younger crowd as I think the average age is around 28 (my type of crowd ) It has various different floors of DJs and dance floors so if you don't dig the music just hop on the the next floor (usually 3-4) When you get tired check out the cool exhibitions and activities they have for the event ! They make these themed so it's different everytime. I've been to a camouflaged theme, Flower Power, Masquerade Ball.

I loved the museum! I encourage everyone to go to Canada's national natural history and natural sciences museum at least once in their lifetime; kids, school groups, families and even big boys as myself. It's educational, their main collections are Botany, Mineralogy, Palaeontology and Zoology. Felt as if I was in a jurassic parc movie; I travelled back in time when walking around the dinosaurs skeletons, which are original by the way! I was amazed by live giant insects, arachnids and huge slugs! Finally, I adventured in the permanent galleries of minerals and rocks, Canada's wild animals, birds and gardens.

This is probably my favourite museum in Ottawa. I end up here at least once per year for work, but love it every time (the dinosaurs are by far my favourite). This year, we had the opportunity to check out the Survival of the Slowest exhibit, including Lilo the sloth. The cuteness cannot be described in words. For special exhibits like this one, there is an extra fee. In this case, it included an interactive presentation with a few feature animals, over the course of about 20 minutes. My only complaint is that with the museum entry fee- the additional $5 for this exhibit was a bit steep. I would have expected a bit more face time for that price, especially when that was a group rate. It was still really enjoyable, but could have been a bit more bang for its buck. There is so much to see, including interactive exhibits, so there's something for all interests and all ages. It's a really great opportunity to learn more about Canadian nature!

Very interactive place for both adults and children. It is good to buy the membership since it can be use in a number of museums in Canada or come back more than once to the Nature Musuem. The food at the cafe is excellent and not as pricy. For large group, consider order their family pizza. It comes with a salad, 4 cookies and a large pizza. We have 4 adults and 3 kids between 4 and 5.5 years old sharing it and a corn dog with chips.

Great museum with many interactive and educational displays. Large collection and very well laid-out and organized. Lots of on-site parking but expensive. The Water and Fossil galleries were my favourites. The earth gallery has lots of great information about the earth's formation, solar system and geology.

Great experience! I have gone when I was younger (high school), as well as recently, for the Nature Nocturne Event. The exhibits are informative and fun to brose through, you learn a lot about the topic. It does not take long to finish browsing, however. Paying for the special exhibits can be worth it if you are really interested in that particular exhibit. Nature Nocturne is a fun event, and they have different themes going on.

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!

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.

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

Had a great experience here - the whole museum is incredibly interactive and offers fun ways to learn not only for kids but also for (young adults). The collections are mostly really big, but still well structured and the musuem has a very inviting atmosphere.

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 Yelp check in deal for $2 off general admission. Apparently I was the first visitor the staff member had seen with the Yelp 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 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!

Loved going here when I was a kid and love getting to re-experience it again with my children. You'll find a little bit of everything here, from Dinosaurs, and Wildlife, to Geology, and Life on the Seas. There is wonder and amazement around every corner.

I am always impressed with how great this museum is. They are always improving and expanding the learning to all who spend time there.

I love pretty much everything about this Museum! The architecture, the location, the history of the building as well as the history found inside. When I was a young girl I actually had a sleep over at the museum with my Brownie troop - such fun. There are a few things that have changed over the years, but mostly it's the same building it always was. I heard a neat fact about the new glass structure: it's actually too heavy to sit on the front of the building on it's own (it would tilt forward and pull the front of the building off) so they design team counter balanced the structure including the marble staircases, with large elevator shafts. Now it looks great and it's structurally sound! This is one of the few cases where I think designers have done well when mixing an old world castle with modern design (we shall see what happens wth the Chateau Laurier...). Not five stars: here is why. The museum is stunning and a wonderful place to host events, but their event prices are a bit high. They rent out each event room and space separately (each at their own coat) and I believe they have some chairs and tables avaliable, but it all comes at a premium price. They also only allow certain caterers (which is fine) but they are all also quite pricey. I realize there are lots of cost associated with events, but it just all seemed a bit much. Here's hoping you get what you pay for!

Lots of interactive exhibit elements, probably geared more towards kids or enthusiasts. Very long ticket line, even for a Saturday afternoon. I recommend buying tickets online and showing an employee the ticket on your phone to cut down on wait time. The structural layout of the exhibits are a bit of a maze but interesting content. Sad to see live birds in such very small confined spaces but I'm hoping they offer a larger space for them to exercise.

The Canadian Museum of Nature is a great way to spend a few hours in Ottawa and the exhibits are accessible and interesting for all age groups. There are four floors, each one devoted to an ongoing gallery (e.g., fossils, mammals, birds and discovery zone). The discovery zone is especially great for children since there are so many hands on exhibits and movies. The temporary exhibits and programs are also usually targeted at children and parents. My favourite ongoing exhibit is probably the mammals. I also love the architecture of this old building: its castle stature always serves to spice up car trips across the 417. Interesting rumour: the building is apparently haunted. The museum is also free on Saturdays before noon.

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!

Omg what an awesome museum! Pass on the cafe though because not only is the service dis-organized and dismal, they don't offer soymilk (bummer) and are expensive. However sitting in the cafe 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.

Came to the Nature museum on a visit to Ottawa for Family Day. We arrived just before 11 and walked right in. The price seemed steep at first (we paid extra for the reptile exhibit) but from the first gallery we had an amazing time and it was worth every dime in admission. We enjoyed the gems and minerals in the Earth zone particularly which was a big surprise and appreciated the size of the museum which meant we could get through the whole thing in about 3 hours. Much longer than that anywhere is too long with kids! By the time we left, the line up was out the door so I suggest getting there early and start on the 4th floor and work your way down to the ground.

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.

Amazing science museum! Great exhibits on fossils, ocean life, geology, and so much more. Honestly felt much more informative than the average American museum (sorry USA). The exhibits were fun yet informative, without being too flashy. Highly recommend a visit.

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.

Had a great time today! It's free entry on Thursdays from 5-8 and it was enough time to see everything. Wanted to see the butterfly exhibit but it was sold out so we'll plan another trip. Recommended especially with kids

"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!

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.

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 cafe which serves a purpose but was haphazardly run on our visit. Food was good enough though. Typical museum cafe 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.

Beautiful from the inside and out! We came on a sunny day and went through all the museum in about 2 hours. Not a lot to do but the 3D movie was really good

Our kid's had so much fun at this museum! It was a great mix of interactive exhibits, presentations, and informative signs/learning. Clean, well organized and accessible. Everything is labeled/spoken in both English and French

Really fun for those who love learning about wildlife. Tons of life-sized animals from all over Canada, as well as live bugs and great kids areas in most exhibits.

The museum has just undergone a huge overhaul complete with renovations and new exhibits. The castle itself is amazing, and located just off the highway in downtown Ottawa. The Animalium located on the lower floor is a great place to see live critters, as are some of the special exhibitions that pass through the museum. The permanent exhibits are sensational, and fun to walk through again and again. This is a great way to pass a few hours or an entire day with the family. It is both entertaining and educational.

Beautiful building and grounds, smart and kid friendly exhibits. Saw Pterosaurs exhibit, very informative!

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.

While I think this is an amazing series happening in Ottawa, it's been going on for about a year now and there are a bunch of details that really need to be improved to bring this up to a four or five star event. If you haven't been to a Nature Nocturne event yet, you should go. It's a pretty cool experience. They run the events monthly, and each has a theme. This event was The Chinese New Year: Year of the Horse. Essentially the Museum of Nature is transformed into one giant party and you can explore the museum after hours which is the part I found really cool. Each floor has at least one bar, and multiple rooms are converted into dance floors. There was even one space that the cool folks at Meeple's Republic Setup that was like real-life dodgeball battleship. Drunk people loved it! The idea behind this event is great, and there were a ton of people at this last event, so know it's catching as on a cool nightlife option for people in Ottawa. That being said...here's where my issue were: 1. The coat check line was a nightmare. Getting into the event was pretty fast - we had purchased tickets in advance and only waited about 10-15 minutes to get in. However, once we got in, and headed to the coat check line (this was at about 10-10:30, an the event started at 8 p.m.) we put on our waiting game shoes, and seemed to have them on the rest of the night. There is one spot for coat check and it was really slow moving. I think we probably waited half an hour just to hang up our coats (one of which was subsequently lost at the end of the night and took a long time to find.) 2. After we checked our coats, we wanted to grab a drink, but oh lord...what a timesuck. We waited in line forever - probably 30 minutes. By the time we finally got to order they were out of the speciality drink, which was totally fine, but still a little weird. Each person is allowed to order up to 4 drinks, which could be helpful since lineups are so long. They only had two bartenders working at the station we were at...there should have been at least double that. Circulating servers would do wonders for this event. Drinks were about $7 each, so not too bad, but no great either. 3. You can't go into a lot of exhibits with your drinks, so be sure to finish them before you pop in - no one wants to leave their drink on an unattended table (yes, there's a guard there, but they're just checking to make sure you don't bring your drink in. Don't be dumb and leave it on the table.) One thing I thought was really neat was the diversity in both dress and age at this event. We saw a lot of people between 20-30, but there was a handful of older people as well, not dressed up, more just taking in the sites of the museum, which I thought was cool. I would say the majority of people were definitely more dressy (think cocktail attire), or business casual, but there were absolutely people there in jeans and tshirts too, so dress however you feel comfortable. I think this would be a great place to come with friends, or even with a date, since the building is so stunning and romantic (old castles do tend to be!) and there's lots of private nooks to chat in. I'm absolutely going to continue going to Naturne Nocture (the next theme is photography!), but I'm also going to be sending them some suggestions, and crossing my fingers. This event could easily climb to a 5 star with a little more attention to detail.