After my hometown of Ottawa, my favourite Canadian city is Montreal. Its combination of modern diversity, tall buildings, and rich history makes it one of my favourite places. This March break, I took a two-day trip to Montreal. We arrived at the Residence Inn by Marriott Montreal Downtown, our go-to hotel in the city, on a sunny Friday afternoon. Located in the heart of Montreal on Peel Street, this hotel is the perfect starting point for any journey through the town. We made our way up to our hotel room, which offered a view of the buildings from the 20th floor straight out of an 80s Wall St ..read more

Amid politeness, moose, and Ryan Reynolds, Canadians are known for one thing more than anything- maple syrup. While this sugary sap is available in our grocery stores year-round, March-April is the season when it is extracted to accompany the most decadent of meals. This past March Break, I decided to indulge my cravings in the most Canadian way possible- by traveling to Gatineau and visiting the Sugar Shack at Domaine l’Ange Gardien. We arrived at the wooden sugar shack and immediately saw many families walking in; this is after all a favorite family friendly weekend outing. Inside, there was ..read more

As frequent readers of the blog may know, I am someone who greatly enjoys outdoor tourism. From ziplining, to kayaking, I feel like there are few things I have yet to check off my bucket list. Something I hadn't done before this weekend is spelunking, more commonly known as cave exploration. Luckily,I was able to not only ride a zipline for this weekend’s excursion at Arbraska Lafleche, I also visited my first cave- and because it's hibernation season, I wasn’t alone in it. Upon our arrival, we were warmly greeted by the staff of Arbraska Lafleche. We met our guide, who gave us our helmets, r ..read more

Ottawa Public Library is back to share some great books with us. This month, Véro Dupuis from the Sunnyside branch has a list of inspiring biographies in picture book format for you.   Freddie the Flyer / by F. Carmichael, D Metcalfe-Chenail and A. Loreen-Wulf Meet Freddie Carmichael, the first Indigenous commercial pilot in the Arctic! Fascinated by planes from a young age, he spent decades flying all sorts of people through the Mackenzie Delta in the North West Territories: reindeer herders, biologists, geologists, people needing medical help and even trappers and their whole dog teams ..read more

If you have kiddos who love dinosaurs then Australia’s ERTH’s Dinosaur Zoo™ is coming to the Meridian Theatre March 21 at 6:30pm! Get ready to be wowed by a menagerie of insects and dinosaurs that once roamed free around the world. Be up close and personal with an amazing array of prehistoric creatures, from baby dinos to some of the largest carnivores and herbivores that have ever walked the planet. ERTH’s dinosaurs are unmistakably ‘alive,’ and mostly friendly, in this fun, educational, and original performance, connecting young audiences to the real science of paleontology. Audiences learn ..read more

On New Year's day less than two months ago, hockey changed. The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) held its first ever game. While there have been elite women’s hockey leagues in the past, none have ever garnered this much attention this quick. I decided to witness the beginnings of what appears to be the future of women's hockey by watching a game at TD Place: Ottawa vs Minnesota. As soon as we arrived at the arena, it was clear that all the hype I had seen on TV was true. Over 8,000 fans filled the sold-out stadium, over half of them women, with many young girls wearing jerseys. I ob ..read more

I have tried a lot of sports since I was young. From shooting hoops in basketball to kicking goals in soccer, I know the satisfying feeling of throwing objects at a target and getting a point. I thought I had tried them all- until I heard about axe throwing. As something I had only seen in action movies, I never realized it was a sport, let alone a common recreational activity. I recently threw axes for the first time at BATL Ottawa. As soon as we arrived, we met Lynn, our axe throwing coach. You could smell the sawdust that had been propelled from the circular wooden board by previous groups ..read more

Welcome back our teen blogger David, as he visits Maple Hill Urban Farm and takes a walk with April the Alpaca David walking down a path with two alpacas I have always considered alpacas the most underrated domesticated animals. They are very friendly and docile creatures, perfectly suitable for young children and families. I find them to be smart enough that you can get meaningful interaction with them like a dog, and with fur that is great for petting, like a sheep. When I heard of a place in the NCC greenbelt that offered tours where you can walk an alpaca, I was all for it. We arrived at ..read more

We are big fans of reading here at Kids in the Capital, so when NP Thompson, local Ottawa author of River of Crows and Mirror of Wolves, reached out to us, we knew we wanted to have one of our young readers review these books! Annabelle is a local 12-year old who took the time to read both these novels and share her thoughts with us about them. River of Crows This book follows the adventures of Ty Baxter, a 12-year boy who lives in Newhaven. He used to have a pretty normal life, but after teaming up with the new girl in school to help an injured bird, he finds himself in a whole other world ..read more

Ottawa Public Library (OPL) is back to share some silly and strange picture books. This month’s post is by Luna Vo, Children’s Programming and Public Services Assistant at the Sunnyside Branch of OPL. “There are so many books to read and so little time. Here is a list of some silly and strange picture books that I thought would bring about some smiles and chuckles.” says Luna. “I hope you and your child will enjoy them like I did!” Who wet my Pants? By Bob Shea Help solve this mystery...or was it just an accident? Reuben tries to discover what happened to his pants and if his friends were res ..read more