After touring the lower city, we walked over to the Musee de la Civilisation. The modern type building was built in 1988. Inside is four floors of exhibits. In the lobby is a cutout of a wooden boat that was found when they were building the museum. The large atrium has skylight and stairs flank both sides to the top floors and to the basement below.

We started with the People of Quebec: Then and Now a permanent exhibit which provides an excellent overview into the city. I believe we would be lost without it. It explained the tension between Quebecians and Canadians and how they have resolved their differences over the past decades.

Next, we toured Uprising 25 – 25 terrorist moments after 9/11. It was a temporary exhibit and I lost interest quickly. Instead, I went upstairs to Sharing the Meal – about Canadian food and looked at Nanotech – the invisible revolution. It was a bit over my head, but I found it fascinating that things can be so small.

I also enjoyed Like Cats and Dogs where I met up with DH again. It was lighthearted but had interactive exhibits to keep kids 5 and up entertained.

Our favorite exhibit was Observe, which was interactive and tested our powers of observation. Not just visual – like finding a set of keys in each room – but memory, hearing as well. Another part of the exhibit had optical illusions where the following picture was taken. I really wasn’t dangling off a construction beam, but lying down on the floor.

Although we could have toured the exhibit on aboriginal art, we were tired and ready to unwind for a while. We stopped by La Maison Smith in the Place-Royale for beverages. Later that evening, we ate at Bello and headed to the concert on the Plains of Abraham for St. Jean Baptiste Day. For more information about the museum and its exhibits, click here.