Ordinary Folks, Extraordinary Lives - Recommendations from the Ottawa Public Library

Ottawa Public Library is back to share some great books with us. This month, Véro Dupuis from the Sunnyside branch has a list of inspiring biographies in picture book format for you.

Freddie the Flyer / by F. Carmichael, D Metcalfe-Chenail and A. Loreen-Wulf

Meet Freddie Carmichael, the first Indigenous commercial pilot in the Arctic! Fascinated by planes from a young age, he spent decades flying all sorts of people through the Mackenzie Delta in the North West Territories: reindeer herders, biologists, geologists, people needing medical help and even trappers and their whole dog teams. As well as founding several airlines over the years, he trained a whole generation of Indigenous pilots and mechanics. The beautiful paintings in this book will make you want to travel to the beautiful North.

Swimming With Sharks / by Heather Lang and Jordi Solano

Eugenie Clark was never afraid of sharks. As a child, she would frequently visit them at the New York Aquarium and tried to learn everything about them, but she had so many questions which were left unanswered. Later as an adult trying to gain an education as an oceanographer in the 1940s, she had to face rejection both for being a woman and for her Japanese heritage. Yet through her tenacity, she achieved her goals, became a world-renowned scientist dubbed ‘The Shark Lady’, and was still going on dives in her nineties.

Mario and the Hole in the Sky / by Elizabeth Rusch and Teresa Martínez

Many of us remember the Ozone Hole Crisis of the early 90s; for the first time, the general public became aware of human’s negative impact on our planet. This book is the story of Mario Molina, the Mexican American chemist who alerted the world’s scientific community of the dangers of CFCs aerosols and saved the world back from the brink of environmental destruction. The back pages of this book reaffirm the hopeful message of Mario’s story – that history proved that it is possible for people to come together and reverse global catastrophes.

Breaking the Ice / by Angie Bullaro ad C. F. Payne

Being a woman in hockey is tough. Being a woman in hockey who plays with men is tougher. Being a woman playing in the National Hockey League is not tough – it is simply not possible. Except for that one time, back in 1992, when Canadian goaler Manon Rhéaume, 21 years old, was invited to play with the Tampa Bay Lightning… An inspiring story of courage and dedication to read to your young hockey players at home. (Également disponible en français sous le titre ‘Briser la glace’).

A Voice Named Aretha / by K. Russell-Brown and L. Freeman

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. ! No doubt, you’ve heard (and sung!) Aretha Franklin’s song before. Did you know she was the very first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Get to know the story of the shy girl from Detroit who became The Queen of Soul – a hard worker who navigated the pitfalls of show business, a philanthropist who never stopped showing up for her hometown of Detroit, and a stirring performer who brought President Obama to tears!

Good Morning, Sunshine / by L. Schultz Nicholson and A. Carter

Joey Moss might be a local hero in his hometown of Edmonton, but his story deserves to be told across Canada and beyond. Born with Down Syndrome in a family of thirteen, Joey worked for the Edmonton Oilers for 35 years (!), working hard in the equipment room, lifting players’ spirits up in the dressing room with his cheerful personality, and drumming up excitement during games with his enthusiastic rendition of ‘O Canada’ on the jumbotron. He used his fame to help fundraise money for people with disabilities. His sister Pattie summed his life best : “Joey was given love and he gave love back.”

Make the most of your library card and enjoy all these great books at home with your children! If you don’t have a card yet, you can sign up for one here.

Win tickets to see Erth's Dinosaur Zoom Live

If you have kiddos who love dinosaurs then Australia’s ERTH’s Dinosaur Zoo™ is coming to the Meridian Theatre March 21 at 6:30pm!

Get ready to be wowed by a menagerie of insects and dinosaurs that once roamed free around the world.

Be up close and personal with an amazing array of prehistoric creatures, from baby dinos to some of the largest carnivores and herbivores that have ever walked the planet.

ERTH’s dinosaurs are unmistakably ‘alive,’ and mostly friendly, in this fun, educational, and original performance, connecting young audiences to the real science of paleontology.

Audiences learn how to feed and interact with ERTH’s dinosaurs in a once in a lifetime interactive experience. Children can watch wide-eyed from a safe distance or dare to get right up close to these prehistoric creatures. VIP ticket holders also get a chance to get up on stage with the dinosaurs!

Want to win a pass for 4 to the show on March 21st?

Comment below with the name of your favourite dinosaur! (Or just write T-Rex if that’s easier :)

Contest closes March 8th at 10pm

Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) in Ottawa

On New Year's day less than two months ago, hockey changed. The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) held its first ever game. While there have been elite women’s hockey leagues in the past, none have ever garnered this much attention this quick. I decided to witness the beginnings of what appears to be the future of women's hockey by watching a game at TD Place: Ottawa vs Minnesota.

As soon as we arrived at the arena, it was clear that all the hype I had seen on TV was true. Over 8,000 fans filled the sold-out stadium, over half of them women, with many young girls wearing jerseys. I observed that it had the exact same level of energy as an NHL Senators game. 

