Located in Gatineau, Quebec, across the Ottawa River from Parliament Hill, the Canadian Museum of History is the biggest museum in Canada.
The venue is just five minutes by car from downtown Ottawa, on the west side of the Alexandra Bridge. It’s a most interesting place and home to millions of artifacts.
The Museum of History
While technically not in Ottawa, the Museum of History sits across from Canada’s Parliament Buildings, on the other side of the Ottawa River. It’s the most popular museum in Canada, attracting over 1.2-million guests annually. It contains over six acres of displays, two large theatres and a number of online exhibits that only add to the amount of things that can be explored in the huge number of collections.
The museum’s address is 100 Laurier Street. It’s in Gatineau, just on the other side of the Alexandra Bridge from downtown Ottawa.
Tickets and Hours
The museum is open seven days a week until September 2nd in 2024. Its hours of operation are Monday , Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. On Thursday, the museum is open from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm.
The cost of general admission tickets as of August, 2024 is as follows:
- Adults (ages 18 to 64): $23
- Seniors (ages 65+): $21
- Students (ages 13 to 17 and 18+ with ID): $18
- Children (2 to 12): $16
- Family (between three and six members of which two must be adults): $60
- Infants (under 2 years of age), members and volunteers: free
Also, all admission is free on Thursdays from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. You just have to book a ticket for that time period in advance.
Annual memberships are also available. As of August, 2024, the cost is $65 for adults and $45 for students (13 to 17, 18+ with ID). Family passes (which count for up to two adults and four kids under age 18) are available for $125. National passes (which count for people who live more than 100 kilometres away from the museum; must present proof of residency) are available for $55.
These memberships not only give access to the Museum of History, but also to the Canadian War Museum. The two museums are both operated by the Canadian Museum of History Crown Corporation.
Along with entry, members receive discounts on tickets for additional guests, for parking and in the Gift Shop. As well, they can access previews of new exhibitions, guided tours from various experts and other special events and activities.
To book your visit to the museum through Tiqets.com click Canadian Museum of History Tickets. Tiqets.com is one of the world’s largest and most trusted online ticket sellers for museums and attractions.
Exhibitions at the Museum
From now until January 19th, 2025, the feature exhibition at the Museum of History is First Royals of Europe. This exhibition focuses on royal power in ancient southeastern Europe.
There are a number of permanent exhibitions at the museum, the biggest of which is the Canadian History Hall. Divided into three separate galleries, this hall covers the history of what is now Canada beginning with the creation stories of Indigenous communities from across the country and going all the way up to our modern-day cities.
If you’re not able to visit the museum, you can take a virtual tour of the Canadian History Hall. It’s not the same experience, but it allows you to have a look inside of the building and at the different galleries. To do so, visit the Museum of History website.
Two other big permanent exhibitions (though ones without virtual tours) are the Grand Hall and the First Peoples Hall. Both of them showcase history and works from indigenous peoples in Canada.
The Grand Hall contains the largest indoor collection of totem poles in the world and focuses on the First Nations communities on Canada’s West Coast. The First Peoples Hall covers communities from across the country both pre- and post-European contact. Both exhibitions are very large, with thousands of items on display.
The Grand Hall
Online Exhibitions
As if there wasn’t already a lot on display at the Museum of History, there are around 100 exhibitions that can be viewed for free online. These range from the history of health care in Canada to a collection of ornate furniture and other decorations to information about Ancient Greece.
As it’s all free and easily accessible from the comfort of your own home, you can be anywhere in the world and still be able to explore the Museum of History. And with so much to see, a lot of leisure time can be spent going through the wide variety of online exhibitions.
To explore all that is on offer online, visit the Museum of History website.
The Museum’s Theatres
The Museum of History contains two theatres. One is just known as “The Theatre” and can seat up to 500 people. With a centre stage and ringed seating all around, it can be used for all sorts of performances. The Theatre can also be rented out for private use at a cost of about $2,500.
As well, there is the CINÉ which has two different massive screens for movies. One is a huge dome and the other is 3D capable. When the museum is running at proper capacity there are screenings of various movies during operating hours (with a capacity of just under 300 people). Like The Theatre, the CINÉ can be privately rented for about $2,500 for the day, or $1,800 an hour for a film screening.
Exhibit Room with Multimedia Displays
The Story Behind the Museum
The roots of the museum go all the way back to the 19th century, when the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) opened a Geological Museum in Montreal in the mid-1850s. In 1881 this museum was moved to Ottawa and later became part of the GSC’s Department of Mines.
In the 1920s the museum within the Department of Mines was officially named the National Museum of Canada and it greatly expanded over the following decades. This led to a divide in 1968 when there were three separate branches within the same building: the Museum of Man; the National Museum of Natural Sciences; and the National Museum of Science and Technology.
In the 1980s the Museum of Man moved to its own building in its current location in Gatineau. This was accompanied by a re-branding from the Museum of Man to the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The opening of this new museum was expensive (at over $300 million including the cost of the move, expansion and rebrand), but it became a massive and hugely popular attraction.
The museum was renamed again in 2013, changing to its current name: the Canadian Museum of History. This was part of a campaign to focus more on Canadian history and less on general world history, although there are still exhibits with non-Canadian displays.
Other Information
For more information visit the Canadian Museum of History website.
Other articles that might be of interest include the following: