The Canadian Museum of Civilization, which is located in Gatineau, Quebec, right across the river from Ottawa, is a well-designed space that gives a picture of Canada's history. The entrance to the museum is impressive. You go down a long escalator into a four-storey hall. The hall features several enormous totem poles. They stretch all the way up to the fourth floor and are carved with the faces of various animals. The first floor offers carvings and artifacts of Canada's indigenous people. The second floor houses the Canadian Postal Museum and the special exhibits. The third floor is the Canada Hall section and the fourth floor has an exhibit called Face to Face.

My favourite parts were Canada Hall on the third floor and the Children's Museum, which is located on the main level, across from the ticket desk. The Hall moves through the history of settlers' Canada from the Vikings right up until the recent past. The interactive exhibits allow you to wander in and out of ships, shops, and houses to experience what life might have been like for settlers at different times in Canada's history. The Children's Museum is fully hands on. The exhibits feature different themes such as Theatre, Clothing Manufacturing, a kids' diner; and exhibits based on other parts of the world such as Mexico and Egypt. The exhibits are amazing. For example, there is a life-sized ship playground, with a captains wheel and pulley system for loading and unloading plush-toy-style stuffed cargo boxes. The Egypt exhibit has a pyramid for the kids to explore, complete with a secret passage way and an Ancient Egyptian-style bed for them to try. The kids are given a passport which they can stamp at each new exhibit. Once they've stamped every page in their passport, they can truly consider themselves world travelers!

If you are visiting Ottawa, and staying downtown, I recommend walking to the museum. The walk, which goes past the National Art Gallery and across the Ottawa River on a metal frame bridge, offers beautiful views of Parliament Hill, the Parliamentary Library, the Rideau Canal locks, and the Ottawa skyline. The walk on the bridge is especially exciting, as you can see the water between the slats of the boardwalk and the bridge rattles and shakes as the cars drive past. The pedestrian walkway is separate from the road so you still feel perfectly safe. It is around 2km from the Rideau Centre, Ottawa's main downtown shopping mall, to the Museum of Civilization.

A visit to the Canadian Museum of Civilization is a great way to spend the day, or even just a few hours, especially if you are travelling with children. The museum has a cafe, and a cafeteria so you won’t go hungry; and a museum shop so you don't have to go home empty handed.