The Ottawa Public Library: The Ruth E. Dickinson Branch

by Shawna For those of you that use it, this will be a “no duh” kind of post, but for those of you who haven’t discovered it yet, your library is waiting for you! The Ottawa Public Library is a fantastic resource for parents, no matter what age your kids are!

Almost every Thursday I take my 4 year old daughter to Evening Story Time at our local branch, Ruth E. Dickinson (and pretty soon my son will be old enough to push back his bedtime to allow him to go too).  There, starting at 6:30, they read story books to groups of youngsters - half of which are usually in their adorable pyjamas - for half an hour, and when that's done they do a craft.

The library has regular events for all ages, including Babytime for the youngest set, on up to Homework Club for older kids.  Sprinkled into this mix are special and themed events, as well as some regular features such as conversation groups for various different languages.

Even if there's nothing scheduled, the library is a great place to go on a rainy or cold day to get out of the house and pick through the bins and shelves of brightly-coloured books for some free entertainment for you and your kids. They even have DVDs, and you can reserve most material.

I often like to log on from the comfort of my home computer and browse through the kid movies and books (and maybe some grown-up ones too) and add the ones that pique my interest to my "hold" list.  When it comes in I get an email letting me know that I've got a week to pick it up (which I do when we go to Storytime).  How easy is that?  I can even do this to secure passes to the museums of Nature, Science and Technology, and Civilization, though the waiting list for them is hugely long, so you have to be patient.  And as soon as I've used one of the passes and returned it, I go right back onto that list.

The best part of all this?  It's free!  Free!  Free!  I am always amazed to arrive at Storytime and not find every kid in Barrhaven there!

Shawna is mom to 4 year old Sage and almost-2-year-old Harris.  She has  been writing online since 2003, and her latest project is a fledgling photography blog.  Like many parents, she has a computer stuffed with thousands of pics of her kids.

Bob MacQuarrie pool

by Vicky Here's a little tip for new parents wanting to take their babies swimming, or thinking about signing up for swimming lessons for the first time. The Bob MacQuarrie Recreational Complex (previously known as the Orleans Recreation Centre), has a heated kids pool!

The city offers a Preschool Swim on Wednesdays from 2:00-3:00pm from April 6 to June 27th. Check out the schedule for more public swimming times.

Vicky is mom to a 3.5 year old boy Joel and ten month old girl Mieka. She also blogs at Some kind of Wondermom.

Canadian Museum of Nature

by Brie

One of our favorite places to visit is the Canadian Museum of Nature. We are usually there at least once or twice a week. Part of the reason is that it is just a few blocks from our house. The other reason is that both kids love it.

The Museum is still under construction, with half of the building closed to the public. The grand reopening is scheduled for the end of May, with some exciting new galleries opening, like an earth and water gallery. Is it sad that I am seriously excited about the new exhibits? Until then the kids and I are happy to be amused with the exhibits we have already seen a million times.

When I go to the Museum with both of the kids we always start on the first floor with the dinosaurs, because that is the girl's favorite floor. We walk around and marvel at all the reconstructed dinosaurs while she gives them funny names. I always try to stop and watch the Ankylosaurus death-blow video. That is my favorite.

If I am there alone with my toddler, we start on the fourth floor so that he can play in the bird hospital. Both kids love to pretend to be doctors and help the injured bird. And drive the truck. They like that too.

I am looking forward to when the kids are older and I have a chance to stop and read the information posted throughout the museum. I know I could be learning a lot more than I currently am. But right now I am too busy watching them pretend to be seals about to be eaten by a polar bear (second floor).

After we have made the rounds we all like to stop in the snack room. I'll be honest, some days I think this is everyone's favorite part. In talking with a security guard I learnt that the new cafeteria, part of the current renovation, will have a focus on kid friendly and healthy, organic food. We may be spending a good part of future visits there!

I find the prices at the Museum very reasonable. Until the grand opening, when the prices will be going up, the cost of entrance is $5 or $13 for families. Kids under 3 are free. You can also borrow a Nature Card from some libraries which will give you free membership for a family of five. Or head over on a Saturday morning when entrance is free for all.

We ended up buying an annual family pass for $50 because we visit so often. It is probably the best investment we have made, especially over the winter months when we are desperate to find things to do with the kids inside.

Whatever you decide to do I do suggest you go. And say hi to Boogie the dinosaur from me. He's the one right inside the door. Don't worry, he's friendly.

