When the Boy was just under 2 years old, we took him to the Aviation Museum in Ottawa. You may have read in my other post about the amazing benefits of museum going with toddlers and why it’s worth getting a membership to some here in Ottawa. We visit either the Science and Tech museum or the Agriculture Museum almost monthly.
Last year was the first time any of us visited the Aviation Museum. While we certainly appreciated the history of what we were seeing, we felt it left us wanting more for our son. He was interested in the scale of the huge planes on display, but couldn’t touch hardly anything. And as you know, nothing is better then letting them touch away. We figured that maybe it was better for an older crowd of kids who could read more about each plane etc. Early this year, the museum closed for renovations and was even host to the 2009 Gemini Awards.
Fast forward to today. We took a drive along the Rockcliffe Parkway looking to go for a walk, or find a play park. Instead we found rain. As we drove by the Aviation Museum, wondering what we’d do with a boy who we had promised would be taken somewhere fun, the Boy called out ‘Airplane!’ from the back. We figured that a walk indoors would do so decided to head to the museum.
What a wonderful surprise we got upon seeing the new set up. The layout had always been easy to navigate, spacious for the stroller and wide for a running toddler. But there were new features – the inside of a cockpit for the kids to sit in and pilot, cut outs to take pictures at, more buttons, simulator machines and video games. My husband and I both agreed that now that our son was 2.5 he was able to appreciate it a bit more too. He ran around saying ‘Big Airplane’ and we taught him about propellers and differences between airplanes and helicopters. Overall, it was a delightful time.
Now, if my son was writing this, I am sure he’d want to point out the extra bonus – like the Agriculture Museum, the Aviation Museum has an outdoor park with a few slides, sand box and for the nicer weather tents set up for lunching and snacking outside. By the time we were done in the museum the rain had lifted (replaced with crazy speeds of wind, but still) and we were able to play outside.
A wonderful family afternoon. We’re really happy we have another museum to add to our rotation. We will definitely be back to the improved Aviation Museum to see all the ‘big airplanes’.
