While I can only speak for our visit during their "Family Fun Day" event, we had a great time. The…read moreevent was busy, but not over-packed, and everyone we met; from vendors, to volunteers, to the townspeople; were so friendly and approachable. We had the chance to walk the property, visit inside the old buildings, and get a taste of the town's history. There were also hiking trails in the vicinity, although we didn't get an opportunity to personally walk them. We were too busy enjoying the family fun. They had local vendors selling goods; honey, syrup, veggies, flowers, crafts.... so many goodies. There was also a donation walking taco bar and popcorn; or hot dogs and ice cream from a food truck if you were hungry; and an animal show to participate in for learning and memorable experiences. We honestly had a fantastic time, I definitely recommend you swing by of you are in the area.

The museum and grounds are a wonderful yet mostly undiscovered gem in this part of Michigan. The…read morecenterpiece is the Loop Mansion, an example of Second Empire architecture, built by Dr. Loop in the 1870's. The home is restored to the Victorian era and gives the visitor an idea of what life was like in this area about 150 years ago. The rest of the museum grounds have been used to re-locate area historic buildings. There are log cabins, barns, a country store, a one-room school house, a vintage summer cottage, an old church that was once a saloon, and a railway depot. There is also the original barn, which is rented to a group operating as The Barn Theater, with plays being produced all summer long. The church is frequently used to host concerts, and is also available to rent for weddings or other social events. That isn't all that goes on here though, there are dinners and brunches held which give the visitor a glimpse into what it was like to live in this beautiful old home. There are also special event weekends, like Civil War Days, The Natives/Voyageurs/Settlers Days, and the Hunting/Fishing/Maritime Weekend. This year there will be a new building opened to the public, the Hunting and Fishing Cabin, which will celebrate the history of the local outdoor sport traditions. There will be many artifacts displayed including taxidermy. If you are in the area year round, Christmastime is when the house is decorated at its finest, and you can visit free during the community party, or buy a ticket for one of two Victorian dinner parties. The museum is open for guided tours from May 28th through September 5th in 2011. Tours are available Wed. through Sunday. Cost is only $5, $4 for seniors and $2 for children. The tour includes the mansion and all buildings in the Village. Some days the village buildings are staffed by costumed docents telling the stories that they've learned about the local area. School groups can make other arrangements for tours that accommodate their group.

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.

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.

This museum is on the history of the immediate geographic area. It works well for all ages between…read morehefty stuff to read for adults or older children 15 and up), things to tour and try little quizzes for kids in the 8-14 range, and interactive exhibits for those under age 8. I would allow 3 hours. It seems that exhibits rotate. When we went, there were a few major sections. 1.) A section on prohibition and bars in the area historically 2.) A reconstruction of the Owen Sound area in about 1850, then 1880, then about 1910 - outdoor area with several buildings/guides/things to see - about 16 buildings - takes a while - covers the 3 eras 3.) A section on the Ice Age - including things to read/quizzes/games/interactive exhibits 4.) A section on printing through the ages and the furniture industry history for the area

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.

A well-equipped conservation studio located in our very own London Museum of Art! You can see some…read moreof their excellent restorations on their home page at: https://www.artconservationservices.com/

From the owner: Over 30 years providing Museum quality Conservation and Restoration of paintings, works of art on…read morepaper and archival materials for public and private collections.

Wow, this is an AMAZING local history museum loaded with much more than just cheese history…read more A suggested donation of $3 (and yes they'll take USD if you don't have CAD) includes a guided tour if you'd like one, and access to all of the buildings. The main building houses an impressive collection of local artifacts. There's a historic music room, breathtaking hand carved wooden artwork, Native American history, and local history (about famous residents including the Ingersoll family, the cheese factory, and other local companies). We especially enjoyed reading about the 27 year old from Ingersoll, ON who traveled the world solo in the 1930s. This building has AC, a gift shop, and guest book by the entrance/exit. Go outside and visit the blacksmith shop, the old school house, the mill, and brick oven, the barn, and the cheese factory. The cheese factory isn't a working cheese factory, instead it's an old building with a ton of cheese-making artifacts, and information on how cheese was made. Ask for a tour, or watch the 20 minute video when you get inside. Ingersoll Cheese Factory is what made this town famous, when the 7,000 lb+ wheel of cheese made an appearance at the Worlds Fair in Saratoga, NY, then shipped to England to be sold. The only thing we were disappointed with was that they do not sell cheese here. However in the factory museum, there's a free brochure about the local Cheese Trail that lists a few nearby places that do, and other cheese attractions to visit. I highly recommend visiting the museum. It's only a minute off of the interstate and well worth the detour! You'll also be greeted by very friendly staff and learn some interesting history too!

This is a neat little cheese museum that shows how this region became the cheese capital of Canada…read more It's not very big and you will spend about half an hour going through everything and learning about the history cheese in the area. They don't really sell cheese here (they have a small fridge with a couple cheeses) so you have to go to one of the local stores to really buy some cheese.

When I am on vacation or am travelling, I try my best to visit a museum. I typically come to…read moreWaterloo either on business or to shop. I frankly don't know much about the history of the area. Since Canada Day landed on a Sunday this year, a lot of businesses were closed on Monday. However, Waterloo Region Museum broke out of this mode and was open. Perfect! This museum is in Kitchener. You can't miss the museum's colourful exterior and pleasing scenic view as you pull into the parking lot. I parked under a tree to provide some much needed shade for my car and walked in. Admission is $11 plus tax. The woman at the desk was kind to show me where everything was with the help of the map in the program guide. I walked over to the museum area and was greeted by an older gentleman. Everyone I talked to seemed so surprised that it was my first time at the museum for some reason. I looked like a complete tourist, armed with my digital SLR camera in hand. The man recommended that I go outside and explore Doon Heritage Village first. It has been hot outside these days and I showed up early, so the heat wasn't as bad as it could be. I spent nearly two hours exploring each building in the village and understanding how Mennonites lived in 1914. You see everything from the post office to the meat market. There are staff dressed up in clothing back in the day providing good information. There is also a farm with chickens, horses, and more. After I was done, I walked back into the Waterloo Region Museum. I looked like I had done an intense workout. I was sweating buckets, mainly because it was so hot and humid outside. I needed a towel and a shower! I sat down in the theatre to cool off and learn more about the lives of folks living in Kitchener (formerly Berlin) back in 1914. It was fascinating that I watched the whole slide show a second time before venturing into the exhibits at Waterloo Region Museum. The museum houses information and artifacts about the region, including a hall of fame on the second floor. You learn about the history of local industries, such as Schniders and Kuntz, with the latter becoming Carling and then Labatt's. I also learned about Abraham Erb, a Mennonite who settled in Waterloo from Pennsylvania, who is known to have founded Waterloo. The hotel that I am staying at is sitting on the street named after him. I loved my time here. I spent roughly 3.5 hours soaking up all the exhibits. I had a great time despite sweating so much. (250)

If ever traveling to Waterloo or Kitchner, this museum is a great place to visit. The first floor…read moreincludes the history of the area and the reasons why Europeans immigrated to the region, including great testimonials from people of various countries. There is a large collection of historic artifacts displayed documenting the community's heritage. The second floor displays Canada's Hall of Fame heroes, from military to government to sports figures; it is quite informative and impressive! Outside, behind the museum, one is thrust into the era of 1914, with a steam engine, historic buildings, and artifacts, including workers in period costume. Each worker has knowledge of the respective building. There is even a historic farmhouse that belonged to a Mennonite family. Out back there are chickens and a pig. Toward the front of the house are beautiful horses. It is well worth the time to visit this museum.