Thomas the Tank Engine is a long standing staple of many a childhood. Occassionally Thomas will have exhibits travelling to various musuems across the country. In 2016, one such exhibit was at the Candian Museum of History in Ottawa-Gatineau.

The exhibit included several trains of Sodor fame that were large enough for the children to climb into and play on. Some of the more hands-on activities had children assembling parts of the train, such as the wheels and side rods or basic forms of the steam boiler.

Sodor history

While Thomas is obviously meant for the children, the exhibit was a nice mix of history for the parents and hands-on for the children. As many parents are likely to have experienced Thomas as part of their own childhood there was a fair amount of material to peruse that had both the history of the show and it's main writers, guest stars, etc.

Giant Train Table

The most popular part of the exhibit was the giant wooden train table that was centrally located. The picture above doesn't do it justice, as it's just a small section. It was constantly populated with children and adults alike driving Thomas and his friends around and re-arranging the mock island of Sodor to their liking.

As a stand alone exhibit the total time a family would be likely to spend would depend entirely on how much time the children spent at the train table. This may mean if it is visiting your area, but entails a bit of travel to reach it's not worth the trip, but if you're interested in visiting whatever museum it's being hosted in it's well worth making it part of your day.