Canada Science and Technology Museum

Trains, push buttons, a toddler room and the «crazy» kitchen.
On vacation, we decided to visit this museum for our little toddler after pleasantly finding out that our membership from our local science museum entitled us to free admission here as well.[1] In all, it’s a small but «open“[2] concept museum with a cafeteria and several interactive zones. Depending on the age of your child (inner or actual), some exhibits may or may not be age appropriate. [3,4]
Due to our toddler’s affinity to trains, we were disappointed to learn that the train rides only occur on Wed and Sat. However, we were pleased to find an expansive room full of locomotives on permanent display which evoked tons of «wows» from him. IMHO, the space exhibit was a bit dated with CRT screens and scale models. Our young son was too busy trying to push the screens thinking they were touch screens! ;-) But there seemed to be enough here to keep his attention occupied (i.e., those red push buttons). Truthfully, this museum may be a bit too old for toddlers and might be better suited for an elementary school aged child as evidenced by the bus loads of kids (i.e., day camp) we ran into on a Thursday late morning. Many of them seemed to enjoy the more interactive Connexions exhibit. The crazy kitchen with it’s equilibrium challenging course was more nostalgic for my wife and evoked a short, but crazy fun house experience for us non-​Ottawans. Next to the «crazy» kitchen, we spent a majority of the time in the playroom which does sport a decent train table with limited Thomas trains, some lego blocks, a play kitchen, and other assorted toddler-​ish activities.
It’s unfortunate we didn’t get a chance to ride the train, but this museum does pack a punch for those with limited time. While we didn’t partake in any of the scheduled activities, they seem to sport quite a few. Overall, for toddlers I think there are better places and this museum is better suited for older kids. Still, 4 solid stars for the membership reciprocity, play area and locomotive hall as well as 2 hours of distractions for our son. Oh yeah, free wifi too. ;-)
[1] Membership reciprocity is available for participating Association of Science and Technology Center museums/​centers
[2] Mostly in the «back» section, but everything for the most part connects through meandering sections that you can walk to/​fro without too much problem.
[3] A «sex» exhibit for older kids was on display.
[4] The play area in back near the «crazy» kitchen and the Connexions exhibit were both recommended by the museum staff person.