If, like me, you are into military history and military aviation, this is a wonderful place…read more Everything here is in flying condition and there is an incredible selection of understandably Canadian military aircraft. From WW2 era stuff right up to the present day. The facility is huge and comfortable. Fortunately for me the day I was there was temparate so I could spend plenty of time outside behind the museum with the birds stored there as well. Just the right mix of real planes and displays of artifacts and informative plaques. This would be an enjoyable visit for anyone even mildly interested in history, but if history is your passion? Buckle up for an incredible amount of fun!

We had a wonderful visit to the museum today. It's a must see for aviation enthusiasts, the…read morecollection is crazy (say my boyfriend who is obsessed with plane and is a pilot). They also have interactive elements like the flight simulator and VR experience (extra cost). A lot of the staff is made up of retired pilots and mechanics who are incredibly friendly and eager to share their knowledge. My brother and boyfriend loved getting to sit in the actual planes. There's even a small cafe inside with a great view of the runway. A perfect way to spend the day and pay tribute to our veterans as well. Even though it is a bit far from Toronto, it's definitely worth the visit. You can also stay as long as you want, go in and out for food breaks if you need.

I recently came back here after many many years for the Maple Harvest Fest, and overall it was a…read morevery pleasant experience. The Museum itself is quite small, but they do offer activities for groups and educational sessions for students. On the particular day that I attended, I thought it would be something similar to attending a Maple Sugar Bush; however, I was a bit surprised. Inside the museum, there were a few vendors selling homemade jewellery and clothing, and by the time I arrived, the majority of the maple offerings and treats had sold out. There was an option to do a virtual reality tour of a longhouse, although I preferred to experience the 'real' thing. There was a reconstructed longhouse outside where there was a brief, 2-station demo and introduction to the housing structure itself, as well as the preparation of maple sap by the heating of rocks and boiling down of the syrup. The staff were all very friendly and knowledgeable at the Museum. It would be a great session for young students and families with young children.

I love the history and museums of London and this is one that's great for $6. I checked the hours…read moreand they were open in the afternoon so I had an hour and half and walked from my hotel to the house. I walked in and a guide was talking to a group of visitors and he informed me he would be right with me and I waited in the entrance. A guide came to greet me in a few minutes and started to talk to me about Banting and take me through each room. I prefer to walk through museums on my own and read the information but the narrative was ok when I had questions. Another guide came that was more familiar and soon, she was the only guide. They told me I could come back and read in more details. It was like a Cole's notes for those who might not have time or want to read the information on the panels. We went through each room downstairs and then upstairs where there was a bedroom that is darker to preserve the wallpaper and this is the room that Banting slept in. It gave me an understanding and appreciation for the history of insulin and how it how positively impacted millions of people. At the end of the tour there's a map where you can put a pin on the map where you're from and to pay. There's also public washrooms there.

We visited in the area on a rainy day. We didn't have a chance to go inside and so we visited the…read morearea outside which had a few monuments. Nice to go to the area which was expected to be area much residential homes on a busier street. Nice to see and visit.

Not many museums are free but this one is (by donation) and it was an easy walk to get to. When you…read moreenter, there are washrooms to the left and a gift shop in front. The gift shop has homemade jewelry, housewares and trinkets, books, and wallets. They had a cute bicycle display with various items. The front desk was staffed and the woman working told us the exhibits were upstairs. We made our way to the stairs and there's also an elevator. Once on the second floor, there were a couple of doors and then a volunteer was seating there telling us where to go. The exhibit on the left was ok, not a lot to see but a few interesting pieces. My favourite was the paint workshop with cans all coloured with paint. We went to the other side and there was an exhibit of book covers and an Aboriginal one. The book covers wasn't so interesting but the Aboriginal one had old records and cylinders that recorded conversations and songs. There were some sofas and a large window looking out to water and greenery. It was a lovely view. We spent an hour here and it was ok. They are going through some renovations but hopefully they can make better use of all the space.

Nice place to bring a small family with older kids and for a quick date getaway. It's a rather…read moresmaller museum and nice place to meet people for a quick gathering at their cafe shop. You can spend as little as 1 hour to see their collection. Smaller parking area with a small parking fee to pay at the self-standing booth to get a ticket location at the museum pathway about 20-30 feet from the front door. Give a online donation of a few dollars to support them for future work. Pleasant to visit and comfortable.

We recently visited the children's museum with 2 families and 4 kids. The children's museum is…read morelocated on the upper levels of the building. Parking lots are located all around the the large building (that houses the children's museum but other stores and shops as well). Parking lots do start filling up fairly quickly but there was more than enough spots. Inside the play museum, there is a free area to hang your costs with ample space. There's tons of stuff to do for kids in the children's museum. Some highlights: Stepping in, there's a giant tree house type play ground where kids can climb up and explore. There's a kid sized town that includes a fire station, dentist/medicL area, ice cream shop, school, home, grocery store, farm. There's even little apron/hats for different areas for dressing up. There's a "sand area" to give up dinosaurs, a space area up on another floor. Perhaps one of the key defining features is the huge water play area that includes a giant fountain to shoot balls up, a fishing area, Lego area to build a dam. They even provide aprons to try to reduce wet shirts on kids. There's a dry off area with hoses that shoot air. There's also an area at the back that changes from time to time - the theme this time was Winter Olympics. There are shows that occur throughout the day like a star show and a fossil show. There are places to eat, a microwave to heat up food and vending machines. Overall, a great day trip for people in the area with young kids!

