For almost 100 years, children's museums have succeeded in their mission of stimulating curiosity and motivating learning in young children. These museums complement efforts in schools, child care centers, and homes to enrich the lives and education of children. Learn more through the Our History
Inaugurated by Hilary Weston in 1998, COM opened its doors at the former McLaughlin Planetarium at the Royal Ontario Museum. On average, over 133,000 people per year played in the neighbourhood-themed museum. Children could be found tending the garden, hiding in the giant tree, serving breakfast in the COM Café, nursing sick toys back to health in the animal clinic, creating their first paintings, cooperating with other children to produce a play on stage, building a tower in the construction zone and participating in our interactive story-time.