Sunday 31 January 2016

A visit to the Canadian Museum of Nature with a five-year old

Spend a lazy, wet Sunday afternoon with by best friend and her five-year old daughter wandering the halls of the Canadian Museum of Nature.

Lisa had already checked out a museum admission pass from her local (Ottawa area) library so we just paid for the special exhibit and parking.

We started in the Animalium section to visit Nature Trade. It's a cool program where kids register online and then collect and trade specimens found in nature, gather information about it and then trade it into the museum.  It's interesting because the kids can even get points for what they know about the item and are able to share with the volunteers.

Bee traded in four items: a sand stone, some mica, a butter nut, and a crow feather.
(For more info go to http://nature.ca/en/plan-your-visit/what-see-do/whats/trading-post)
This bugs name is right on the nose - it's a stick bug
Little stick bugs


She picked out a peacock feather and an ammonite with her trade points
Next we headed to the special exhibition, which is running until March 28, is called Bugs: Outside the Box.  It includes large scale sculptures of a variety of bugs, butterfly along with some interactive games and displays.






A bugs eye view


Next it was off to learn about the dinosaurs







I liked the shadows that the bones created

After hanging out with the dinos we went to the mammal and the water gallery before heading home.



Overall it was a fun afternoon.



'Moose' to see you again

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Friday 1 January 2016

NEW 365 - January 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Welcome to the start of the 4th year of my 365 photo challenge.
It's hard to think back to when this wasn't regular a part of my daily life :)

Things to look forward to this month:
- Lots of stuff with my girl guide unit - meetings, planning, teachers and games
- The arrival of all the stuff I bought on ridiculously low sales prices with free shipping back in December.
- Putting my new snowpants from last season to good use
- and more...

