PRESS RELEASE

August 16, 2005

For immediate release

Ahoy There! It’s Lighthouse Days
at the Science and Tech Museum
Saturday, August 20 - Sunday, August 21, 2005
10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Ottawa — The Canada Science and Technology Museum will give tours of its landmark Cape North lighthouse next weekend, August 20-21, as part of a special Lighthouse Days event.

Visitors can take guided tours of the lighthouse, and climb up inside to see how those lights and reflectors work to make it shine so brightly. Following their tour, interested visitors can remain in the lighthouse and, with the help of volunteers from the Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club, talk to other lighthouses as part of an international, ham radio, Lighthouse Days event. Last year, 370 lighthouses from as far away as Australia, Denmark and Argentina participated in the event.

For visitors feeling adventurous after all that nautical inspiration, the museum has developed a fun GPS Scavenger Hunt. Teams of visitors will use GPS units to hunt for sets of GPS coordinates in the museum. They will then have to answer a question based on museum artifacts they find at each location. Every team will win a prize if they complete their hunt!

Other activities offered during the weekend event include a flag alphabet workshop where visitors can learn to write their name using alphabet flags, plus a knot workshop, a craft corner where kids can make their own lighthouse in a bottle, a display of Canadian Coast Guard ship models, and an interactive display where visitors can learn how those powerful lighthouse lights actually work.

All activities are included with regular admission fees. From trains to telephones, and satellites to snowmobiles, all the museum’s activities and exhibitions offer a glimpse into Canada’s rich science and technology heritage. Main exhibition halls and displays are open to the public daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $6; $3 for children (ages 4-14); $5 for students and seniors; $14 for a family (2 adults and 3 children); children under 4 are free. The Canada Science and Technology Museum is located at 1867 St. Laurent Boulevard and offers free parking on-site.

General information: Call 613 991-3044 or our Toll free number: 1-866-442-4416.

Media contact:
Caroline Desabrais, 613 998-5342, cdesabrais@technomuses.ca