Doors Open London 2012

Doors Open London is a great event and one of the best weekends of the entire year.

This past weekend, there were over a hundred different tourist attractions to visit all over the city and the surrounding counties. The best part is that the event is absolutely free.

I got out to twelve different sites this year. My favourite one wouldn’t allow us to take any pictures of the tour however so you’ll have to settle for this one of the exterior of the building.

The downtown police headquarters was really something. An Auxilary Officer led us through a tour of the entire building.

I was impressed with the shooting range. It was housed in a building completely separate from the main structure. The walls were lined with recycled old tires. It was a state-of-the-art range with light and sound control to change the physical environment and provide a great training ground for the officers.

We also got to see the parking garage and go inside an armored hummer-like vehicle. We saw the regular squad cars, an historic vehicle, and a police boat. One of the cars had the trunk open and there were a few stuffed animals in the back. They were part of a new program to help kids who had been through a traumatic experience. They would be given a stuffed animal of a police dog. What a great idea.

Ska-Nah-Doht Village is a recreation of a longhouse village as it would have been 1,000 years ago. It is part of Longwoods Conservation Area and is a great way to experience First Nations culture. I actually learned how to make a cornhusk doll. This is something that I would like to try with my students some time.

Another highlight of the weekend was Fire Station No. 4. It was built in 1909 and it really helps bring history alive. It sill has a functioning fire pole and a few firefighters demonstrated it during the tour. There are also all sorts of historical photos to peruse as well.

More Doors Open Sites