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Canadian Museum of Nature

Canadian Museum of Nature

Canadian Museum of Nature
4.5
Speciality MuseumsNatural History MuseumsScience Museums
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Let the wonders of nature inspire you at the Canadian Museum of Nature, housed in a beautiful heritage “castle” just blocks from Parliament Hill in Ottawa! Embark on a captivating exploration of the natural world, featuring dinosaurs, mammals, dazzling minerals, aquatic ecosystems, Canada’s Arctic, live bugs, and so much more! Enjoy hands-on activities for curious minds of all ages. Visit nature.ca to book your visit and learn more!
Duration: 2-3 hours
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  • Carol C
    Sterling Heights, Michigan230 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A Real Educational Experience
    What a great place to explore! 4 levels to visit with so much to see and learn about including Canada Geese, the Earth, Birds, Wolves, Ocean Life, Mammals, Bugs and Fossils. In addition, outside we got to see live owls and a bald eagle. It's a fun experience for adults and kids too.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 5 October 2023
  • nwaynesworld
    2,745 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Museum of Nature
    Very easy to navigate through the building. Well laid out and nicely organized. Plan to spend 2 or 3 hours at the museum. The building has elevators, a cafeteria and washrooms on every floor. Outdoor parking is available. My only complaint is children running around unsupervised.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 8 October 2023
  • Peter W
    2 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent, very educational
    We visited the museum with our Grandchildren (2 and 4year old). We wished that we had scheduled more time since there was so much to see. All in all we thoroughly enjoy our visit. Our only negative point was that we found it annoying to have to pay $12 parking for less than two hours.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 7 February 2024
  • BCNY100
    New York180 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun for kids who can read
    Lovely and manageable museum with many exhibits. Great for kids who can read, a little less fun for those who can’t. The Dino extinction movie is very scary for kids. The owl special exhibit was a big hit
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 15 February 2024
  • Hayley C
    London, Canada18 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great afternoon
    So much to see, be sure you have enough time. Staff were very knowledgeable and friendly. Even though there was some work being done inside, it did not affect our visit at all. Great spot to Spend an afternoon.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled with friends
    Written 27 April 2024
  • Gene R J
    Silver Spring, Maryland10,794 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Three floors of impressive natural exhibits in 2 hours.
    We walked 5 blocks south from our Business Inn this morning to see this museum. After paying $26 for 2 seniors, we took the elevator to the 3rd floor’s Artic Hall. Its taxidermy models of Muskox(largest herbivore on the Arctic tundra), polar bear and narwhal were impressive along with many other mammals and birds including a live tank of colorful cold water marine animals. We descended the stairs to the 2nd floor’s earth hall with an impressive mineral display, then down to the ground floor’s popular dinosaur hall. Clean restrooms were on each floor, a nice cafe and small gift shop.
    Visited July 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 27 July 2024
  • Sophiya N
    Scarborough, Canada24 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great new experience
    Nice new experience, not very interactive nonetheless good to see for first time. We can take a look at everything quickly like in 1 to 2 hours. Different floors with different things to see. I enjoyed the dinosaur exhibition the most with the movie. There was a Cafe within but the food isn't that good and not worth it for the price, we ordered a cheese and pepperoni pizza but it wasn't the best tasting and everything was overpriced.
    Visited July 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 31 July 2024
  • Valise
    82 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Like touching a real iceberg!
    After a 10 year absence this was a flying visit to the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa on a Thursday evening (5-8pm being free). Started at my favourite part - the video of the dinosaur extinction which has had some improvement to the sound and light show part of it. Bring on the lightning! Up to the top floor to see the Arctic exhibit: ecology, culture and 6 slabs of ice, real ice, with images projected onto it, that people could touch. Down to the birds, a temporary exhibit on wolves (which frankly could have been better), the mammal dioramas (which I love but the routing needs to be improved and why are people allowed to eat in galleries), the earth (the globe that showed Pangea and tectonic movements is gone as are the bats in the cavern - I was not the only one looking for them) and then the water.... miss the now gone weather section, much was ecology and climate change the "touching pool". The last we did not do as I think the creatures in the mock Pacific "rock pools" must be traumatised by all these humans invading their space.
    Thank you for visiting us again after 10 years. We have shared your comments with our exhibitions team. Our temporary wolves exhibition has finished. We are very excited to open a new one on Oct. 11, Rewilding: The David Suzuki Foundation Arts Prize, featuring the works of 13 artists whose visionary works intertwine art, nature and biodiversity. Every visitor to our museum will have their favourite sections, but there will naturally be some changes over a decade. We are renewing the entrance to our Mammal Gallery, for example. The weather section in our Water Gallery has been replaced by a current and informative section on the challenges of ocean plastics. The Pacific Discovery Tank, with live tide-pool creatures, is also new. Our trained animal care staff ensure their proper daily care, and our interpreters are sometimes present for educational interaction and gentle (two-finger only) touching of certain species. To ensure the wellbeing of these animals, and of any live animals in the museum, we always have protocols approved in advance by our Animal Care Committee (which includes our staff, as well as two community members and a veterinarian). Regarding the “bats” in the cave in our Earth Gallery, we assure you that they are still there. Admittedly, they’re not easy to spot; part of the fun is trying to find them (tip: look up high). We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.
    Written 17 September 2024
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 23 August 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles2,208 reviews
Excellent
1,312
Very good
680
Average
170
Poor
28
Terrible
18

Kristine Hope
New Jersey142 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022
I visited this past Thursday as part of the free Thursday evenings admission, and really appreciate this program and being able to take part. The tickets were easy to reserve and I appreciated the flexibility to come and go when you wanted within your timeframe. It was easy to check in too, even though my confirmation email wouldn't pull up all the way, I was able to use the PDF ticket number for easy scan-in (and the staff was so helpful and knowledgeable about this!) I'm not sure that I would have visited otherwise -- even though I love animals and nature conservancy, I was solo and not with children, who I think would enjoy this 75% more than I did. A beautiful building, lots to see, just not a super engaging place for solo adults.
Written 26 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

VitorFalleiros
Oakville, Canada11 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Family
Absolutely positive experience. The exhibits are very well planned, it manages to be engaging and educational for all ages. We stayed for 4 hours and only left because we were all getting hungry (cafeteria unfortunately closed due to Covid). I wish I had had more time and could have done it a slower pace to better understand all the information (but well… kids).

