Thursday 29 November 2018

Enjoying Brilliant Fall Colour on a Hike at Mount Nemo, Burlington, Ontario






Living in Toronto, Canada is a blessing indeed!

We are close to a lot of other interesting cities which we can easily visit within a few hours to a day's drive.














Hiking on Mount Nemo, Burlington, Ontario, Canada


We are also close to many beautiful parks and conservation area.










One of the lookout points in Mount Nemo conservation area








Shortly after the Thanksgiving weekend,  we joint our church's fall outing and went on a hike to Mount Nemo, a conservation area in Halton area near Burlington, Ontario.












Mount Nemo is a 5.2 km loop trail with a number of side trails.

Hikers can choose a trail that suits their hiking ability level.

We chose one that could be completed comfortably within a coupe of hours.
















The highlight of our hike was reaching the summit and looking down from above to the area below.







We enjoyed an excellent view of beautiful fall scenery on top of Mount Nemo



























Harris Lookout, Mount Nemo
We saw the Niagara escarpment wide open in front of us.
View of the Halton Conservation area from the top of  Mt Nemo, Ontario

















We stopped at the Harris Lookout.

























Pastor Lo shared with us the blessings on the mount from the bible.























Being on the top of the hill allowed us to have a great view of the area around us.
Skyline of downtown Toronto seen from the top of Mount Nemo, Halton region





















We could see the skyline of Toronto and the CN Tower located in downtown
Toronto which is more than thirty km away.































Rock formation resembling a native chief''s head, Mt. Nemo, Ontario, Canada









The favourite part for me was when we saw a special rock formation  from a vintage point.

Everyone marveled at its likeness of a native man wearing a headgear and looking down at the area below.

It was so realistic!




















At the end of our hike, we went to a diner in the area.


















There were a few items on the menu and we enjoyed some delicious Middle Eastern food!








                                                              It was an enjoyable autumn day!






R.T.
Mount Nemo Conservation Area
Halton Region, Ontario
Autumn, 2018



































Sunday 25 November 2018

Revisiting the Big Nickel with Friends in Sudbury, a Northern Ontario Town


Sudbury, Ontario
 The Big Nickel - Sudbury, Ontario





On the third day of our trip, we were up early ( too early for me!) had breakfast and were ready to board our tour bus by 8am.
.





Science North, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada






Heading back to Toronto, our tour bus made a couple of stops in Sudbury, one at Science North and the other at the Big Nickel.








Main Entrance of Science North, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada






Sudbury , nick named as Saw and Dust city, is a northern Ontario city with about 60,000 inhabitants, and is known for its timber resources and nickel mines.





The Big Nickel, Sudbury, Ontario








The Big Nickel is a 30 feet tall replica of a 1951 Canadian nickel coin, worth at 5 cents.

It is located on the grounds of Dynamic Earth, an interactive museum operated by Science North.


I visited the Big Nickel more than forty years ago but it seemed like yesterday. 










Dynamic Earth - an interactive science museum in Sudbury
When I visited the Big Nickel the first time, I was a teenager heading towards southern Ontario to start my freshman year at university.



This time, my second time visiting the same site, I am a retired person with many years of life experiences behind me.










The Pharaoh's Tomb carved pumpkin display in front of the Dynamic Earth Science Museum, Sudbury
Visiting the Big Nickel after the Thanksgiving weekend,  we found many of the area's attractions including the nickel mine tour were closed.

However, we did see the creative displays of craved pumpkins in front of the Dynamic Earth, a science museum. 


























Using the Egyptian Pharaoh's Tomb as the theme, Dynamic Earth Science Museum created numerous pumpkins with ancient Egyptian symbols and pictures displaying them on the ground of the Big Nickel.










One of the enjoyable activities of travelling with friends was the opportunity to converse and catch up with each other. We were sitting right in front of Wil and A.

I was glad that I had an excellent chat with Wil who was very willing to share with me what was happening in their lives. 


