Welcome to the Children's Museum and Bob the Builder!

I have a secret to tell you. I've lived in Ottawa for 8 years now, and (until the other week) I'd never been to the Children's Museum at the Canadian Museum of History. I KNOW, right!? How could I have neglected this gem?

I finally got a chance to check it out with my 5 year-old the other week - the Canadian Museum of History is our new sponsor on the blog, and I was lucky enough to score passes to the Bob the Builder exhibit that's on now until March 22, 2015.

My oldest has always loved Bob the Builder. Her Daddy is an excellent handyman, and she joins him in his workshop, pounding away on wood with a hammer or helping him with his projects. So her and her little friend we brought with us were SO excited when Bob the Builder himself made an appearance when we arrived!

Some of the other Bob the Builder characters were there, and the kids had a great time climbing in and "driving."

Probably the coolest part of the exhibit was this ball machine - kids could grab big buckets of balls, and a machine would suck them up through a tube. It was the busiest toy :)

As we explored the rest of the Children's museum, the kids completed an activity - finding Bob's "lost" tools. If you find them all, there's a little prize (stickers) at the end (most younger kids will need Mom or Dad's help with finding these tools!)

Although Bob was the highlight, I was SO impressed with the rest of the museum. My daughter spent a lot of time playing pretend in the post office, using the crane to move shipments on a boat, and "shopping" in the bazaar. It's definitely one of the most interactive museums in Ottawa!

After the whole afternoon, my only thought was, "why did we wait so long!?" Can't wait to go back!

Something Good

by Amy I am a huge fan of books and words and making learning fun, so when I heard about the Much More Munsch exhibit at the Children's Museum I was kind of excited.

And when I say kind of excited, I was very excited and I figured there was a chance I would have more fun than the kid.

It so happened that my husband and I were on vacation for the week of Thanksgiving and we had planned a Boughner Family Extravaganza. We had already taken a trip to Saunders Farm, visited the Museum of Science and Technology, and we were at a lost for what Friday would hold. A newsletter hit my inbox telling me about the Munsch exhibit and a plan was made.I love Robert Munsch, I love his stories, I love hearing him read them, and I have tried to introduce them into my daughter's life. (I believe The Paperbag Princess has taught a great lesson to girls of my generation).

The Munsch exhibit is inside the Children's Museum at the Museum of Civilization, so for one admission you can tour both. I was young enough to visit the Children's Museum when it opened so I have fond memories and was excited to take my kid for a visit. There is quite a bit to see, traveling around the world and playing all sorts of different games. When entering the Children's Museum they give you a passport that you can stamp at all the different places you can visit. We went through Japan, Egypt and India to name a few, then we travelled through Canada a bit before finding the Munsch exhibit.

The exhibit is supposed to be set up like Robert Munsch's house, so you walk into this room and there's a brick wall with words written on every brick so you can 'build a story' - once you put on your hard hat, of course. Inside there are stairs that stomp and clomp like Mortimer's (a story my mother used to tell me was about me), and different characters behind different doors in the hallway and kitchen.

My favourite part of the house was the velcro wall on one side with velcro letters that you use to create your own onomatopoeias like Robert Munsch does in all his stories. Since Onomatopoeia is one of my favourite words, I was excited that kids are learning about these words that are sounds.

I was a bit disappointed that the Much More Munsch exhibit wasn't bigger, but the kids that were there all seemed engaged, and many of them were sitting at a table near the house writing letters to Munsch. There was a mailbox set up next to the table to get letters straight to him. Combined with the rest of the Children's Museum there was plenty of activity to keep my kid interested for quite a while.

The Much More Munsch Exhibit is on at the Children's Museum inside the Museum of Civilization until April 9, 2012.

Amy is mom to 20 month old Maggie and a 5 year old schnauzer named Henry. You can read her blog at amyboughner.ca where she writes about motherhood and anything else that’s on her mind. She also shares a blog with her husband at boughner.ca where they talk together about parenting a daughter.

Baby H and The Children's Museum

by Natasha

My husband and I recently took Baby H to The Children’s Museum for the first time.  It was quite a colourful affair.  There was many different exhibits and activities for the children to learn from and explore. Baby H is too young to grasp everything, he’s also not walking yet so the experience is a little different to him than it would be to a more mobile toddler.

There are approximately thirty exhibits showcasing different countries and bits of their cultural representations. Upon entering the Children’s Museum, we were given a passport that gets stamped once we enter each country on site.

We started our journey in India, where Baby H and his dad boarded a bus and pretended to drive off into the sunset.  Baby H was fascinated by all of the flashing lights and colors.

After India we proceeded to the marketplace housing vendors from different countries.  Baby H played with Swiss cheese, then moved onto Dutch clogs and Chinese fruit and veggies. We even made it to Egypt for a camel ride and a short stop at the pyramids.

Each country’s exhibit was set up to better display the cultural and traditional elements, with a small area for children to participate in local arts and crafts. Once again, our little boy was too young to participate - but the children that were in the area seemed to really enjoy themselves.

With the great number of activities and spots to visit in the museum, I would suggest that trips be planned for no less than a whole afternoon just so you can get the most out of your outing.

If you go for a full day, there is a cafeteria in the basement of the museum where you can purchase snacks and sandwiches. They also have a patio with beautiful view of Parliament Buildings and the Ottawa River.

We will definitely be back to the museum.

Natasha is a new mommy to her first born, Baby H. She runs ShopHaven, a blog that reviews products and profiles local businesses and individuals from the Ottawa area. Natasha is also the creative force behind ShopHaven Baskets; a highly customized gift baskets service.