Enjoy Museum Month in Ontario at One of These Great Museums

M is for May and Museum Month, and boy are we excited! Ontario has some wonderful museums to explore. Too many to name, actually. But we picked nine of our favourites that are definitely worth a road trip across the province. If these museums are too far away to enjoy, virtual museum tours are only a click away.  If you are still searching for options near you, Tripadvisor is also a great site to search for obscure or interesting places closer to home. 

Toronto historical sites and attractions

Calling all History buffs, if you happen to live in Toronto, there is free admission this month and all year-round for 10 historic sites. This includes Colborne Lodge, Fort York National Historic Site, Gibson House Museum, Mackenzie House, Market Gallery, Montgomery’s Inn, Scarborough Museum, Spadina Museum, Todmorden Mills, and Zion Schoolhouse.

For more of our Toronto favourites, check out these three attractions.

Hockey Hall of Fame – With the playoffs in full swing, a lot of us have some avid hockey fans in the house. So don’t miss the Hockey Hall of Fame, where they can see collections dedicated to all the greats! There’s even a 2020 Tampa Bay Championship Ring on exhibit. Did you know it has 557 diamonds and 81 custom cut sapphires in it?

Royal Ontario Museum – The ROM has always been a great museum to visit, and they have some wonderful exhibits on right now, including the 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the year and a feature on Great Whales. Next month, they bring in an exhibition on Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature.

Ontario Science Centre – For the aspiring scientists (even the aspiring mad ones),  the Ontario Science Centre has always been a favourite museum because of how many exhibits are dedicated to being hands-on for kids. Don’t miss the interactive flight exhibition on now! And if you live in the area, consider one of their summer camps.

Must-see national museums in Ottawa

The capital of Canada is a great destination to check out national museums. Fun fact, Ottawa is the home to seven of Canada’s nine national museums. Here are three you will not want to miss:

Canada Aviation and Space Museum – For those who love planes, this museum is not to be missed! Situated on a former airbase, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum has one of the finest collections in the world, including the largest surviving piece of the Avro Arrow and the original Canadarm used on the Endeavour space shuttle.

Canadian Museum of Nature – For animal lovers, the Canadian Museum of Nature is a great, family-friendly place to learn about all the things that fly, swim, and crawl on our planet. There’s also lots of different exhibits to see about minerals and nature.

Bank of Canada Museum – Believe it or not, this is a great place to visit with kids, and it’s super educational if you want to promote financial literacy in your children! From Tripadvisor: Explore fun, hands-on, interactive exhibits that cover everything from how people’s expectations affect the health of an economy to how inflation targeting works. The Museum also features the most complete collection of Canadian coins, notes and tokens in the world

More to explore in Niagara Falls, Hamilton and London:

There is no shortage of places to visit in Ontario. If you happen to live near Niagara Falls, Hamilton or London, here are a few more suggestions to consider.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! (Niagara Falls, Ontario) – It’s a museum collection of some of the most decidedly weird things you might encounter! There’s over 10,000 square feet of oddities to explore, from getting a picture with the world’s tallest man to seeing your favorite celebs in wax, to a Tibetan skull.

The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (Hamilton, Ontario) – The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s mandate is to acquire, document, preserve and maintain a complete collection of aircraft flown by Canadians from WWII onwards. It’s a great, kid-friendly museum with lots of huge planes to look at up close, and on certain days, you can even catch them flying around the area!

London Children's Museum (London, Ontario) – From Tripadvisor: The London Children’s Museum provides children and their grown-ups with extraordinary hands-on learning experiences in a distinctly child-centred environment. And for parents of children with autism, they have special low sensory nights.

Let us know if you have other museums you absolutely love in the comments on Facebook, so others can check them out. Happy Museum Month!