Canada’s capital is the pinnacle of arts and history with museums that will engage everyone in the family
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By Adam Waxman
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Some people lean to the left; some lean to the right. I try to stay centre, because it’s a 1500-foot drop from this open-cockpit biplane circa 1939, and I’m freaking out.
Snoopy sure made it look easy. As we sail through the air, high above Parliament Hill, I turn to look at my son gazing out over Ottawa. He’s calm and amazed. I take a deep breath and quickly relax too. It’s so beautiful up here. We’re in the sky with no roof over our heads. I reach toward a pouch, pull out my cell phone and hold it up to take a selfie, when suddenly through the howling, overpowering wind I hear my son is now the one screaming in panic, “You’re going to drop it!”
Enjoying a picnic by the locks, we quiz each other on Canadian trivia. For example, did you know that the Canadian flag that flies atop the Peace Tower is replaced every weekday, and that any resident of Canada can request a used one for their own household, for free, but the waiting list is over 100 years? (I’ve requested one, but I don’t know if I’ll receive it in time.)
We reach the home of the Governor General, and tour the grandeur inside; the state rooms, each a different colour scheme, where official duties are fulfilled. There is so much history in this residence. This is where the King resides when he visits Canada, and this is where, years ago, my father was invested into the Order of Canada.
The dome of the Haida Gwaii Salon is adorned by one of Canada’s greatest artists, Alex Janvier. His masterpiece, Morning Star, which he completed with his son, is 418 m2 and seven stories up. It draws me and my son in like an optical illusion. For me it’s a colour wheel, a psychedelic flywheel that evokes contemplation of time, seasons, and fluidity directed inwards and outwards simultaneously. We move through space in the museum, exploring and sharing our thoughts on the history of survival and the struggles for social equality, as well as seventy years of Canadian children’s television: From Pepinot to PAW Patrol.
The Planet Ice exhibit shares with us the role that ice has played in Earth’s history, and the Arctic Gallery projects video and images directly onto real slabs of ice. The interactivity allows us to connect to these exhibits viscerally for a deeper understanding of the natural systems, living organisms and our impact on them.
And then there’s the Bug Adventure! We feel like we’re in a scene from Honey I Shrunk the Kids as we make our way through larger-than-life installations of creepy crawlies from insects to arachnids and myriapods. I could not be more creeped-out, while my son excitedly learns about bugs’ superpowers, from their swarm intelligence to their hunting strategies and defence mechanisms.
Canada is home to over 44,100 known species of terrestrial arthropods, but that number only represents half of those yet to be identified. We learn about the important role bugs play in our ecosystems. Two in particular that peak my son’s curiosity are the Japanese Honeybee, which vibrates its wings to create enough heat to literally cook its prey; and the Jewel Wasp, a veritable “Zombie Brain Surgeon” who, while attacking its prey, surgically lays an egg in its brain, so that when the larvae hatches, they will make a meal out of its brain, before chewing their way out. Sound yummy?
Next up is the Butterflies in Flight exhibit in which a tropical paradise of Lepidoptera from Costa Rica and the Philippines colorize the museum’s Solarium. See the world through the eyes of a butterfly through the slow-motion, drone and macro-filming of Butterfly Journey, as it immerses you into the kaleidoscope of blue tigers of Australia and monarchs of North America from metamorphosis to migration.
The facilities contain storage rooms for food, water and supplies to provide for 565 people for one month. As we descend from one floor to the next, four stories underground, we enter government meeting rooms, communication centres, a medical ward and living quarters, and imagine the macabre reality in which this existed. Exhibits share the context and the politics of the time, and the dynamic role Canada played on the world stage. It is a totally unique and profound resource for immersion into Canadian history that enables an understanding impossible to feel from a textbook.
The Bank of Canada museum poses some questions and answers other questions. For example, “What is money?” And, “Why do we need it?” Other sections present scenarios and games that challenge children to manage budgets and balance expenses, with the understanding that each one of us plays a role in the economy. As a parent, I just stood back and let the museum take care of every conversation I’ve been anxious about one day having with my son about financial needs and financial goals.
Hands-on exhibits enable the elucidation of concepts like inflation in a manner that launches the mundane into high-tech immersive and interactive multimedia stations including a simulated rocket flight! By the end of our visit, my ten-year-old son is ready to be chief economic advisor to our household. And, apropos of the economy, admission is always free!