Brie is the mom of a 3.5 year old daughter "the girl" and eighteen month old son "the boy". You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

The Children's Museum

We are really lucky to live in a city with so many fabulous places to take the kids - indoor and outdoor. There are still many that we want to explore, but there are a few that are tried and true favourites that we make visits to at least once a year.

The Children's Museum over at The History Museum is one of them. We've been going at least once a year since Kiernan turned one. The museum is great because there is so much hands-on stuff for the kids to do, and they can enjoy it at so many ages.

I also love that by going to the same museums over the years, you get to see how much your children have grown in size and development.

Here is a peek at the Children's Museum from Kiernan's perspective over the last 3 years.

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Kiernan and Daddy put on fabulous puppet shows.

Miss Carmelina went to the spa this past year and buffed up a bit it looks like.

Our budding musician. This has always been a highlight of the museum for K.

As the kids get older they have more and more intricate things for them to do and work on. Here the kids were actually embroidering.

These photos give only a small snippet of the stuff to do at the museum. The kids can get dressed up in costumes, serve their parents lunch at the kids' cafe, swab the deck and load and unload freight onto the cargo ship, do arts and crafts and when there are special exhibits there's even more to do. I highly recommend the museum as something fun to do with the kids. And the family pass (2 adults and up to 3 kids) for $30 is a pretty good deal!

Lara is the mom to 3.5 year old Kiernan and 10 month old twins Quinn and Juliette. You can find her at her blog Gliding Through Motherhood.

Canada Agricultural Museum

by Lynn It's the perfect time of year to visit the Canada Agricultural Museum in Ottawa.

The Museum is a working farm featuring cows, sheep, pigs, and horses, as well as a beehive that makes summer appearances. Most kids love seeing the animals, and there are also crafts to create, baking to taste, and a playground to explore.

I love the experimental farm, and I force my kids to visit once a year right around Easter. I have to admit, they usually complain through most of the visit. They like seeing the animals and colouring pictures and running around there, and yet, every thirty seconds they are asking to go home. Don't let my nutty children deter you, though! They also don't like pie, hamburgers, chocolate cake, or merry-go-rounds. So by that reckoning, the Agriculture Museum must be amazing!

We made our annual visit last week and as usual for this time of year, there were plenty of newly arrived baby animals.

We saw this little lamb that had just been born that day. He was still struggling to get up on his shaky legs. SO CUTE.

If we could have taken him home with us, we totally would have - even my jaded little children were entranced. There were several other new lambs, and the baby goats were expected any day soon. One of the sows was resting, gigantic, underneath a heat lamp, so by mid-April there should be some adorable piglets to see, too.

In the cow barn, there were three new calves. They had a book out where you could write down a name suggestion. That alone took up a half hour of our day. Bring your best baby names!

They also had some baby bunnies in an outdoor pen:

In the displays barn you can learn about how honey is made, and taste some squares and breads made with honey or maple syrup - they're baking in there all day long and oh my, the smell is fantastic. There's also a small area in the same building for toddler play, with some chunky animal puzzles, blocks, and farm playsets.

And if you can, try to hang around for the milking in the cow barn at 4 p.m. - it's fascinating and informative, and my kids were quietly attentive. Of course, the occasional sighting of cow pee or poop probably had something to do with it. My kids, ladies and gentlemen!

When we were there, they hadn't opened the big climbing structure yet - they were still working on replacing the sand. It should be good to go for Easter Weekend, however, and although we visit our local park regularly, there's something about the structure at the Farm that leads my kids - MY kids - to say that it's the best ever. In fact, that's usually how I lure them into the car for their Easter trip to the Agriculture Museum - reminding them about the play structure. That plus a good snack makes for a happy trip.

Lastly, if you do decide to go on Easter weekend, it's worth it despite the increased crowds. In addition to the baby lambs, kids, and calves, they usually bring in baby chicks and bunnies that the kids can touch and hold. There's colouring and crafts and an "egg hunt" (very easy for all ages, it's basically a walk through the barn where you can pick up little chocolate eggs in obvious places). It's a nice trip for little ones and adults alike.

The museum is located on the west side of Prince of Wales drive, just north of Baseline. It's open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Lynn is mom to 7-year-old Captain Jelly Belly, 5.5-year-old Gal Smiley, and 2.5-year-old Little Miss Sunshine. She blogs over at Turtlehead.