Description: If you only have time to visit one attraction in Prince George, make it this one, especially if you are with kids.
The atrium entrance to this large museum/science center/all around fun place has walls of windows that overlook Fort George Park and the Nechako River. This is where the admissions and the small gift shop is located as well as a couple of large (stuffed) bears waiting to welcome visitors. The first exhibit is the Northern B.C. Sports Hall of Fame with uniforms, trophies, pictures, and information on the many northern B.C. athletes who have achieved fame and recognition in their field. Two that I recognized were ex-NHL star Darcy Rota and Matt
Pearce from the CFL Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Behind the Sports Hall was a Children’s Gallery with a life-size paddle wheeler filled with tunnels for kids to climb through and a working winch that they can use to haul "supplies" to the boat. A water trough allows them to hold boat races with small, colorful plastic boats. Nearby, two large dinosaur models stand atop a sandpile
filled with shovels and pails where kids can dig for plastic bone replicas and bits of rock. Suspended from the ceiling is a model of the 72-foot skeleton of another dinosaur, the Mamenchisauras which was discovered in the Gobi Desert in Northern China.
Leaving the
Children’s Museum, I entered the Ted Williams History Center which has masks and other
artifacts from the Nak’azdli Indian Band who lived here hundreds of years ago. Nearby, a
replicated 19th-century town invites people to visit the sawmill, general store, and portions of a railway camp or view a short movie presentation in the old Fort George Theatre.
In the Family Learning Center live snakes, spiders, turtles, and other reptiles are on display. Canada contains 10% of the world’s forests and an interactive display provides information shows the growth
pattern of a forest as well as animal migrations and information on logging.
Near the exit is a motion simulator called SimEX that takes you on a voyage to a Mars space station or on a trek under the sea. I didn’t go on the ride but one of the people working there said it was very popular with kids.
Admission to the museum is $10.95 for adults and $8.95 for kids. There are family
group rates and a reduced price that doesn’t include the SimEX ride. During the summer, the
museum is open daily from 10 to 5 but in winter, it is closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Phone number is 250/562-1612.
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