If you have in mind a trip to the city of Ottawa, you should know that this April 22 the doors of the Canadian Museum of nature opens its doors after more than five years of renovations so there will be a series of fun activities.
Following an official opening ceremony in the morning, doors open to the public at noon on May 22, International Biodiversity Day (2010 is the International Year of Biological Diversity) and a Nature Festival with museums from coast to coast It will be held on Saturday and Sunday.
The Museum is affectionately known as "the castle" for its Gothic architectural style with turrets and battlements, and so on Saturday night one of the "castle-warming" parties is featured with live entertainment.
The original name of the Canadian Museum of Nature is the Victoria Memorial Building Museum, in honor of Queen Victoria. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the construction of this historic museum building, there will be a giant anniversary cake and Victorian Tulip part of a royal tea.
Visitors will be in awe of its impressive new Water Gallery and the Earth Gallery. The Water Gallery features a 19-meter (65-foot) skeleton of a blue whale, the largest animal on the planet! At the Earth Gallery, visitors will be able to view more than 800 minerals from the Museum's dazzling world-class collection.
Most of these samples had never been exhibited before. And let's not forget about the other, creepiest specimens… the ones that really move! At Animalium, a mind-blowing variety of insects, arachnids, and slugs are sure to get a reaction!
