The inn has been restored pretty well and now houses 12 rooms featuring furnishings, clothing and displays that are reminiscent of the period from the 1780s to the 1940s. A tour through the house takes you back to the Victorian era. The ground floor of the structure includes a parlor, dining room, kitchen and small office. Victorian interiors and furnishings dominate all these spaces. The second floor comprises many rooms featuring displays that depict the shipbuilding and sea faring history of the Annapolis Royal Area and also the lifestyle of its citizens. In addition, the O’Dell House Museum also includes the Annapolis Heritage Society’s Genealogy Centre and its Archives and Collections Centre.

The museum hosts two Victorian events during the year. In mid May, an 1870s style celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday is held and it also marks the opening of the summer visitor’s season, albeit unofficially. In December, the museum plays host to a joyous, old-world Victorian Christmas. Delicious cookies, hot cider and cute decorations form part and parcel of the Christmas event. What’s even more heartwarming is the singing of carols around the 1885 pump-organ.

The museum is open practically all day in summer commencing from May until September. You could stop by anytime between 9 am and 5 pm. During the winter, i.e. between September and May, the museum is open to the public only in the afternoon between 1 pm and 4 pm.

If you look across from the museum, you’ll be able to spot the remnants of the ferry slip during the low tide. The building itself is a vestige of the economic prosperity that the railroad and international shipping brought to the community in the Victorian era. When you take a tour through the house, you’ll be greeted by costumed interpreters who will take you through the history of the place.

You can’t make a whole day trip out of the O’Dell House Museum, but it’s definitely worth a visit if you have a few hours to spare. It’s quite an educational experience because it offers an insight into tidbits of the Victorian past and also the everyday lives of the citizens of Annapolis Royal. There’s plenty of history to get acquainted with and lot’s to explore in the O’Dell House Museum if you have the inclination for it.

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.

The shows at The Planetarium are designed to impart knowledge regarding the universe to their visitors. However, this is not done in a boring or theoretical fashion. In fact, you are encouraged to imagine yourself as brave explorers setting out on a voyage beyond the frontiers of the realm of earth. It’s a journey that will transcend time and take you into outer space, past planets, suns, moons, other astronomical bodies, and even beyond that!

The Planetarium was conceived as a project by the Manitoba Centennial Centre complex in 1961 in celebration of the centennial celebration of both Canada and Manitoba. Thanks to the patronage and financial support of the Saiyde and Samuel Bronfman Foundation, it was possible to finish the construction. It took nearly six years for the project to be completed and the official opening of the Planetarium was on May 15, 1968.

The Planetarium is located in the lower level of The Manitoba Museum and the Zeiss Model Vs Star Projector is its heart and soul. Without this precision opto-mechanical machine it would not be possible to make such a realistic recreation of the night sky, which is the central attraction of the Planetarium. The 154 projectors, working together, create the magic of the sun, moon, planets, 9,000 stars, and the Milky Way. What would cost in excess of $2 million today was bought in 1967 for $125,000 Cdn. However, the Zeiss projector does not work alone and is aided by more than 200 auxiliary projectors that ultimately result in the stunning effects that you see.

These projectors make it possible for you to not only see but also feel all the cosmic phenomenon that you may have only heard about – the rings of Saturn, the volcanoes of Mars, and various other sights that will leave you spellbound. These days, the Planetarium uses the latest technology in computer animation and special effects, which add a whole new dimension to your experience.

In earlier days, the shows of the Planetarium were pre-recorded and ran pretty much like a movie. However, these days, all the shows are delivered live by the astronomer who is also prepared to answer questions you may have.

It is easy to see that a lot of thought has gone into the astronomical and entertainment programs that are conducted here, and that is why the Manitoba Planetarium is a great hit with both adults and children. This is one science lesson that children will not try to wriggle out of or forget in a hurry.

Here, you can see the locations of some the first fur trading posts, see how a beaver hat is made, see an old fashioned soda fountain, and have a picture of yourself taken in the back drop of an old fashioned setting.

There are four areas in the park corresponding to different periods in the history of Edmonton and many of the structures you get to see in the park are originals. The park is operated by interpreters who wear period costumes. You can enjoy free steam engine train rides from the entrance of the park to the Fort and free street car rides, period rides in wagons, stagecoaches, ponies, and buggies.

1846 Fort – Fur Trade Era

The first phase in Edmonton park is the Hudson’s Bay Company fort, which represents the fur trade era. The fort has been rebuilt using a scale plan diagram drawn by Mervin Vavasour, a British Lieutenant. There are several notable features in this section such as the replica of a York Boat and an aboriginal camp just outside the palisade of the fort. This Cree camp represents the indigenous First Nations, who traded in fur and provisions.

1885 Street – The Settlement Era

The1885 street represents the beginning of a town in Edmonton and the development of self-sustaining farms. In this section you can see the establishment of the printing press media and the telegraph and also references to the North-West Rebellion of 1885. Visitors get to see covered wagons, reproduction of the Jasper House Hotel, and the original structure of the McDougall Methodist Church.

1905 Street – The Municipal Era

In this section you get to see instances that verify the economic boom experienced by the Edmonton. However, since it lacked housing facilities for the large influx of newcomers, it lead to the development of the tent city, which is also shown in the park.

Yet another notable display is the house of Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first Premier of Alberta. This house was moved to this location from its current one in south Edmonton.

1920 Street – The Metropolitan Era

This street shows life in Edmonton during the First World War and the times that followed. You get to see a replica of Blatchford Field which was the first ever “Air Harbor” in Canada. Also in this section is The Mellon Farm, which is the only structure that is original to the park site.

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.

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.

A more recent and spectacular addition to the museum was made in June 2007 with the unveiling of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal which has six permanent collection galleries. These include a combination of never-seen-before exhibits and some old classics like dinosaurs. Along with that you get to see the cultures of the American continents, South and Central Asia, Asia-Pacific Region and Africa.

The Royal Ontario Museum is spread over three floors, and every year 67,000 objects related to archeology, sociology, paleontology, genealogy, and geology are added to it. The museum attracts more than a million visitors annually who come away fascinated by the Egyptian mummies, Chinese artifacts, objects related to the ancient world of Greece, Cyprus, reflections of the Bronze Age, and artwork from all around the world.

Among the things to see is the ROM’s Stair of Wonders. As you climb the stairs, you are taken through curiosities that are encased behind glass walls. Some of the curios you are going to come across are a hippo jawbone that weighs 20 kg, stuffed birds of paradise, antique toy soldiers, and fossils. The Nubia Gallery is another area that you can’t afford to miss. It shows remains of a human settlement dating back to 1000-800 BC that was unearthed in Northern Sudan.

Children will be especially taken in by the natural world that has, apart from dinosaurs, a bat cave, and galleried dedicated to mammals and birds. There are galleries where children can learn from hands-on experience, and the CIBC Discovery Gallery has arranged for a dinosaur dig, which is a particular favorite with children. So is the Evolution Gallery that takes you through Darwin’s theories of evolution with the help of an audiovisual presentation.

Other things worth a look are Gallery of Korean Art, the Ming tomb in an intact condition in the Chinese gallery, the Bishop White Gallery of Chinese Temple Art, and the contemporary secret garden that was built in the memory of Elizabeth Samuel.

Even if you hated history as a subject in school and failed it every single year, you will find a trip to the Royal Ontario Museum fascinating. You may not enjoy reading pages and pages on historical facts, but there is something different about walking through history and sampling it with the help of ancient relics.