For children, the easiest way to learn anything would be through the medium of an exploration. As they look and interact with the various exhibits in a museum, the mind works at figuring out tiny riddles and assimilating different kinds of information. Knowing this, the St. Catharines Museum in Niagara Falls has made it a mission to make their museum as appealing and innovative as possible for all the guests that pass through their gates, be they kids or adults.

St. Catharines Museum is less than 20 minutes away from Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake. It is located at the Welland Canals Centre at Lock 3 along with the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame & Museum. It is open all round the year and the hours of operation are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The admission prices for adults are $4.25, for seniors $4.00, for students $3.25 and for children $2.50. If you go with your family, you can get a 15% discount and if you require a video presentation you need to shell out $1.00 more per person.

At the museum you will learn about history behind the Four Welland Canals and how a city grew around them. The video presentation, available in French and English, takes you through the past and present of the Welland Canals. In the Community Heritage Gallery there are select stories related to the history of St. Catharines and among the exhibits you will find the 1912 made in St. Catharines REO automobile.  Not to miss is the award-winning, exhibit “Follow the North Star”, which narrates the legacy of the African Canadians living in Niagara and the history of the Underground Railroad.

There is also a snack bar that serves light bites, ice creams, and coffee to revitalize you so that you can continue your journey through the museum. On your way out, pop into the museum’s gift shop “Merritt’s Mercantile” where you can find unique souvenirs, publications, educational items, and children’s gifts for you to take home as a keepsake of your informative and interesting trip to St. Catharine Museum. Not that you would need anything to remind you of the time you spent here. The experience of being here is something you won’t be able to forget in a hurry.

For his participation in the failed Upper Canada rebellion, he earned the wrath of the government. His house was destroyed and he was banished from Upper Canada, and for this reason he fled to New York. He lived with his family in Lockport, New York for eleven years before he could find a way to come back home. While he was in New York, he still owned land in the York County, near Toronto. Since his wife hadn’t been banished, she was safely able to travel between Lockport and York County to collect rent and the profits from the farm.

David Gibson was officially pardoned by the government and came back with his family to York County in 1848. He set about to building himself a house and ended up with this beautiful mansion. Made of red brick, this house is built in the Georgian Revival style and reflects the taste of a prosperous man. The Gibson House is set back from the Yonge Street, which is also referred to as the ‘World’s Longest Street’ today. It seems miles away from noisy traffic and bustling crowds, as a garden park separates it from the main road. For those walking to the Gibson House Museum, you can use this park to gain access to this site.

If you’ve enrolled yourself for one of the tours, you will be conducted around the museum by a costumed guide. The tour usually starts at the kitchen where you get to see an interesting brick oven of the ancient days. The kitchen now acts as a venue for the cookery workshops conducted here. The tour will next move to the family dining room which has an interesting (and original) tall case clock. You can also view the front parlor and the bedrooms upstairs. The most interesting part of the tour is the workroom where one can see the gadgets of the bygone era like the spinning wheel, foot-operated sewing machine, and wool winder. The kids can dress up in period costumes, and play with 19^th century toys in the Discovery Gallery.

Apart from the guided tours the Gibson House Museum arranges for a lot of other activities for children, teenagers and even adults. You can take part in community programs, birthday parties, hearth-cooking classes, summer Camps, Arts and Heritage Workshops, holiday celebrations and many other things here.

So, ladies and gentlemen, if you are in Toronto and in the mood for some shopping, where do you go? The Toronto Eaton Centre, of course. Unarguably, it is the place to be. The Eaton Centre is more than just a shopping centre. To begin with, it is the third largest mall in Canada and it serves as an architectural inspiration to other shopping malls. More than one million customers pass through its doors every day, making it an extremely popular destination for Torontonians and tourists alike.

And for very good reason, too! Under the glass galleria that rises spectacularly over all the shops, one can find all that a shopaholic’s heart can desire and money can buy. One can safely say that shopping at the Eaton Centre is a truly world class experience as there are more than 285 shops, restaurants, and other establishments offering the best possible services to the shoppers. Here, you can find exclusive brands and retail outlets like Hollister, Mango, Bebe Sport, Lululemon Athletica and Pink Paw.

If shopping gets a little too hectic for you, take a breather and walk over to the famous fountain in the Centre’s Court or gaze at Michael Snow, the famous Canadian sculptor’s ‘Flight Stop’, depicting Canadian geese in flight. After shopping, if there’s time to spare, you can visit The Canon and the Elgin and Winter Garden theatres. They are within walking distance of the Toronto Eaton Centre.

Hunger pangs, after shopping? Well, there are several eateries inside the Eaton Centre for you to choose from. But, should you choose to explore outside the shopping mall, Yonge Street, the gastronomic paradise for foodies, is nearby. Street vendors will dish out some scrumptious Canadian street food which you can enjoy while watching buskers and bands perform on the street.
Predictably, parking can be a bit of a problem here, especially during weekends. In order to make it a little more convenient for you, the Toronto Eaton Centre has provided its customers the convenience of pick-up and drop-off facilities, that too right at the front door. The Albert’s Way entrance is the designated bus pick-up/drop off area.

Whatever your reasons may be for going to the Toronto Eaton Centre, be it to admire its architecture, to lighten your wallet or to bask in the urban and cosmopolitan feel of the mall, you will be sure to have a good time.

