Exhibition

Discovery Park

Ongoing

Discovery Park features a series of interactive outdoor displays to explore from spring through fall.

Learn about agricultural innovation in an engaging and active way. Discovery Park offers family-friendly fun for visitors of all ages and interests.

Included with museum admission

Exhibition highlights

Nidòndàdizimin nidjìbikànàng: Thriving from our roots

This trilingual display—in Algonquin, English and French—shares the words and voices of Asha Meness King and Joan Tenasco of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabe. Based on the idea that language and culture are gateways to ancestral knowledge, this display celebrates the enduring presence of the Algonquin people on their traditional territories.

A horizontal exhibit panel with an image of a bee at a flower, text, and several smaller images. In the foreground of the image are out-of-focus yellow flowers.

Safe delivery, from A to bee

What if nature itself could be used to fight crop-damaging mould, mildew and fungi? Although farmers generally rely on fungicides, the Ontario company Bee-Vectoring Technology has developed a safe delivery and protection system that relies on bumblebees and “good” fungus to keep crops from being affected in the first place.

A first home

Calves are born with weak immune systems, and can become quite sick during their first two months. To keep calves safe, dairy farmers often keep them apart from older animals and their germs. The hutches in Discovery Park are used by the museum for its own calves, and provide everything a newborn needs to stay comfortable and healthy.

Three exhibit panels are in front of tall grass. There is a blue device which provides drinking water to herds to the left.

A self-serve waterer

Clean drinking water is a must for farm animals. But it can be challenging to supply fresh water to animals grazing in far-off pastures, or during winter. It takes a lot of electricity to pump water to distant fields, and to keep it from freezing. Learn how one Alberta farmer’s invention allows farm animals to access the water they need in all seasons.

The native garden

Smell and observe Canada’s native plants in this natural garden! These plants provide critical food and shelter for pollinators, including bees and butterflies. Challenge yourself to match each plant to its photo, or play a mobile game to learn how we can help our pollinators.

Two children look into a garden of green, edible plants. One kneels and points into the garden.

Food for Years

Check out a garden patch featuring edible perennials, and learn why they are good for both agriculture and the environment. Take a look around…can you identify all of the fruits, vegetables and herbs?

Banking on Diversity

Some modern farming practices and loss of habitat are putting plant varieties at risk. That’s why the federal government manages the Plant Gene Resources of Canada, which stores over 115,000 different varieties of plants! Learn more about how our native plants are being preserved, studied and shared.

A close-up of a horizontal windmill, with blades that spiral as the wind blows. A blue, sunny sky is in the background.

Attention…Wind at Work

If the blades on our windmill are turning, then it’s hard at work! This display explains how windmills convert wind energy into mechanical energy. You can also read how farmers use windmills to pump water for their livestock.

Accessibility

Discovery Park is an outdoor space with a gravel path and a slight incline, which may pose challenges for visitors with mobility issues.

Discovery Park

Exhibition highlights