{"id":6324,"date":"2011-11-18T10:17:25","date_gmt":"2011-11-18T15:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/?p=6324"},"modified":"2011-11-18T12:54:49","modified_gmt":"2011-11-18T17:54:49","slug":"seven-days-of-free-family-fun-in-ottawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/2011\/11\/18\/seven-days-of-free-family-fun-in-ottawa\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven days of free family fun in Ottawa!"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>his week, CBC Ottawa has been doing a series on savvy spenders, featuring ways to save on your groceries <\/a>and on your clothing budget<\/a>. And today, they’ll be airing a segment on free activities for families in Ottawa — featuring me and the whole family! It’s been about three years since I wrote what was to become one of my most popular posts: 40 (mostly) free family fun ideas<\/a>, the post that caught CBC’s eye. I’ve updated it a few times, but I thought it would suit the theme of the CBC segment to repackage it as the story was originally pitched: seven ideas for seven days of free family fun in Ottawa. <\/p>\n

Day 1: Be a tourist in your own town<\/strong><\/p>\n

When’s the last time you went up the Peace Tower? Walked around the paths between the Ottawa river and Parliament Hill? Said hello to the feral cat colony near the West Block? Visited Maman the Spider? (And now there’s a brand new Haida totem pole right across the street from Maman.) Not too long now and you can bring your skates for a trip down our very own UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Rideau Canal.<\/p>\n

\"298:365<\/a><\/p>\n

Day 2: Visit the RCMP Stables<\/strong><\/p>\n

We still haven’t gotten around to this one, but it’s definitely on my list! At the RCMP Stables and Musical Ride Centre<\/a>, you can meet the majestic horses and be charmed by their beauty and friendly temperaments, tour the stables where the training begins, stop by the Riding School, visit the farrier station and see the stately carriages used in royal escorts of Her Majesty the Queen. <\/p>\n

Day 3: Enjoy free City of Ottawa programs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Did you know the city of Ottawa offers 247 (!) free outdoor skating rinks<\/a> — or at least they will if this absurdly warm fall ever gives way to winter. And there are dozens of free splash pads and wading pools for free family fun in the summertime. <\/p>\n

Day 4: Find freebies galore at the Ottawa Public Library<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everybody knows you can get books for free at the library, and most people know you can now borrow music on CD and movies on DVD. But did you know you can also borrow Wii, Playstation and Xbox games? After all those video games, you might also want to borrow a pedometer<\/a>! Or how about museum passes for family admission to the National Gallery<\/a>, Museum of Science and Technology<\/a> or the Museum of Nature<\/a> or even a three-in-one<\/a> pass for the War Museum, the Museum of Civilization and the Canadian Children’s Museum? And that’s not even mentioning all the cool stuff you can download <\/a>for your handheld devices! Phew!<\/p>\n

Day 5: Go for a nature walk<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ottawa is criss-crossed and surrounded by gorgeous open spaces with easy walking paths perfect for families and even easily negotiated with strollers. Stop at the Bulk Barn and invest 35 cents for a big bag of bird seed, then head out to Mer Bleu Bog in the east, Hog’s Back trail in the middle of town, the Stony Swamp in the west and spend some time feeding the chickadees. Simply put a little seed in your hand and the chickadees will land on your fingers to feed — I’ve yet to meet a kid or adult who wasn’t charmed by this one!<\/p>\n

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Day 6: Take advantage of free museum days<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starting in December through the winter months, the animal barns at the Agriculture Museum<\/a> (aka the Experimental Farm) are open on a pay-what-you-can basis. And the fabulous Children’s Museum<\/a> at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the National Gallery<\/a> are both free on Thursdays after 5 pm.<\/p>\n

Day 7: Visit free local attractions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Did you know that Watson’s Mill<\/a> in Manotick is haunted <\/a>by the bride of the first owner, killed tragically just days after the Mill opened in 1851? Or that there is a free Currency Museum<\/a> in the heart of downtown Ottawa? Other free local attractions include the Nepean Museum<\/a>, Pinhey’s Point<\/a> (admission by donation), the Goulbourn Museum<\/a>, the Osgoode Township Historical Society and Museum<\/a>, and Vanier’s Museopark<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Isn’t that amazing? So entertaining the family doesn’t have to break the bank! If you’re looking for more ideas for free or inexpensive family fun in Ottawa, try these posts<\/a> for some ideas. And please do feel free to share your ideas for frugal family fun in Ottawa in the comment box!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week, CBC Ottawa has been doing a series on savvy spenders, featuring ways to save on your groceries and on your clothing budget. And today, they’ll be airing a segment on free activities for families in Ottawa — featuring me and the whole family! It’s been about three years since I wrote what was … Continue reading “Seven days of free family fun in Ottawa!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,73,33,99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-my-15-minutes","category-ottawa-family-fun","category-ottawas-hidden-treasures","category-postcards-from-manotick"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6324"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6334,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6324\/revisions\/6334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danigirl.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}