January 01, 2016 - Elaine and Eric Ma welcome the newest addition to their family, and the first new Kingstonian of 2016, Elizabeth Nicole Ma, on Friday January 1, 2016, at Kingston General Hospital. Elizabeth was born at 12:01 a.m. on New Years Day
*EXTRA* January 01, 2016 - Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell speaks with many Kingstonians during the reception at the New Years Levee at the Grand Theatre
*EXTRA* January 01, 2016 - The SalonTheatre Productions perform at the New Years Levee at the Grand Theatre
January 02, 2016 - Peaceful view from the camp house
January 03, 2016 - a spark off the new flint I got in my new years cracker
January 04, 2016 - Housemates Mairead Meyer, left, Katie Allington and Joelle Lawson decide to brave the -21oC wind chill to celebrate the start of their new semester at Queen's University by taking a few laps around the skating rink in Springer Market Square in Kingston
*EXTRA* January 04, 2016 - Katie Allington does a few spins on the ice as she and her two housemates (not seen) brave the -21oC wind chill to celebrate the start of their new semester at Queen's University at the rink in Springer Market Square in Kingston
January 05, 2016 - Turns out I'm a third generation guider, with both my mother and my paternal grandmother.
January 06, 2016 - Conference co-chairs Rachel Tung, left, and Caroline Marful, along with Elisha Corbett, the events sponsorship and finance director, discuss the finishing touches for the first annual Queen's Female Leadership in Politics conference on Wednesday January 6, 2016. The first conference of its kind, these female political students are expecting to more than 100 delegates to attend the two-day conference this weekend in Kingston, Ont.
January 07, 2016 - Meet Mowat (aka Moe), my kitten-niece with extra little thumbs
*EXTRA* January 07, 2016 - Trying to groom Mowat
January 08, 2016 - Bella can get comfortable almost any place - Like hanging over my side.
January 09, 2016 - Kingston Mills resident Dale Duetta has submitted a petition, signed by all of his neighbours, to the areas city councillor asking for three street lights be installed along their rural road leading to the locks in Kingston, Ont. on Saturday January 9, 2016. With continuing Highway 401 construction causing Kingston Mills Road to become a detour and increasing the traffic, residents believe that the street lights will help improve night-time safety.
*EXTRA* January 09, 2015 - Kingston Fire and Rescue technical rescue team worked with Frontenac Paramedics to do a mid-air assessment and rescue of a man hit by a large branch that also disabled the cherry picker he had been using on Weller Avenue around 4 p.m. in Kingston, Ont. on Saturday January 9, 2016. Once the hydro lines were cleared and the man rescued, he was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
January 10, 2015 - Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath speaks to the delegates about her experiences in politics at the inaugural Queen's Female Leadership in Politics conference at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in Kingston
January 11, 2016 - a different view
January 12, 2016 - snow storm day at work
*EXTRA* January 12, 2016 - snow storm day at work - can't even see across the street
January 13, 2016 - Frontenac Secondary School students Abby Ross, left and  Marie-Ange Kanellos pose for a photo with a few of the remaining teddy bears that will be distributed to children through the successful Kingston General Hospital Auxiliary 2015 Teddy Bear campaign in Kingston, Ont. on Wednesday January 13, 2016. The two students helped lead their school to collecting $2,000 in donations for the annual campaign, which surpassed it's goal this year to bring in $33,100 for local pediatrics.
January 13, 2016 - The students at Our Lady of Mt Carmel in Amherstview, Ont. get the chance to work and learn together outside of the classroom in the schools newest space - The Learning Commons, on Wednesday January 13, 2016. The school transformed its library into the digital friendly learning commons in advance of the school boards initiative.
January 14, 2016 - White fluffy above and below
January 15, 2016 - Fixed my old PC by putting it on its side and reattaching the CPUs heatsink / fan
*EXTRA* January 15, 2016 - Using my theatre style popcorn maker, verses my air popper, with coconut oil for an evening snack
January 16, 2016 - Finally got a VCR connected to my old PC to digitize some VHS tapes
January 17, 2016 - micro shot of the snow built up on the chair in the back yard
*EXTRA* January 17, 2016 - micro shot of the snow built up on the back yard patio
January 18, 2016 - One of moms new bird feeders after the snow squalls
January 19, 2016 - Skating at Market Square
January 20, 2016 - It's the week before exams and Gabriella Hubbard, left, and Maggie Drolet, write a few bad habits they want to bust onto some paper mache pinatas as part of the schools student mental health ambassadors 'Beat the Exam Blues' week activities to help students deal with mental and physical stresses of exams at Regiopolios Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School
January 21, 2016 - Bella in the sunlight
January 22, 2016 - Ice Kids waving flags before the Fronts vs Saginaw Spirit game
*EXTRA* January 22, 2016 - Kingston Frontenacs Jason Robertson collides with Saginaw Spirit Kirill Maksimov for the puck during the first period of Ontario Hockey League action at the Rogers K-Rock Centre
January 23, 2016 - Badge from a day of enrichment
*EXTRA* January 23, 2016 - It's Snow Secret guide leader enrichment day includes S.T.E.M., camping, crafting and  more
January 24, 2016 - Taking what I learned at enrichment to make my first campfire pin
January 25, 2016 - Members of the Queen's University chapter of Room to Read, Rene Zou, left, Eric Sandhog, Sophia Su and Amy Haddlesey, have set up a Game of Thrones themed castle camp site in the Joseph S. Stauffer Library for the entire week to help raise money and awareness during Literacy Week in Kingston.
January 26, 2016 - The RG Sinclair Public School library is filled with more than 100 students in their pjs, wrapped in blankets, just reading in Kingston, Ont. on Tuesday January 26, 2016. The Grade 4 to 8 students are taking part in the 9th annual Read-a-thon, where students collect pledges and read all day, with the funds going to help purchase new books for the school and send some students to Camp Read A Lot in the summer. The Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) program sees Kindergarten to Grade 3 students reading for a shorter period of time.
January 27, 2016 - It's nice to have a little company when you're home sick
January 28, 2016 - when you're home sick and don't have the energy to do anything, but need to take a photo for your 365 photo challenge, the cat becomes the perfect model.
January 29, 2016 - Helping mom edit some cool photos she took of a squirrel fighting off two other squirrels at the bird feeders in our front yard.

*EXTRA* January 29, 2016 - Liked and shared on Facebook because it's something I hadn't thought about but it's so true.
January 30, 2016 - Crafting with Lisa and Bee - making glue and food colouring sun catchers
*EXTRA* January 30, 2016 - Crafting with Lisa and Bee - making glue and food colouring sun catchers
January 31, 2016 - Butterfly displays in the Bugs: Outside the Box exhibition at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa
*EXTRA* January 31, 2016 - Walking among the dinosaurs at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa
*EXTRA* January 31, 2016 - The Bugs: Outside the Box exhibition at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa

to be continued in 365 - February 2016

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