Educational Media Reviews Online

This travelogue of Canada’s capital city of Ottawa is part of the Exploring the World Series. It provides a brief overview of Ottawa’s Parliament buildings, the artwork at the National Gallery and the ByWard Market.

The video begins with stunning views of the government buildings on Parliament Hill. The narrator relates how Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as the capital city in 1857 because of its location between Upper and Lower Canada. The Hill, featuring neo-Gothic architecture, is home to the House of Commons, Senate and the Prime Minister. The distinctive Peace Tower with its carillon is featured as well as the Library of Parliament, the only part of the original building to survive following a 1916 fire. From there the video moves to Rideau Hall, residence of the Governor’s Generals since 1867. The narration highlights the furnishings as well as the historic landscaping, a Canadian adaptation of an English garden.

The National Gallery of Canada is the next destination. The Gallery, begun in 1880, houses the country’s art treasures. It features beautiful architecture and international exhibitions. From there the video moves to the ByWard Market, one of the trendiest areas of Ottawa. In the early 1800’s this area was known as Lowertown, a lumber town occupied by working class French and Irish. Today it is a thriving area where people meet and mingle among the farmer’s market stalls, clubs, cafes and boutiques.

This video has excellent technical quality with clear audio. The bulk of the video is spent on the government buildings with much less time on the Gallery and Market. This video would enhance library collections from the Junior High level to libraries with travel and tourism video collections.