Nature Nocturne

The Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa is a national natural history museum and research institute that grew out of the collections of the Geological Survey of Canada in 1856. The building, constructed in the Gothic Revival style between 1905 and 1912, had to have its tower taken down in 1915. It underwent a comprehensive renovation from 2004 to 2010 and gained a glass addition. Visitors can marvel at more than ten million specimens, including extensive zoological and botanical reference collections as well as one of the oldest mineral collections in Canada. A highlight is the dinosaur gallery, with more than three hundred pieces, including rare finds such as Daspletosaurus and the feathered Sinornithosaurus. A special gallery is devoted to the mass extinction at the boundary between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, while a large library complements the museum's scientific work.