There were some really cool pavilions set up over the period of the Olympics...I think most are hanging around for the paralympics as well and perhaps the lineups will not be so gruesome. These venues offered some cool experiences. As one example the Canadian mint allowed spectators to view and hold the Olympic medals... see a coin with a face value of one million dollars... hold a gold bullion bar as well as buy coins or trade coins to complete their Olympic series of quarters and loonies. They were also giving away the folders to hold the coins as a collection...(these are (were) available at Petrocan Stations also)...The big problem with the mint exhibit was the length of the lineups ...the longest wait some people had to get to hold the medals in the medal room was 7 and one-half hours. This is because it was very popular but also because they only allowed 20 -25 people in the medal room at one time...I'm sure there are lots of security reasons for this...and each group was only able to stay in the room for about ten minutes...the math is simple...only about 150 people could get through the medal room each hour...when there were thousands of people at the Olympics you can see why there was a huge line! The last question I guess that needs to be answered is was the wait in line worth it? I thought so...it was a unique experience and the entire process of the creation of these medals was outlined in the room...Heck I'll never win an Olympic medal, but I did get to hold one!
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