We had such a great time at the London Children's Museum! It's an amazing hands-on space where kids…read morecan truly learn through play. The water play table is huge and thoughtfully designed, allowing kids to experiment, discuss, and learn basic physics concepts while having fun. The farm area is very educational -- my child loved learning about animals and how chickens lay eggs. There are also lab programs for older kids, which is a great bonus for families with children of different ages. Other highlights include the supermarket role-play area, corn factory (harvest, make, and pack corn), fossils and dinosaur sand digging, light-up puzzles, hospital, fire station, and a packaging station that teaches how factory systems work in a fun way. Everything was clean and well maintained. A big plus for parents: large, clean washrooms, plus smaller washrooms designed for older kids, which made the visit much easier. Admission is very reasonable at $15.50 per person for adults and children aged 1 and up. Overall, this is a fantastic destination for families, especially on rainy days or weekends. Highly recommend if you're visiting London, Ontario with kids!

So amazing. It is like the Ontario Science Centre but less crowded. Anyone who hasn't been here,…read moreyour kids are missing out!

The Museum is great for the kids…read more A lot of interactive activities to keep the little ones occupied and hopefully they would learn something in the process. The exhibits are a little rundown. A lot of screaming kids jumping and banging on everything. It is nice to be family friendly but if you are adults or without kids, I would avoid coming during weekends and summer holidays or just skip completely.

Eldon House is a walk from our hotel and downtown London area. It's a home where the Harris family…read morelived from 1834 and the home was donated in the mid 1900's and since been restored for viewing. The house different rooms and signs to explain the contents. The lower floor has many of the hunting trophies from the various animals killed in Africa by one of the grandsons. It also shows the servant's kitchen, sitting room with many artifacts from the travels around the world. Upstairs are various bedrooms and bathroom. A guide greeted us when we went into the house and there were only two other visitors. It's pay by donation at the front of the house. We spent less than an hour in the house but enjoyed reading and seeing the history of this prominent family.

The Eldon House is a great historical house museum. Admission is by donation ($5 suggested, but…read morepay what you will.) The house was donated to the city with most of the original belongings still in it, which is pretty rare for house museums. The tour is self guided, and you can wander about all of the rooms at your leisure. A guide greets you at the door, and gives you some background information. There are some interpretive panels as you go, but not an overwhelming amount of reading. It's very cool to see a fully furnished historical home set up as it would have been in the early 1900s. I especially liked seeing the kitchen, as well the children's play room (complete with creepy dolls!) Keep an eye out for the weird hunting trophies in the house -- and look for the elephant foot umbrella stand! (This is not a euphemism. It is a literal elephant foot that was turned into an umbrella stand.) During the summer they offer afternoon tea on the patio, and they run a variety of special events, lectures, tours, and classes throughout the year. The Eldon house is definitely worth a quick visit, if you're visiting or a local. I believe they also rent out the venue for private functions. They don't have their own parking lot; you'll need to find metered parking on Ridout street or park in a nearby pay lot. I hope to come back for a special event sometime soon! Check out their special events page here: http://www.eldonhouse.ca/d.aspx?s=/Main/Events_Calendar.htm.

This is the place that I needed when I was a kid. The bottom floor has water and wind related…read moreactivities and a bicycle course. The first floor has art related activities. The third floor is THE BEST. There are play areas related to farming, grocery stores, cafes, tv broadcasting, recycling, medical, building, auto...I'm sure I missed something. It was awesome! Def check this out when visiting.

Great hands on play for kids!…read more This place was a great experience for my kids aged 5 to 8. The free parking lot is right across the street from the entrance making it easy to navigate. After entering the main floor has a few small hands on art based activities. I highly recommend starting on the top floor and working your way down. The top floor has so much to do and we ran out of time before we could check everything out. The museum was clean and well organized. Lots of hands on activities for all age levels. Every kid will find something to enjoy. The shopping experience was one of their favorites. We spent about two hours but could have easily stayed longer.

As a new arrival to London, I was in search of cool local things to do when my sister came to visit…read moreme from the states. Luckily for us, Fanshawe Pioneer Village was having a summer agricultural fair that weekend (thanks to the Yelp events page, which is where I saw the listing!) I wasn't sure what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. The "pioneer village" is a collection of historical houses and other buildings that have been moved from their original locations to a central area, for preservation and education. They've set things up roughly as a rural village would have been. It was surprisingly cool, and would have been so even if it weren't a special festival day. They had several fully furnished historical houses, including the childhood home of Paul Peel, who (I learned) was the first Canadian painters who was a hit in Europe. You'll see a blacksmith, carpenter's, and print-making shop, as well as a couple of churches and school rooms. There's a masonic lodge, and even an old (alas, no longer operational) brewery! And because it was a special fair day, there were a handful of costumed folks around doing historical reenactments, as well as free hayrides (woo!) out to a field to see threshing demonstrations. The village is a working farm! They also hosted a square dance as part of the fair festivities, which was filled with old folks who were dressed for square dancing and obviously knew what they were doing. Intimidated by their square dancing prowess, I didn't stay. Parking is free, and admission is $7 per adult. The GPS gave me reliable directions; you have to go in past a little gate into what appears to be an official city park or recreational area to get there. If anyone in your group has mobility issues, be warned that there's a decent amount of walking, although all of the surfaces are pretty flat. I'm sure this is a place that every Londoner went to on a school field trip at some point. But it's worth a return visit as an adult, especially if you have any interest in history or historical architecture. It's cool to see so many old, preserved buildings (and a couple of more recent recreations) all in one place. Keep an eye on their event calendar - in October sometime they do some kind of battle reenactment. I'll be back for sure!

This is a great place for all ages! Really cool to see how people lived in 1800's. The staff was…read morevery informative. I wish they delivered their schpeels in character but didn't wreak the experience. Very happy we went!