Five ideas for family fun in Ottawa this Thanksgiving weekend

Looking for some family fun this Thanksgiving long weekend in Ottawa? Here’s five ideas! (Edited to add: please note this post was written in October 2009. The last four points still apply, but the Lego exhibit was, alas, in 2009 only.)

1. The Lego exhibit at the Museum of Science and Technology. Free with museum admission, this is a wonderful exhibit in one of Ottawa’s best locations for family entertainment. We checked it out last weekend, and all three boys were thrilled with the hands-on Lego displays, and the amazing exhibits created by master Lego builders. They’ve put out separate tables of Lego for the big kids and Duplo for littler fingers. Even though we’ve got bin upon bin of Lego at home, we still spent the best part of an hour just in this part of the museum alone.

2. The butterfly exhibit at Carleton University. We tried this one year, but I’m just bug-phobic enough that I was uncomfortable with the idea of all those dangly legs and antennae. If you’ve got a higher threshold for insects, though, the kids will love having the chance to see so many beautiful creatures up close and personal.

3. Parc Omega. The fall colours are at their peak this weekend; why not drive the couple of hours out toward Montebello to visit Parc Omega? We visited last year around this time, and the scenery was spectacular. Here’s my post about Parc Omega from last year.

4. Saunders Farm. An Ottawa fall classic! There’s corn mazes, a Discovery Barn, a Barnyard Treehouse, a “haunted hayride” and — for the older kids — the Barn of Terror. We paid $60 for our family of five last year and found it was worth every penny. We might check it out ourselves again on Monday if the weather holds.

5.Take a hike! Let’s face it, the weather might not be ideal right now but the forecast calls for six months of winter, so you might as well get out and enjoy fall while it lasts! Two of our favourites are Mud Lake and Stony Swamp.

What are you doing this holiday weekend?

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