Meet barnyard animals and learn about farming techniques, home-style cooking and Canada’s proud agricultural history at this inner-city museum.
The Canada Agriculture and Food Museum is a slice of farm life in the city. Learn about a day in the life of a farmer and discover Canada’s agricultural history.
The museum is an interactive tribute to farming culture, biology and technology. Meet resident farm animals such as magnificent Clydesdales horses and the Hereford bull. Visit the pigs, goats, alpacas, sheep and rabbits and watch a dairy herd during their twice-daily milking. The horse-drawn wagon and tractor rides are fun for children.
A Learning Centre has exhibitions and practical workshops. There’s much more than farming history here, with fascinating displays detailing women’s roles in rural Canada to evolving technologies in threshing and harvesting. Discover how to keep bees, use worms in your garden and how to raise rabbits.
Learn about techniques for making bread, butter and ice cream, perfected by Canada’s farming families for many generations. Take home some traditional Canadian homestead recipes such as apple cake, maple syrup dessert bread and pumpkin muffins.
Energy Park is an outdoor exhibition that details Canada’s renewable energy sources and Ottawa’s dedication to becoming a “green city”. Babies and toddlers will love the indoor playground. Enjoy a picnic lunch in the museum’s outdoor areas.
The Canada Agriculture and Food Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday. There is an admission fee, but children under 3 get in for free. The museum is situated close to Dows Lake, just south of the city centre. Come by public transport or drive and park for a fee. There are ample bike racks for cyclists. Food services are not available at the museum except for vending machines, so bring your own picnic lunch.
