The Canada Science & Technology Museum's hands-on exhibits will make even the most determined Luddite appreciate Canada's technological achievements. Exhibits range from high-tech (the exhibit on Canadian communications technology) to low-tech (the popular collection of huge locomotives). All pique your curiosity about the weird and wonderful world of science and technology in Canada and around the world.
Challenge your motor skills, tease your brain, see beautiful antique cars and climb aboard giant steam locomotives. Stargazers will love the Discover the Universe program, which has the largest refracting telescope in Canada.
Hours of Operation
Summer Hours (May 1 - Labour Day)
Every day, 9 a.m. - 5 p. m.
Winter Hours (Day after Labour Day until April 30)
Tuesday - Sunday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m
Closed on Mondays, except Thanksgiving Monday, the Monday following Christmas Day, the Mondays during Quebec and Ontario March Breaks, and Easter Monday.
Allow about 2 to 4 hours for a reasonably complete tour of the Museum.
Cost
Adult $ 7.50
Student and Senior $ 5
Children (4 - 14) $ 3.50
Children (under 4) Free
Family (2 adults, 3 children) $ 18
All prices include all taxes and are subject to change.
Location
1867 St-Laurent Boul., Ottawa.
Facing Parliament Hill, turn right on Wellington Street, then turn right on Elgin Street. Continue south for five (5) blocks, turn left on Laurier Street, then turn right on Nicholas Street. Proceed on Nicholas Street to access the Queensway East. Exit the Queensway at St. Laurent Boulevard South. Continue on St. Laurent Boulevard for 2.6 km (1 mile). The museum is on the left; a lighthouse is its mark. Turn left on Lancaster Road.
Services
Free parking, cafeteria, picnic grounds, wheelchair access, facilities and gift shop, "Scientique".
Groups
Adult $ 4.50
Student and Senior $ 4
Children (4 - 14) $ 2.50
Guided tour fees
Minimum 16 people. Adults and seniors: $4.50, 1 leader free
Student (15+): $4, 1 adult free per 10 students
Children (4-14): $2.50, 1 adult free per 10 children
Prices include GST and PST and are subject to change without notice.
Did You Know?
- Alexander Graham Bell first came up with the idea for the telephone in Canada in 1874.
- A Canadian, Reginald Fessenden, invented voice radio.
- Canada was the first country to launch a satellite for domestic communications -- partly because the Aurora Borealis disrupted conventional radio signals. "Anik A1" was launched in 1972.
- Canada's newest remote-sensing satellite -- Radarsat -- can collect data even through clouds and darkness.
- The Museum has a full-size model of the Canadarm, the robotic arm developed by the Spar Aerospace Limited for the US. space shuttle.
- You can contemplate the universe at the Museum's observatory which has the largest refracting telescope in Canada.
Canada's Science and Technology in the Capital
The Canada Science and Technology Museum offers hands-on experiences highlighting science and technology in general -- and Canadian ingenuity in particular. The Museum shows how research and inventions have changed the way we view the world and have transformed just about every facet of life from the way we cook to the ways we communicate. Best of all, the Museum helps you figure out how things really work.
The Exhibits
Along with old favourites like the crazy kitchen and the steam locomotives, the Museum has produced many new exhibits in recent years, often with a quirky, offbeat approach that makes technology interesting and fun.
Some popular exhibitions are:
- Odyssey of Light is a dramatic, theatrical exhibition that uses a unique combination of science and art to explore light, from understanding its physics to exploring its transformative influence on human activity.
- Satellites and spacecraft star in "Canada in Space: Destination Earth".
- "Connexions: The Plugged-In World of Communications Technology" shows how our wired (and wireless) world came to be and showcases the cutting edge of new communications technologies.
- Innovation Canada: What drives Canadians to do things differently, make things better and explore the unknown?
- A Camera on the Banks: the work of Frederick William Wallace
Until September 2009
Let the unique photographs of Frederick William Wallace transport you to the last days of Nova Scotia’s schooners under sail. Using a series of photographs, quotations and artifacts tied to the Canadian fishing industry, discover the man behind the camera and the lives of his seafaring friends.
- Braille: Knowledge at your Fingertips
May 15, 2009 to January 4, 2010
Get to know Braille the person and braille the language. Compare historical and modern tools such as the last braille press used by CNIB, a folding mobility cane and an auditory digital clock. Explore devices developed in Canada to help people with vision loss live independently, and learn about the Canadians who have contributed to these innovations.
- New exhibition: Karsh: Image Maker
June 12 through September 13, 2009
Celebrate one of Canada's greatest 20th century portraitists, Yousuf Karsh. Festival Karsh includes an exhibition which showcases his equipment and photographic works in a fresh, new light. The exhibition, a collaboration between the Canada Science and Technology Museum and the Portrait Gallery of Canada, a program of Library and Archives Canada, runs from June 12 through September 13, 2009 at the Canada Science and Technology Museum.
Contact (613) 991-3044, Fax: (613) 990-3654
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