Where Ottawa Magazine Winter Spring 2018 | Page 12

Where / What / When
museums
tHe new Face oF science and tecH
a glimpse into one of ottawa’s favourite museums —
better, bolder, and techier than ever
by joseph mathieu
There’s a lot to love about the
brand new Canada Science and
Technology Museum (CSTM).
Last November, it reopened
on its 50th anniversary, more
immersive, educational, and fun
than ever before. While tradi-
tional museums interpret the
past with a collection of artifacts,
the CSTM has never been a tradi-
tional museum. Since its opening
in 1967, it has prized education
over preservation and its renewal
focuses on interactivity.
kids rule
The next generation of Canadian
inventors and tinkerers now
has an inspiring space called
ZOOOM, the Children’s
Innovation Zone. Kids up to
eight years old make forts and
castles with massive building
blocks, scale an “ultra-sensory”
climbing wall (follow your nose!),
and build cars to race on a testing
ramp. The Zone, one of the larg-
est spaces in the CSTM, allows
inquisitive kids to use their
imaginations and experiment
while learning.
centre Hall
Running down the middle of the
CSTM is Artifact Alley, a col-
lection of over 700 devices and
artifacts in eight themed displays.
Here, guests can take the wheel
of a seafaring ship, use a saw and
chisel to do some woodwork, or
discover what old technologies
have become smartphone apps.
12 where
winter/spring 2018
50 years young