After the players came out, and both national anthems were sung, the puck dropped to begin the PWHL’s 33rd game ever. Immediately, I was hooked by the action of the game. The crowd cheered as the players maneuvered the puck brilliantly, showing off their talent. While Minnesota started with a goal in the first period, Ottawa struck back in the second period, provoking a joyous eruption in the stadium. Unfortunately, Minnesota scored once more just before the period ended. 

In the final period, Ottawa played fiercely to tie up the game again, to no avail. While the game ended 2-1 in favour of Minnesota, fans still left the stadium with smiles on their faces, satisfied with the fact that a women's hockey game received the attention it deserves and ready to show our southern neighbours who’s the boss in this new section of the sport sometime soon.

If you want to be a part of the first season in the future of women’s hockey and see Ottawa make sports history, click here for tickets.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. He received a complimentary ticket for this post, but all views are his own.

Activities for teens in Ottawa - Axe Throwing at BATL

I have tried a lot of sports since I was young. From shooting hoops in basketball to kicking goals in soccer, I know the satisfying feeling of throwing objects at a target and getting a point. I thought I had tried them all- until I heard about axe throwing. As something I had only seen in action movies, I never realized it was a sport, let alone a common recreational activity. I recently threw axes for the first time at BATL Ottawa.

As soon as we arrived, we met Lynn, our axe throwing coach. You could smell the sawdust that had been propelled from the circular wooden board by previous groups. Lynn taught us the basic rules of safety and beginning technique. This included foot positioning, the basic throwing movement and how to not end up looking like a Halloween decoration. 

While my first two shots bounced erratically off the board, the axe came close to the bullseye on the third try. Once that happened, I was hooked. After a few more tries, and with the guidance from my coach, I quickly got the feel of axe throwing. After that, I was ready to throw independently.

BATL provides papers with multiple different formats of two player games, with more accurate throws gaining more points. Think darts meets H-O-R-S-E. I played a few exciting games against my dad, and then my mom. There's just something so satisfying about swinging a sharp axe firmly into the center of a wooden board, then prying it out victoriously. 

We played a variety of games with the axe throwing, during which time we all improved quickly in our skill. The learning curve is much quicker than I had anticipated. Finally, after around an hour of swinging axes, Lynn brought out an even bigger axe. This was the official size that is used in tournaments. It was definitely a lot heavier, but I still managed to make it connect once or twice. I was very impressed by the people who do this as a sport. All in all, I had a great time axe throwing at BATL.

Next time,  I plan on inviting my friends for an afternoon of axe throwing.  

If you want to burn off a weekend afternoon hurling axes at a wooden board, check out BATL Ottawa. Depending on the package, you can book for groups of 2-24 people for a price as low as $21 per person. Time slots are 1 or 2 hours long. For more detailed information, click here.

David is a fifteen-year-old aspiring adventure and travel writer living in Ottawa.  Skydiving is on his bucket list. David received free passes to try out Axe Throwing but all thoughts are his own.

Activities for teens: Zero Latency VR

Welcome back our teen blogger David who got to experience playing some first-person shooter games in VR at Zero Latency VR recently.

As a 15 year old teen, pretty much everyone I know loves to play video games, particularly first person shooters. From Call of Duty, to Counter-Strike, these games are a staple of modern teenagehood. However, sitting on a couch with a controller in hand can get boring after a while, and eventually there comes a craving for something more immersive. This is why I invited three of my friends to try out Zero Latency VR over the weekend.

We arrived at the VR place and met Milad, the manager who greeted us warmly. We took off our shoes and were shown a quick video about the rules and instructions of the experience. My friends and I were then given headsets (including headphones) and were taken into a spacious room. This gave us the ability to walk freely without crashing into each other. Just in case we did, an alarm would go off when we got too close to another player or a wall. It was now time to start the first game. 

We commenced the experience with Engineerium, a collaborative non-violent game where we had to traverse a floating path and reach the orb of friendship. My friends and I immediately realized how immersive this game was. When a path went up, down or twisted, it would feel as if the floor was on an incline, despite remaining perfectly flat. This led to more than one of us falling down at certain points. After a tumultuous but incredibly entertaining first game, we moved on to the shooter game- Undead Arena.

Between the two games, we were given guns that we would use to shoot at zombies that would come from all directions. As soon as Undead Arena began, I felt as if I had been transported into another world. There was something about moving your body with the game that made it feel more realistic than any Xbox could accomplish. My friends and I spent the next 30 minutes screaming, moving around the room and shooting a lot of zombies. It was one of the most intense half hours I ever experienced. 

Once the game was over, we took off our headsets and had the chance to see some footage from our experience. It turns out that while I thought I looked like Scarface when shooting zombies, I looked a lot sillier on the outside. It was clear that, while in an empty room, my friends and I were 100% immersed in the fight against zombies, a testament to the quality of Zero Latency’s operation. All in all, we had a great time playing one of the most engaging video games we ever had. 
If you want to shoot bad guys in a hyper realistic simulation with your friends, Zero Latency VR offers five unique shooter games plus Engineerium. From zombies in Undead Arena and Outbreak, to criminals in Far Cry, Zero Latency offers an exciting variety of environments and enemies to play in. Maximum capacity per booking is up to 8 people. The recommended age is 13+. The cost starts at approximately $55/person. For more information, click here.

David and his friends received free passes to play at Zero Latency but all thoughts are his own.