Canadian Museum of Civilization
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The Canadian Museum of Civilization (French: Musée canadien des civilisations) is a national museum in Canada. It is also the most visited museum in Canada.[1]
It is located in Gatineau, Quebec, just across the Ottawa River from Ottawa. The museum's current building opened on June 29, 1989, and has been proclaimed as an architectural landmark; however, it was criticized in the 1980s for the severe cost overruns.
The building housing the museum is a work of art itself. Designed by renowned aboriginal architect Douglas J. Cardinal, the building captures the undulating natural shapes of the landscapes, incorporating flora indigenous to the area.
The Museum of Civilization is run by the Museum of Civilization Corporation, a Crown corporation that also manages the Canadian War Museum, located in Ottawa, and the Canadian Postal Museum, located within the Museum of Civilization itself.
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[edit] Exhibits
The museum has two main exhibition paths in addition to revolving, short-term special exhibitions. The first main exhibition, Canada Hall, narrates the 1000-year history of Canada from the time of first contact between Vikings and First Nations to the present. The second exhibition is the First Peoples Hall, an exhibition that narrates the living history of First Nations people, touching upon pre-European Native life, the shock of contact, and the present. The First Peoples Hall is noteworthy for the groundbreaking, intensive collaboration that occurred between Museum curators and First Nations representatives during the long planning stages for the hall. The First Peoples Hall is a direct outcome of the Task Force on Museums and First Peoples, a joint project between the Assembly of First Nations, the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian Museums Associations. Other notable features at the Canadian Museum of Civilization include the massive Grand Hall, the Canadian Children's Museum and a combined IMAX and IMAX Dome movie theatre.
The recreation of six Northwest Coast family homes is a spectacular sight in the Grand Hall, capturing the scene of a Pacific Northwest village with massive totem poles, village buildings and a North American forest backdrop. Remarkably, the homes were made by First Nations artisans who are descended from the original villagers, using large cedar timbers imported from the Pacific Northwest. The backdrop is considered to be the largest print of a photograph in the world. The grouping of totem poles is the largest indoor display of totem poles in the world.
[edit] Canada Hall
Canada Hall was created to portray the various waves of immigration to Canada, over the past millennium, the natural resources settlers exploited, and communities they built. Throughout the displays are historical interpreters playing various characters; they are part of Dramamuse, a resident theatre company. The museum suggests Canada Hall takes an average of 45 minutes to tour.
The display begins with The Atlantic Coast of Canada, from 1000-1750 AD, which includes displays of the Vikings, fishing and whaling, and Early Acadia.
It continues into a display of The Central Regions, from 1750-1870, including a farmhouse and barn to show Seigniories, New France Square (which includes the Louisberg Inn, Shoemaker's House, and a hospital), a display of the fur trade, as well as The Metis, Timber Trade, A Farming Frontier, British Military, The Maritime Shipyard, Ontario Street (which includes a merchant's house and Canadian Pacific train station).
Around the bend of Ontario Street, visitors are now in The Canadian Prairies, 1870-1920. Portrayed are a grain elevator, St. Onuphrius Church, Ukrainian Booksellers Store and Print Shop, Labor Temple (a union hall), Chinese hand laundry, and the Oil Patch.
The final two sections are The Pacific Coast, 1920-1970, with a display of West Coast Communities and Pacific Gateways (an airport waiting lounge), and The Canadian North, 1970-2000, which features a replica of the Wildcat Cafe in a display called "Northern Visions".
[edit] First Peoples Hall
Chronicling 20,000 years of history, the hall is separated into three larger zones examining the peoples, their interactions with the land, and their contributions to society. This exhibit complements the First Peoples of Canada's Pacific Coast exhibit, in the Grand Hall. The First Peoples Hall is also home to occasionally scheduled performances, demonstrations, and workshops.
In "An Aboriginal Presence", displays look at Aboriginal cultural diversity, achievements, prehistoric settlement of North America, and their effect on geographic naming. The section completes with traditional folk stories about various phenomena and creation; hereditary Chief Stephen Augustine on the Mi'kmaq recounts the beginning of the world in the Creation Stories Theatre film.
"An Ancient Bond with the Land" examines Aboriginal life on the land, including Arctic whalers, maritime peoples, communal hunters, and the People of the Longhouse. An exhibit of Trade Fairs recreates what a southern Saskatchewan trade fair, 500 years prior.
"Arrival of Strangers - The Last 500 Years" examines Aboriginal history from European contact to present. It examines early relations, the Metis, the clash of Christianity and Aboriginal beliefs, intergovernmental relations, the introduction of Western economy by European settlers making Natives pursue jobs as ranch hands, industrial workers, and commercial fisherman, post-War political and legal affirmation and civil rights, a ten minute video about sustaining Aboriginal culture in Affirmation Theatre, and finally Native art.
[edit] Upcoming
In 2007, the fourth floor will be home to a permanent exhibit featuring 25 Canadians "whose vision and action had a significant impact on Canada and its inhabitants."
[edit] History
The museum was first founded in 1856 as the display hall for the Geological Survey of Canada, which was accumulating not only minerals, but biological specimens, and historical and ethnological artifacts. Originally located in Montreal the museum was moved to Ottawa in 1881.[2] In 1910, upon recommendation from Franz Boas, the anthropologist-linguist Edward Sapir was appointed as the first anthropologist in the newly-formed anthropology division of the museum. Soon later, the anthropologists Diamond Jenness and Marius Barbeau were hired. In 1911, now named the National Museum of Canada, it moved into the brand-new Victoria Memorial Museum Building on Metcalf Street in downtown Ottawa. The National Gallery of Canada also occupied half a floor in the building. In 1968, the museum was split into the Museum of Nature and the Museum of Man, but both remained squeezed into the same building. In 1982 Pierre Trudeau's government announced that the Museum of Man would be moved to its own separate facility in Hull (now Gatineau).
In response to criticisms that "Museum of Man" could be interpreted as gender-biased in light of modern sensibilities, a competition was launched in 1989 to find a new name. However, when that contest failed, the museum was renamed the Museum of Civilization and later in 1989 it moved in to the new facility. At the time of its opening, the cost of the museum had ballooned from an initial estimate of approximately $80 million to approximately $340 million. Despite initial criticisms of the perceived Disney-ficaton of the museum, its enormous costs, unique architecture, and unfinished exhibits from many quarters (including the Conservative government of Brian Mulroney), the museum soon became a major tourist attraction and was embraced by different political factions as a national symbol of "a pluralistic, multicultural society."[3]
[edit] Directors
| Years | Director |
|---|---|
| 1968–1983 | William E. Taylor |
| 1983–1998 | George F. MacDonald |
| 1999–2000 | Joe Geurts (acting) |
| 2000–Present | Victor Rabinovitch |
[edit] Further reading
- Christy Voden, Ian Dyck (2006). A world inside: a 150-year history of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, Gatineau. ISBN 0-660-19558-5.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Canadian Museum of Civilization (2006-05-10). Canada's most visited museum celebrates 150th anniversary. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-07-06.
- ^ Canadian Museum of Civilization - Institutional History. Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (December 29, 2005). Retrieved on October 11, 2006.
- ^ Gillam, Robyn (2001). Hall of Mirrors: Museums and the Canadian Public. Banff, AB: The Banff Centre. ISBN 0-920159-85-0.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
- Street map from Mapquest or Google Maps
- Satellite image from Google Maps
- Topographical map from Maptech
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| National Gallery of Canada Corporation: | National Gallery of Canada | Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography |
| Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation: | Canadian Museum of Civilization | Canadian Postal Museum | Canadian Children's Museum | Virtual Museum of New France | Canadian War Museum |
| Canadian Museum of Nature Corporation: | Canadian Museum of Nature |
| Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation: | Canada Science and Technology Museum | Canada Agriculture Museum | Canada Aviation Museum |
