Canadian Museum of Nature

Housed in the Victoria Memorial Museum Building (VMMB) on the corner of Metcalf and McLeod Streets, the Canadian Museum of Nature (240 McLeod St., 566-4700 or 1-800-263-4433) was built on top of a 140-foot-thick layer of clay. It has been plagued with problems since its inception – most notably, the lack of a firm foundation caused the building to settle almost immediately after construction began (causing many of the labourers to refuse to work in the basement). The building contractors knew of the unsuitability of the location, but the government insisted they continue. Painstakingly built over the course of seven years, the museum was officially opened in 1912. When fire destroyed the original Parliament buildings in 1916, the VMMB was used to convene the House of Commons and Parliament for the five years before the opening of the rebuilt Parliament Buildings.

The VMMB was also the only building to suffer any significant damage during the Ottawa earthquake of 1925, when the arches on all four floors cracked at their apexes, and plaster fell from the ceilings. Considering the years the museum has spent constructing interior structural barriers to keep such an event from shaking the old building apart, staff and visitors should consider themselves lucky the whole structure didn’t fall in on them at the time. Director of Exhibition Services Monty Reid has suggested, with more recent excavation uncovering some bricked-in doorways, that the rumours of tunnels running from the museum’s subbasements heading north (connecting to an unknown and long-forgotten end) might have some basis in fact.

Over the past few years, the museum – with many life-size displays of wild mammals, birds, and dinosaurs (both full-sized skeletons and “fleshed-out” versions) – has embarked on an extensive renewal project that will continue until 2010, with a completely renovated building and new galleries. The best time to visit is on a Tuesday afternoon, when the space is relatively empty of visitors, and you can let smaller children run around. The woolly mammoth outside is always a favourite, or you can check out the upper floors, and see if you can catch a sighting of the ghosts that reputedly haunt the space. Free admission on special days; tour rates are also available, including guided and unguided, with reservations. Winter hours (September 4–April 30) Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Thursdays until 8 p.m. and Mondays closed (with holiday exceptions); summer hours (May 1–September 3) open daily 9 a.m.– 6 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays until 8 p.m. Another part of the Canadian Museum of Nature is the Natural Heritage Building, which houses the museum’s collection, library, and most of its administrative offices (1740 Pink Rd., Gatineau). Although only the library is open to the public, the website includes an online catalogue. It rightly boasts one of the oldest natural history collections in Canada, tracing its beginnings to 1842 with the formation of the Geological Survey of Canada.

With more than 35,000 titles, 2,000 periodical titles, and a rare book collection, the library also includes museum publications, cartographic materials, manuscripts, and much, much more. Open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.– 4:30 p.m. (closed Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays).