Johnson Geo Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland

**Disclosure: We received tickets for the museum in exchange for this blog post. All opinions are our own**

My husband and sons (7,9) go gaga over rocks and space.
They can spend a long time looking at rocks or learning about the planets.

I knew that the Johnson Geo Centre would be the place to go when were in St. Jonn’s.

About the Johnson Geo Centre

Looking to learn more about the Earth and its incredible past? Wanting to get out for a super-fun day with the kids? Fascinated by the Titanic story and want to learn more about the countless stories of its passengers and crew? The Johnson GEO CENTRE gives you all of that and more!

The GEO CENTRE has been designed to provide lots of family fun in St. John’s, while suiting everyone’s timetable and interests. To fully appreciate the many GEO displays and exhibits as well as The Titanic Story and the ExxonMobil Oil and Gas Gallery, set aside two or three hours.

Our Visit

We arrived on a Friday morning when school was in session, making the museum relatively quiet and easy to navigate.

Our first stop was a video giving an overview of earth.

“That was so cool!” the kids exclaimed. They loved the live special effects (like running waterfalls and rain) during the 15 minute film.

From there we checked out ExxonMobil Oil and Gas gallery and learned about all the products made from oil!

We visited the Titanic exhibit.

Similar to the one we visited at the Martime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax the exhibit outlines the disaster of the Titanic including debunking a lot of the myths and carefully outlining the reasons for the disaster.

As a parent, I appreciated that there was a video simulation activity for the kids to play with while the adults went around reading the panels of information!

Next, we went into the main gallery to view the exhibits on Our Planet, Our Province, Our People, Our Future & Space.

The “Type A” personality in me appreciated the arrows along the floor. This directed you through the exhibits so you wouldn’t miss anything!

At every step of the way, there were a lot of interactive pieces for kids. Whether it was a fossil search and find, or spraying the museum’s rock walls (yes, these are the actual rocks that the museum is carved into!) to see it more clearly.

Another highlight of our visit was getting to see an actual piece from a glacier that was 35,000 years old! Our friend remembered that the last time he was there that they brought out a piece to show his nephew. He asked, and they obliged! How incredible to be touching something so old!

Outside the museum there are various paths to explore so you can see a variety of geological formations, sculptures and views of Signal Hill.

Our Thoughts

This was a great museum to explore with elementary-aged children and older. Although there are interactive pieces and a kid’s fun zone,

school-aged children will gain the most from their visit.

The exhibits provided an excellent and organized overview of our planet and how it fits in with the rest of the solar system. There was something for everyone!

My husband says:
The location itself was impressive – built into the side of Signal Hill. I would’ve liked to have spent more time in the Johnson Geo Park as it looked to be very informative and interesting.

There were really good partnership exhibits (such as the Oil and Gas Gallery) and I got a real sense of what made Newfoundland “special” in terms of its mineral resources and natural wealth.

The Titanic exhibit was also excellent, and provided different emphasis from the exhibit at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax.

I really enjoyed the presentation in the Amazing Earth Theatre, and the fact that two hyperactive boys sat still, enthralled, by the whole presentation showed how effective and interesting it was.

Daniel, 9, says that he loved seeing all the rocks on display, and seeing that the museum walls were made from rock!
“I liked rubbing my hands together to created hand prints on the cave!”

Thomas, 7, loved everything about the museum, including the walks around the building.
“I liked how I could move stuff, touch stuff and push stuff. There were no signs that said DO NOT TOUCH!”

Hours and Admission

The Johnson GEO CENTRE is open to the public all year long, 7 days a week, except for a few key holidays.

Adult   $12.00
Seniors (60 plus)   $9.00
Students   $9.00
Youth (5 – 17 Years)   $6.00
Family Pass (2 Adults & 3 Youth Age Children)   $32.00
Under 5 Years   FREE