Mohit's parents live just outside of Toronto, and we usually visit with the kids 3 times per year. Our kids are early risers (much to their dad's dismay), and are bouncing off the walls by 8 a.m., when everyone else in the house still wants to sleep in. Our usual routine is to hit the road to explore some local kid-friendly activity for the early part of the day, returning early afternoon for some quality grandparent time.
The Ontario Science Centre hadn't really been on our radar until this year, now that our kids are 6.5 and 3.5, and we're out of the toddler stage (yes, 3.5 is feeling like a "big kid" these days!). We had been trying to save it for our annual December visit, since it's an indoor activity. But after several 90 degrees + days during our Labor Day weekend visit, we were desperate for some air-conditioned diversion. We were surprised how much we LOVED the Science Centre and have already decided that we want to go back again in December, only 3 months from now. We arrived 10 minutes before opening, stayed for 5.5 hrs of hands-on, action packed fun, and had to physically remove our kids under much protest...and we still didn't see it all. SUCH a great destination for the 8 and under set! (and to top it off, our admission was free thanks to our reciprocal membership at the Boston Museum of Science!).
So many things for our active kids to try: a seismograph to jump in front of and watch the needle record your "thumps", a Rube-Goldberg-esque machine for the kids to drop balls into, a tabletop smoking with fog where our 6-year-old played with lasers and mirrors. A stack blowing air where our son loved playing with a floating beach ball, tricky concave and convex mirrors that made our 3-year old giggle, sound rooms with musical experiments. A rock-climbing wall with a big soft mat that was a huge hit for rolling and tumbling.
A fog tornado to run through. A rain forest room with a rope bridge. A wind tunnel where the kids spent the better part of an hour gathering paper scraps which they stuffed at the base and watched blow out the top and rain down all across the room. Race tracks to experiment with friction, a paper airplane target, and a craft station where kids assembled fashion accessories with hot glue guns and scissors. A massive wall of glass tubes filled with bubbles released in the shape of your portrait (yes, really!). An outdoor play area with stick forts and a log slide. In the 8-and-under "KidSpark" area, awesome water play tables, a hot air balloon, 3-D anatomy puzzles.
Since our admission was free, we "splurged" on Omni theater tickets to see "Oceans: Our Blue Planet". Mohit and I enjoyed it, but our kids could definitely have passed on it: Our 3-year-old thought the dramatic music was too loud and scary and climbed into my lap, and our 6-year-old, prone to motion sickness, felt dizzy and had to close his eyes.
Parking is reasonable ($10 for the day), there's a Tim Horton's in the lobby and a specialty coffee counter ("Maker Bean Cafe") also near the start of your tour, so parents can start off the day properly caffeinated. We enjoyed lunch outdoors at the Terrace Grill- a simple menu of hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken sandwiches, but the burgers were made to order and juicy with a great add-you-own topping bar, and with a variety of sides like mac-n-cheese (appreciated by our youngest) and curried chickpea salad.
We can't wait to visit again later this year and see what else we missed (and try our favorite exhibits again!). A definite must-do with kids in Toronto.
The Ontario Science Centre hadn't really been on our radar until this year, now that our kids are 6.5 and 3.5, and we're out of the toddler stage (yes, 3.5 is feeling like a "big kid" these days!). We had been trying to save it for our annual December visit, since it's an indoor activity. But after several 90 degrees + days during our Labor Day weekend visit, we were desperate for some air-conditioned diversion. We were surprised how much we LOVED the Science Centre and have already decided that we want to go back again in December, only 3 months from now. We arrived 10 minutes before opening, stayed for 5.5 hrs of hands-on, action packed fun, and had to physically remove our kids under much protest...and we still didn't see it all. SUCH a great destination for the 8 and under set! (and to top it off, our admission was free thanks to our reciprocal membership at the Boston Museum of Science!).
So many things for our active kids to try: a seismograph to jump in front of and watch the needle record your "thumps", a Rube-Goldberg-esque machine for the kids to drop balls into, a tabletop smoking with fog where our 6-year-old played with lasers and mirrors. A stack blowing air where our son loved playing with a floating beach ball, tricky concave and convex mirrors that made our 3-year old giggle, sound rooms with musical experiments. A rock-climbing wall with a big soft mat that was a huge hit for rolling and tumbling.
A fog tornado to run through. A rain forest room with a rope bridge. A wind tunnel where the kids spent the better part of an hour gathering paper scraps which they stuffed at the base and watched blow out the top and rain down all across the room. Race tracks to experiment with friction, a paper airplane target, and a craft station where kids assembled fashion accessories with hot glue guns and scissors. A massive wall of glass tubes filled with bubbles released in the shape of your portrait (yes, really!). An outdoor play area with stick forts and a log slide. In the 8-and-under "KidSpark" area, awesome water play tables, a hot air balloon, 3-D anatomy puzzles.
Parking is reasonable ($10 for the day), there's a Tim Horton's in the lobby and a specialty coffee counter ("Maker Bean Cafe") also near the start of your tour, so parents can start off the day properly caffeinated. We enjoyed lunch outdoors at the Terrace Grill- a simple menu of hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled chicken sandwiches, but the burgers were made to order and juicy with a great add-you-own topping bar, and with a variety of sides like mac-n-cheese (appreciated by our youngest) and curried chickpea salad.
We can't wait to visit again later this year and see what else we missed (and try our favorite exhibits again!). A definite must-do with kids in Toronto.
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