It doesn't really feel like a museum - it is a walking tour through several floors of subtle and not-so-subtle indoctrination.

An excellent museum. The exhibits are very well done, and interesting. I would recommend this museum to anyone who has interest in Canadian history.

Finally I have a half day free , so stopped by the Canadian Museum of History to learn , and seen the heritage of Canada and history of First people , relocated here in 1989 ,over 810,000 sq feet , just a crossed the Parliament Building and must visit , lot of wonderful Totems Poles and variety First national pictures and story , also on the third flour is the history of World War one and two , and the Stamps section is on the lower flours , just amazing building ! must visit these magnificent museum , give yourself lot of time , coffee shop on site and clean washroom too !

Great museum. A little pricy (honestly this should be free for Canadian citizens IMO), a little hard / confusing to navigate and and they closed really early, so we never got a chance to see everything we wanted to. Despite all that, it's a great museum and every Canadian should visit it if in the area to learn more about our history.

Although we had to pay a premium to buy it online at Tripadvisor.ca, the tickets worked right at the exhibit counter and we didn’t have to wait in line at box office. In addition, the website for the Canadian Children’s Museum is running like it’s from the 1980s with Transfer Control Protocol/Internetwork Protocol (TCP/IP). It rendered so much we had to look at additional options to get the tickets. Great spot for a few hours of fun with a couple of toddlers!

I was a member of this museum back in 2009-2011, and those were the glory days of the museum. I absolutely loved the interactive Canada Hall, with large scale whaling boats, Ukranian store fronts, the Wildcat lounge, and more. However, when the name change from Civilization to History happened, this hall was renovated. Pros: I really like the emphasis on Indigenous history and marginalized peoples in Canada's history. Cons: The Interactive components have been removed with the exception of one church. It's now a boring museum, words on the wall to read and that's it. It used to be an experience, and now it's a book. I'm disappointed. The vibrancy is gone, the heart is gone. It's a hollow place that's really boring now and not captivating. The children's museum is still good, but most of the props and supplies were put away due to COVID. The lower level Indigenous People's Hall remains beautiful and wonderful and I encourage a visit for these two areas.

I enjoyed The Museum of History in Ottawa more than the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto because it focused solely on Canada and wasn’t as overwhelming. My favorite exhibits were the totem poles and house fronts of the First Peoples of the Northwest Coast in the Grand Hall. The museum houses the world’s largest collection of totem poles. I also liked the Canadian stamp collection (yes, postage stamps). I thought the use of stamps was a clever way to chronicle the history of Canada. If you want to learn about Canadian history, check out this museum.

Basically this is a nice museum targeted at foreign visitors to Canada or for children who are just learning about Canada’s history. But as a “national” museum - which to me demands something more sophisticated and in-depth - this museum fails miserably. I was particularly disappointed in the upper floor which supposedly tells the story of modern Canada. This is basically a meandering corridor of bits and pieces of Canadian memorabilia on display - with few connections between the tableaux. Major omissions make one wonder who decided to display what and why. Just two: Where are mention of the Prime Ministers during this period, including the first woman Prime Minister, Kim Campbell. There is mention of the Nobel Prize to Lester Pearson, but no mention of a Nobel Prize for Literature for Alice Munro. Other glaring omissions abound as you wander the narrow corridor. Canada’s modern history is equally rich to that displayed on the lower floors, and it deserves a much better treatment. For a relatively modern museum the entire display seems dated and tired. With all the empty space and huge corridors in the museum, surely staff can be much more creative in displaying Canada’s modern history.

We walked across the Alexandra Bridge into Gatineau (Hull) and spent five hours at this museum, until our brains were overloaded. It is so well laid-out, doesn't sugar-coat the things that happened here to immigrants and First Nations, and should be seen by anyone going to Ottawa. There are some interactive displays which are fun, and truly imaginative set-ups.

This was previously a really good museum, however, the decision to change the upper level was a terrible one. The children's museum is excellent (please don't change it) and the bottom level is fine. But the top level use to be so much more interesting. Now it is a bunch of boring, non-interactive exhibits that show absolutely no imagination or creativity. So disappointing.

The information and artwork in the museum were very interesting. I loved the morning star artwork that can be seen from the first floor. There are three different sections to categorize the different periods of history in Canada.

The museum is so beautiful and filled with Canadian details. My favourite part was the totems, so beautiful. I took a thousand shots at this museum part. Totally recommend this. I am planning to come back when children's part is open.

I read the reviews before I went, and then I read them again - and now I know that all the 5 star reviews are on point! This place is absolutely amazing! I came with my young daughter, but I could spend all day here. We both want to come back again. After we left, I was speechless about how well executed all the exhibits are, and how much there is to see and learn. Thank you to the worker (sadly never asked her name), who told us the story about the original plaster of The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, and about the Morning Star mural. Now scroll down and read the other reviews - every good word is true!

Visited the museum by booking tickets online for our family of 5. Access to the museum is limited to a 30 minute guided tour of the hall with the totem poles. Guide was very informative and definitely worthwhile. Also attended the indigenous dance performance. We go to a pow wow every summer, but of course they have all been cancelled for this summer. The performance was brief but definitely made us miss the pow wow experience that we won’t be able to enjoy this summer.

We ate lunch at the Cafe in the Museum. I had a quineoa salad which was delicious and beautifully presented. As well, the shrimp tacos were delicious. We found the food excellent and the prices very reasonable.