The Bata Shoe Museum has the distinction of being the largest shoe museum in North America. The museum is located in an award-winning four-storey structure that was designed by architect Raymond Moriyama. There are more than 12,000 artifacts in this museum, and it takes you through 4,500 years of shoe history. Shoes that have graced the wardrobe of celebrities like Elton John, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and Ginger Spice can also be seen in this collection. You even have the shoes of a smuggler who lived in ancient Egypt in 300 BC!

While the process of evolution has made very little changes to our feet, it is remarkable to see how the shoes have changed and evolved through history. There is more diversity than you would think possible for shoes. The Bata Shoe Museum, with the help of its fascinating exhibits takes its visitors through some interesting aspects of human culture.

It not only collects various kinds of shoes from all around the world, but also researches, preserves and interprets them. It has also funded several field trips for the same purpose. Apart from the regular expeditions in Asia and Europe, it has also looked at the circumpolar cultures and regions, where traditions change and evolve at a rapid rate. Some of these regions are Siberia, Greenland, Alaska, and the Canadian Inuit.

There are four galleries in the museum that display curios from ancient Egyptian sandals and Chinese bound foot shoes, to something more modern such as glamorous platforms and stylish stilettos. Of the four exhibitions that are conducted at all points of time, three are time bound and change periodically. Therefore, there is something interesting on display every now and then. There are also lectures, family events, guided tours, and performances that visitors can enquire about.

If you wish to carry back some memorabilia, the Bata Shoe Museum Gift Shop should be checked out on your way out. You can choose from a wide selection of books, trinkets in the shape of shoes, ornaments, T-shirts, jewelery, accessories, key rings, and lots more. A visit to the Bata Shoe Museum is definitely going to change the way you look at those innocent shoes lying in your shoe racks.

This market also acts as a venue for special events such as ‘Woofstock’ – the largest festival organized outdoors for dogs and the ‘Strawberry Social Festival’, which, as the name conveys, features this delicious fruit at the peak of its season. Finally, how can we forget mentioning the Buskerfest, or the Toronto International Street Performers Festival? The market seems to literally come to life with creative entertainers enthralling the audience with their talents.

This market is a veritable heaven for shoppers, and those looking for gourmet food items. As you walk down the market, you will be stunned by the selection available to shoppers. Whatever your heart wishes and money can buy, you can get here. Cheese, chocolate, caviar, baked goods, sea food, meat, juice, dog biscuits, fruit, vegetables, fresh herbs, tofu, dried fruit, plants, specialty coffee and tea….the list of things you’ll find here is probably endless. You will probably stop counting after a while, just like I did!

The North Market is best known for the Saturday Farmers’ Market. This Saturday market is something of a tradition, especially since it has lasted for over 200 years. Producers come from all over South Ontario with all their fresh products which have been grown by them in their own farms. They arrive as early as dawn, and by 7 am the market is already in full swing. If you have come with your kids, you can drop them off at the Children’s Activity Center, which is organized complimentary by the market only on Saturdays. Sundays is famous for the Antique market which attracts close to 100 antique dealers.

If you are in the South Market, pay a visit to the second floor. Here you find the Market Gallery, the official exhibition center where you can see paintings, photographs, artifacts, maps, and fine art auction. These memorabilia tell an interesting story of Toronto and Canada.

If you feel peckish while going through that long shopping list you have got with you, you have to stop for a while to have the famous peameal bacon on a bun, an absolute favorite of all Torontonians. Peameal bacon is lean ham cured with salt and sugar rolled in cornmeal. It just will not do to come away from St. Lawrence Market without trying this signature snack of Toronto.

This zoological park is spread over 710 acres and has over 5,000 animals from about 500 species, making it one of the biggest zoos in the world. The zoo is divided into seven pavilions that are based on tropical distinctions. They are Africa, Malayan Woods, Indian Rhino, Gaur, Indo Malaya, Australasia, and Indo Malaya. In addition to this there are over 40 exhibits of fish – both native and exotic. Visitors to the park can also see polar bears in action as they swim and hunt for fish. Underground view windows give you an insight into the life of seals and other aquatic animals.

Among the highlights of the zoo is the replica of the African Savannas that is spread over 30 acres. The animals loll around in their artificially created habitat complete with rivers, kopje rocks, water holes and an elephant highway.

Yet another attraction is the Splash Island, made to resemble the waterways of Canada. This play area is home to beavers, ducks, and other native Canadian animals. In fact, an underground zoo will show the insides of a beaver’s lodge and give you an idea of how they live. The South American waterfall is also a great favorite with children, and on a hot sultry day, this is the coolest place in the entire zoo. Other award winning exhibits that you just cannot afford to miss are the Great Barrier Reef and the Gorilla Rainforest.

Visitors are allowed to bring a picnic lunch with them, or they can choose from a number of food joints here that serve all kinds of snacks from pastries and pizzas to beer and coolers. If you begin to miss your good old burger, there is a McDonald’s to bail you out.

The size of the zoo makes it virtually impossible for you to cover it all in one day. On special occasions zoomobiles available that will take visitors from one pavilion to another. Children can make use of strollers and wagons that are available on rent. A good strategy would be to get a map for yourself and mark the more interesting exhibit that you’d like to cover in that day. Surely enough, at the end of the day, you are bound to come back asking for some more interaction with the amazing wild life housed here. A trip to the Toronto zoo is a necessary addition to your itinerary.