The Canadian Canoe Museum

We recently decided to take advantage of the free admission on Thursday nights at the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario.   We are parked near by with our RV and were wondering what we could do that evening  after we drove for a week-end of camping.

This unique museum can be taking at you own pace and offers an out-of-the-ordinary view of Canada’s history as seen from a canoe. 

This upcoming year as part of our homeschool we will be studying explorers and I thought that visiting this museum would be a great addition to our upcoming learning experience in September.

At the entrance of the museum we could take a some pictures with a setting especially made for the museum.    (Note: I played with a photo app to make it a bit more antique.)

The museum had an interesting search and find sheet for the kids to do while visiting.   My kids had a kick in trying to find everything on the list in order to get a free pin that they could pick and choose at the end.    Some items were easy to find while others not so much – like the red wings on a canoe…  My sweet daughter went to the main desk to ask where it was and we were just next to it.   Here’s a hint if you go visit: they are not bird wings drawn on a canoe…

The kids had a blast at the puppet theater where they were able to play with Canada’s wildlife creatures.  We also sat in a wigwam and enjoyed a fire at the same time.   My daughter dressed up as a voyageur using a Hudson Bay Company capotes.  And we learned quite of bit of the history of canoe, how a canoe is birth and so much more.

In a special section, the kids discovered how the canoes at the museum were taken care of as well as talked with an artisan who was making something special for the museum.

At the end the kids were able to use a training machine to learn to do competitive kayaking.

There is also a section in the museum where the kids can do miniature canoes.  We didn’t do the crafts on site but I grabbed a few of them to make at home.  However, they were fully equipped with scissors and glue for the kids to make them at the museum.  If you can’t visit this museum – no worries because the three hands-on crafts are available to download on their website as well.   Click here to download the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Dugout Canoe, the Sanikiluarmiut Kayak and the Ojibway Bark Canoe.  I strongly suggest that you print it on cardboard so that the craft is more sturdy.

In all, we had a great time walking through the museum and learning more about how canoes are part of our heritage and history.  The Canadian Canoe Museum is worth discovering whether you are homeschooler or not.

The Canadian Canoe Museum is located at 910 Monaghan Road, Peterborough, Ontario.   The museum is open daily except for December 25 and 25, January 1 and 2.  Note that the museum closes at 2:00 pm on December 24th.    Hours of operation are Monday to Wednesday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm,  Thursday from 10:00am to 8:00pm, Friday and Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00pm and Sunday from noon to 5:00pm.    Admissions are 10.50$ for adults, 8.25$ for seniors (65+), 8.25$ for students ages 5-17, kids under 5 are free.   If you have a family (up to 2 adults and 4 children ages 5-17) the price will be 25.00$ 

Exploring Washington, D.C.

Back in May we were debating where we should go on vacation in June.     Being members of some museums in town, we knew that we could visit museums elsewhere in Canada and the US for free.   So with our list of places we could visit, we tried to determine where to go on vacation.   At some point I mentioned to my husband that it would have been fun to go to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. but it wasn’t listed for whatever reason.  He looks at me funny and says “I’m pretty sure that the Smithsonian is free…”  “Say what?”  So we checked on the internet and realized that indeed it was free.   So why in the world haven’t we went to Washington, D.C. before?  No clue whatsoever but we decided right then and there that we would go on vacation to Washington, D.C. this year.

The dates of the said vacation were June 22nd until July 6th.   But we ended up coming back a few days earlier in order to allow my husband to rest before starting work.

June 22nd – Direction Washington, D.C.   Well not exactly since we decided to sleep somewhere in New York state @ the Lighthouse Landing near Marathon before reaching D.C.   Besides our campground was located in Virginia.

June 23rd – We continue our trip direction Virgina to Prince William Forest RV campground which is a national park.  The place is fabulous with paved sites and a pool to refresh ourselves.

June 24th – We drove around the downtown area of Washington – somewhat familiarizing ourselves with the streets there.  Then we went to the National Zoo.  We walked through the Asia section and the bird section.   The only adventure worth telling at this point is the bird who literally defecated on my left shoulder (which splashed on my daughter).   The culprit is the fourth photo below.   Fortunately, a nice lady provided diaper wipes so we can clean up the mess.   However, the flamingos were a surprise because they were nesting and you could see eggs in the nest.  

June 25th – It’s Alexandre’s birthday who is turning thirteen.  What he doesn’t know is that I have secured free tickets to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. 

Here’s Alexandre on his 13th birthday with me.

The entrance of the National Aquarium.

Some of the animals we encountered at the National Aquarium.

We had a great time visiting the National Aquarium.

June 26th – We were close to the National Museum of Marine Corps and we went to visit the place.

June 27th – Big day ahead of us.   Here’s the places we went to visit:  Washington Memorial, World War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Albert Einstein statue, White House, Smithsonian America History Museum and Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

Washington Memorial

That’s the Lincoln Memorial in the back.

The World War II Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Albert Eisntein statue – the kids couldn’t help it and had to stick their tongue! (see picture #2)

We finally reached the White House.

Then we went to visit the Smithsonian American History Museum.

And discovered Julia Child’s kitchen!

We also saw these…. remember when McDonald’s had those containers for their burgers?  I sure do!

We couldn’t resist to take this picture….

Afterwards, we walked to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

Learning about blubber and animals living in the artic (which will be a theme this year at the homeschool coop we are participating).

Jasmine used a microscope.

We went back in time at the time of dinosaurs.

We saw lots of skeletons.

We looked at gems and other previous metals (here you have gold!).

And while walking through the Smithsonian caste we saw it made out of Lego.

June 28th – We stay at the campground in the morning but then we surprised the kids again with tickets to the Medieval Times Baltimore/Washington, D.C.

The food was great, the show was amazing and Jasmine got a flower from the Black & White Knight.

June 29th – National Zoo again to complete our visit which we didn’t have the time to do on the first day.

June 30th – Day off at the campground.

July 1st – We decided to visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and Smithsonian Art Museum.  Funny thing is the previous night we had watched the movie “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian”.

Waiting patiently for the opening of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

We saw the Wright brothers airplace.

Amelia Earhart’s airplane.

Explored the solar system.

Saw a model of the U.S.S. Entreprise.

Looked at the Capitol from the distance.

And went to the Smithsonian Art Musem.

Some of my favourite paintings.

Jasmine preferred the ones with ballerinas in it.

July 2nd – We left the campground at 8am.  Hoping to reach home by 730pm or so.  However, we ended up having a blow out and after changing the tire (which went very well) we were not comfortable to continue the road without a spare tire…. We found a spare tire but the shop didn’t have the time to install it on the rim.  We needed to find a garage.  We stopped at a Toyota dealer where the people there were happy to help us but in the end we lost 3 hours.  So we stopped at Lighthouse Landing near Marathon, NY for one night.

July 3rd – We drove home with a slight detour to Ogdensburg where a package was waiting for me to be picked up.   And we came back home, unpacked the RV and went to drop it off at the storage facility.

Would I recommend bringing your kids in Washington, D.C.?  Absolutely.  Prepare to walk a lot though because the distance in a movie is definitively not the reality!   But there are numerous things to do for free in that city as you can see on the Smithsonian site.  In all there are over 19 museums and zoos to visit for free.   Note that most museums will inspect all the bags coming through at the entrance.  But apart from a slight delay in entering the museums, you will have a blast to discover Washington, D.C.

We are also grateful for the two attractions that offered us free tickets in exchange of a blog post.   The links were provided in the text above.