VISITOR INFORMATION
Schedule / hours: 2017: Open year-round, Tuesday to Sunday from 12 noon to 4 p.m.
Admission price: 2017: $7/adults, $5.50/seniors and students, $4.50/6-12 years old, FREE for 5 years and under, $16.50/family of 2 adults and dependant kids.
Address: 900 Woodward Avenue
HamiltonPhone: 905-546-4797
Website: www.hamilton.ca/CultureandRecreatiNearby restaurants: • Drive across the QEW to reach Van Wagners Beach Road (the street running along the waterfront) to reach Hutch’s (a yummy greasy spoon place with some booths with waterfront view at 280 Van Wagners Beach Road) or Baranga’s On The Beach (a restaurant with great waterfront patio at 380 Van Wagners Beach Road).
While you are there: • A visit to Adventure Village Amusement Park on 580 Van Wagner’s Beach Road could offer a nice ending to this outing (just don’t mention it to the kids before the visit to the Museum of Steam if you want them to pay any attention!).
Age group: 6 - 16 years old
Attraction suitable for:
School
Preteen
Teen
19th century techies
The steam engines before us are quite impressive, at 70 tons each and 45 feet high. We're actually too close to see them in one shot as we look at them from the mezzanine. Canadian made, they're the oldest surviving examples in the nation and we can see them in operation under our noses. Our guide took great pains to explain the "beauty" of the technology involved, by means of an interactive display perfectly adapted for children. During our tour, which lasted 40 minutes, kids were allowed to use a lever to make the huge wheel turn under the pressure of the steam. We could also admire a model of the pump house in a large barn-like display room filled with charts explaining the system. Each of the 12,000 parts of this functioning model were hand-made by a Hamilton resident in the 80's.
