London Children’s Museum
Traditionally, museums have been seen as adult specific spaces for education. Carol Johnson changed that concept in London, Ontario when she started the London Children’s Museum. Ms. Johnson had travelled to the United States in the 1970s and visited the Boston Children’s Museum with her family. Her experience there inspired her to begin the first ever children’s museum in Canada.
The London Children’s Museum opened in 1978 in an old City Centre building. The original museum was largely volunteer run and was experimental in the first couple of years. In 1982 the museum received funding from the Richard Ivey Foundation that allowed them to purchase the former Riverview Public School building on Wharncliffe Road. There the collection expanded, and museum staff were able to theme different exhibits including a section on dinosaurs, solar systems, and schools. The statement piece for many Londoners was the large blue whale skeleton, Bellina, hanging from the atrium ceiling.
In 2021, staff of the Children’s Museum announced that they were leaving their current home on Wharncliffe Road and moving into a much larger space at 100 Kellogg Lane, the old Kellogg factory. Here, the museum takes up an entire floor and includes 8 interactive displays and over 8000 artifacts. The renovation process was completed, and the building was opened on January 7, 2025, with the Grand Opening ceremony on January 25, 2025. To learn more about the wonderful exhibits and events hosted by the London Children’s Museum, visit their website: https://www.londonchildrensmuseum.ca/
