Tuesday 25 March 2014

Question Period

Today we went to question period in the House of Commons in the Parliament Building. We saw the Liberals and the Conservatives and NDP speak their thoughts on their views on how Canada's government is functioning in today's society. We saw all of the leaders from the parties except Mr Harper; Trudeau and Mulcair both asked questions. We heard the MLAs talking about their area that they are representing and things that happen in there communities. When the the MLAs spoke they always had a lot of passion for their portfolio. The most passionate guy was speaking and so when he felt like something needed to be done he for sure got his point across with his face red as a tomato and raising his voice to make his point. Today has been a great day! Lara, Sneh, Sadie

Canadian War Museum

War museum by Teanna and Emily At the museum there was a somber feel to it. We got a tour for the first part of the museum then we split off into our day groups. The first thing we saw in the museum was the tomb stone that on November 11 there will be a square box of light exactly on a the stone. It was in this room that had all straight lines but most of the other angles in the museum were off and slanted to show chaos. At one end of the museum there was a window the looks out at the peace tower with the statue of peace under it which was to show that they hope for peace. We also saw hitlers car that had bullet proof windows. It was very interesting place to visit

Former jailhouse of Ottawa

The jail tour As soon as we got onto the property of the jail we felt suspicious of everything around us. The atmosphere was very erie but it was not enough to make us scared to run away because we were very interested in the stories the tour guide was telling us. He was very convincing and knew how make everything he told us sound believable. We couldn't understand how people survived in such a small room when it's hard to even stay in our classroom for an hour. All three of us felt dizzy and lightheaded for most of the tour. I hope we won't bring any spirits home with us! Sarah, Clara and Aia

Monday 24 March 2014

Parliament and MP Joan Crockatt

Parliament is the most prominent and recognizable building in Ottawa. In 1916, the original building burned down with the exception of the library. During the fire, the Canadian government thought the Germans were attacking because World War One was happening at the time. The cause of the fire is still unknown to this day! As well as being Canada's main legislative building, parliament also hosts foreign dignitaries to address Canadian politicians. The tour of the parliment building was very interesting. We started out by looking at all the plaques that had the names of all the previous governments. Next was the house of commons. It was super interesting to see where the members of parliment sit. After that we went to the library which was my favorite part. I liked seeing the architecture of the old parliment versus the new one. Seeing the senate was also cool. The stained glass windows looked really good with the sun shining. Also, the security people were way nicer than the ones at the airport! The group was going to meet Joan Crockett. We asked questions to her staffers until she came. During this we learned that they were conservative. When she finally came (it was not her fault that she was late) she explained the three levels of government in great detail. Sent from my iPhone Dominic and Adam and Nick

Museum of Civilization

This museum is a historic museum of Canada. The artifacts reflect Canadian history and symbols and features a First Nation section which shows the importance they had to Canadian history. There are many totem poles and native camp scenes recreated. Their culture is very important and interesting to learn. Not only does this museum display first nation history it also shows the events leading up to the government. In other parts there are exhibits that show how the Europeans lived. Not only is this museum great for history but the building itself. When walking into the building you may realize that some parts of the building are built to look like a faces Noah and Lachlan

Sunday 23 March 2014

Pointe a Calliere

When visiting the Museum of history and archeology (also known as the Point a Calliere) both me (Georgia) and Amy found it a very entertaining experience, enabling the individual to learn through mainly sight and sound. For instance: when touring the museum and discovering more about both its ruins and history, we were offered visual diagrams of the first creation of the great city of Montreal, buried in the floor and separated into five sections. Each diorama representing a different section of the settlements production. The sound was archived through a engaging film in which reviewed the overall history in the making of Montreal. The museum displayed many interacting displays, some of the few the ancient ruins of old Montreal and an aged cemetery complete with the remains of a outhouse. Georgia and Amy

Biodome

At the bio dome I enjoyed the capybara and the sting rays. The exhibits were really neat because you had so many different views. At the bio dome I really liked seeing all the animals (Mostly the penguins) and all the different views were amazing. It really showed a lot of different areas At the bio dome I enjoyed the white sturgeon though they were not full size. White sturgeon can grow to twenty feet long. I liked the penguins they were very cute. The exhibit with the beavers looked a lot like Calgary. Nathan, Keegan and Oliver