This was what true friends are for – sharing the good and bad times in our lives with each other. Because of our engaging conversations, time flew by and in no time at all, we were back home in Toronto!



















R.T.
The Big Nickel
Sudbury, Northern Ontario
Canada

























Saturday 24 November 2018

A Belated Visit to Science North, Sudbury - A Marvellous Hands On Science Centre for All Ages

A scientific sculpture outside of  Science North, Sudbury



Science North, located in Sudbury in northern Ontario, is about a five hours' drive from Toronto.

It has been around for almost three decades.










Recently,.e visited Science North in Sudbury for the first time.



Regrettably, we have never visited it until recently.



A nice view of  its surrounding area from inside Science North



Though only a half day's drive from Toronto, Sudbury to Torontonians is almost like a half world away.  Many in southern Ontario have never ventured up that far up north.










The genuine rock tunnel leading into the entrance of the exhibition hall of Science North



During our maple leaf fall tour up north, we had an opportunity to visit this northern science centre built on a spectacular geographical site.







Science North, built on a unique geographical site marked by glaciers






From the moment we entered this unique building, we were wowed by how special this place looked






We started our visit on the 4th floor of the building







We started our visit at the centre's theatre watching a 3 D documentary about now firefighters dealt with the challenge of a massive forest fire.



A gigantic fin whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling of the Science North building













Then we took an elevator going up to the top floor and starting our tour from there.





Million years old rocks cleverly incorporated by scientists and architects as part of the Sc. North building































We were impressed and learned about the huge skeleton of a fin whale hanging from the top of the building at Science North.







Lots to do for visitors at  Science North, Sudbury, Ontario 
























We loved the displays and exhibits on the fourth floor!



















 I am a big kid at heart; I was fascinated by the interesting and creative displays.










Fun activities to learn about human vision









There were so much to see and do!








Lots of fun hands on activities for kids of all ages!



We were like a couple of school children running around trying to see everything in this area.










Kids testing their running speed on a monitored track at Science North









Not only were there many things to see at Science North.













There were many hands on activities that challenge the visitors' creativity and ability to problem solve.














There were exploratory activities for teens and adults.
















Even the little ones were able to take part in activities that captured their attention.












The 4th floor displays focus on the human body and lots of relevant information displayed in simple and easy to understand formats for visitors of all ages.













My husband and I especially enjoyed the displays on the topic of health like this one on the effects of smoking on our lungs.


First we saw a display of two pig lungs hanging in a glass case.









Then we read about the effects of smoking on one of the lungs.

The right set of lungs was healthy and the left set of lungs was exposed to cigarette smoke.

It was a crystal clear illustration indeed!


















There were other fun activities to experience for everyone!















Science North encourages active participation from their visitors regardless of their ages.










The Space Exhibit in Science North



We reluctantly left the fourth floor and explored other parts of the building with many other exhibits such as this one on space.











A class of students learning from the Science North instructors


Science North is more than just an informative and educational public place where parents and teachers can take their children to visit and learn about science.















On every floor of Science North and on most displays we saw, we discovered one consistent theme emerging:












There was a clear and sincere invitation to visitors to actively engage themselves, to have fun while exploring science.















At the little creatures exhibit,  we were encouraged to touch and feel the creatures, to interact and learn about them on a personal and meaningful level.













Butterfly Gallery, Science North, Sudbury, Ontario





The Butterfly Gallery on the first floor was a neat tropical feel place to learn about colourful creatures and their life cycles.










Science North is situated on a beautiful unique site.

We enjoyed out visit  tremendously!
The only regret was that we visited it thirty years too late!

We lived in North Bay for a year during the late 1980's but never visited it.  Our friends in North Bay did not mention to us what a fabulous place it was.





I highly recommend Science North to parents with children not to miss this wonderful place at all! You, your young children and teenagers will definitely have a blast there!

We did and we are not young!

R.T.
Science North
Sudbury, Ontario
Canada