The minerals and arctic exhibits were surprisingly enticing and enlightening. Despite being a smaller minerals collection than the ROM in Toronto, the CMN felt much more clear and interesting.
Written 27 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

AnA C.
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022
Our family had an amazing time at this museum. So much to see and a lot of interactive activities for children and adults too! It's hard to miss the 7 metre wide Moon and rotating Earth on display (AMAZING!), the huge whale on display in the water exhibit, dinosaurs, bones, etc... We also really enjoyed the Climate exhibit and it gave us an opportunity to continue our conversations about the Earth and how we take care of it, what the oceans look like what that does to all of the living life in water. We spent about 2.5-3 hours here and there were zero complaints from the kids or adults. The museum is housed in an incredibly beautiful building and the layout is easy and keeps traffic flowing. A must visit!!
Written 25 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Drew G
Ottawa, Canada12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
My friend and I met here for one of our summer bucket list activities (we're exploring museums in Ottawa). We got general tickets. First floor was pretty crowded in the dinosaur exhibit. Second floor got a lot better though (unsure if dinosaur exhibit is just really popular with kids or if we beat the crowd?). The exhibits were really interesting, and had a good mixture of stuff for children and adults. I got to embrace my true nerd side exploring them. We stopped by the gift shop at the end and I got myself a couple rocks and a pin for my collections. A bit expensive, but worth it to support the museum.
Written 16 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sophiya N
Scarborough, Canada24 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2024 • Family
Nice new experience, not very interactive nonetheless good to see for first time. We can take a look at everything quickly like in 1 to 2 hours. Different floors with different things to see. I enjoyed the dinosaur exhibition the most with the movie. There was a Cafe within but the food isn't that good and not worth it for the price, we ordered a cheese and pepperoni pizza but it wasn't the best tasting and everything was overpriced.
Written 31 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

1415SingingSands
Comox Valley, Canada15 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
Beautiful Museum but be prepared it can be very crowded at times. Parking was quite full when we went but managed to get a last minute spot. As a tourist I would not want to try and park on the street, as very busy with traffic there. Lots of children when we went so I imagine if going as adults and wanted a more quiet time, better to wait when kids are back in school. Lots of different exhibits on many floors, from rocks/gems, whales, to the artic to the dinosaur era. Something for everyone. Unfortunately when we went the elevators were down for a bit, so lots of stairs. Hey who needs a Stairmaster machine ha-ha. Paid extra to see the Animals of the Rainforest. Was a bit disappointing as was expecting more of a rain forest experience with lush plants, tropical plant life or birds. Was just an area with some items behind glass exhibits. However was a chance to pet a corn snake. Granddaughter liked the Insect area for the live bugs. Count on at least 2-3 hours and wear some good walking shoes. Small café to eat at but better to pack a lunch or snack & just buy a drink. And they do have an area where you can eat it. Clean museum and clean washrooms. Helpful staff. Added just a few photos as most have family in them and would not want them posted. Lots of photo opportunities, including large bugs, dinosaurs to Mastodon family outside. Some exploratory activities for kids, besides all the running they were doing. A good afternoon all in all.
Written 2 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Professional-Pilgrim
Quebec, Canada1,343 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023
A huge, encyclopedic museum, needing at least 3-4 hours to do it justice. Nice cafeteria and gift shop. The outdoor owl exhibit was excellent, as was the IMAX cinema. However, all the exhibits were excellent, in fact.
Written 4 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lisa D
Toronto, Canada362 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2021 • Couples
The building is gorgeous and the exhibits are laid out very nicely. The Arctic exhibit and the Water Gallery were highlights. They also have a few live owls in an exhibit on their outside patio which are impressive. I typically do not like seeing animals in captivity but these are rescue birds with a variety of issues. My only complaint was the number of children and our visit was on a week day! Not everyone likes being surrounded by children and the decibel level really gets up there. I'm not sure why museums don't have adult-only days or family-friendly days. Aside from that, an excellent museum.
Written 17 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Heather A
British Columbia, Canada295 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022 • Family
We spent almost 3 hours here with our 7 year old grandson. It was not a first visit for any of us, so we focused on the areas we were most interested in. We saw 3 of the 7 sections (Fossils, Earth, & Arctic).

Our grandson was fascinated by the displays of minerals in the Earth section & wanted to know the names of each. We didn’t remember seeing the Arctic display before. We all learned something new there.
Written 27 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jay
Montreal, Canada34 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Friends
It was my first time going to the Canadian Museum of Nature and I don’t know what I was expecting but for me, it was just ok. The day I went there, it was packed with lots of kids and they were very noisy and running around everywhere.

Some of the animal displays were nice but nothing that really got my attention. I had to wait more than 20 minutes to buy tickets so I suggest to buy them in advance.

Overall, this activity wasn’t for me but it’s a great experience for families with children.
Written 14 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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CANADIAN MUSEUM OF NATURE (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos) - Tripadvisor

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