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When To Come
Crowd notes, honestly. Short page — the answer is simple.
Tuesday to Thursday, 11 am. That's it. That's the answer. The galleries are half empty, the guards are relaxed, and there is no stroller traffic in the dinosaur hall.
I say eleven and not ten because the cleaning crew is still working the galleries until about 10:40, and the first school groups arrive at 10:15 sharp. Ten o'clock puts you in the middle of both. Eleven is the gap.
The rest of the week
- Friday afternoon — school groups leave by 2 pm. Quiet after that.
- Saturday 10 am to 1 pm — wall-to-wall strollers. The dinosaur gallery is a rugby scrum. Avoid.
- Saturday after 3 pm — noticeably calmer, families have gone home for naps.
- Sunday — busy but spread out. Lots of out-of-town visitors.
- Monday — closed most Mondays. Check the museum's own calendar, not a blog post from 2019.
Seasons, quickly
March Break is chaos — two weeks where every school-aged child in Ontario is in the building. July and August means camp groups on weekday mornings and tourists all day. December from the 20th onward is a scrum. January and February are the quietest months and the best time to visit. September and October are good — school groups are back but they leave by 2 pm.
Rain drives people in, so a wet Saturday is busier than a dry one. Snow keeps people home, which is good for you if you're already going.