The Canadian Museum of Nature occupies a grand Victorian Gothic building (the original Victoria Memorial Museum, opened 1912) on McLeod Street, a ten-minute walk south of Parliament Hill. The building itself is unusual — its central tower collapsed in 1915 due to unstable ground, was replaced with a temporary flat roof, and wasn't properly restored with a new tower until 2010. The result is a building that feels simultaneously historic and freshly minted.
Inside, the collection covers Canadian natural history with particular strength in palaeontology — the dinosaur gallery is one of the best in the country, with mounted skeletons including a Tyrannosaurus and a Triceratops. The mammal gallery, the Arctic hall, and the bird gallery are all strong. The temporary exhibition programme is ambitious and often brings in major touring exhibitions. It is less visited than the national museums on Sussex Drive and tends to be quieter, which is a point in its favour with families and serious visitors alike.