A few years ago (when I was a teenager), I came to this museum when I saw some family here in Ottawa. It was the first museum that really inspired me (yes, we all know how teenagers can be!!!!), so as soon as I knew that I was living in Canada, I had to go back there, and it didn’t disappoint me.
Where is the Canadian Museum of History located?
Just put this address into your GPS:
100 Rue Laurier, Gatineau, QC
They have parking under the museum, so it is easy to park.
A little bit about the History behind this museum:
The institutional roots of the Canadian Museum of History date back to 1841 when Queen Victoria granted £1,500 for the “creation of the Geological and Natural History Survey of the Province of Canada.” The survey was originally located in Montréal, and scholars spread out across Canada, collecting geological, archaeological, and biological material. After the survey’s first season, a museum was established in Montréal to showcase its geological findings; over the ensuing decades, its exhibitions traveled to London and Paris. In 1877, an Act of Parliament ensured the continued existence of the Geographical Survey, which broadened the museum’s collection base to include botanical, zoological, and ethnographic specimens and artifacts. The museum moved to Ottawa in 1881.
In 1910, a new anthropology division was established under the direction of Edward Sapir, which included two sections in charge of archaeological and ethnological fieldwork. The following year, anthropologist Marius Barbeau was hired. The museum has been a center for research in Canadian anthropology since this period. When fire destroyed most of the Parliament Buildings in 1916, Parliament was housed in the museum building, and the museum’s collections were put in storage until 1920. In 1927, the Geological Survey became the National Museum of Canada, encompassing national collections of human History and natural History. Another notable Canadian anthropologist who worked for the museum was Diamond Jenness, a member of the Canadian Arctic Expedition (1913–18), who joined the museum after the Second World War.
In 1956, the National Museum of Canada was divided into two branches (natural and human History). Two years later, the Canadian War Museum became a division of the National Museum of Canada and expanded when it took over the old Public Archives of Canada building in 1967. The National Museums of Canada Corporation was established under the National Museums Act on 1 April 1968, comprising the National Gallery, the National Museum of Man (including the Canadian War Museum), the National Museum of Natural Sciences (now the Canadian Museum of Nature) and the National Museum of Science and Technology (now the Canada Science and Technology Museum). The National Museum of Man and the National Museum of Natural Sciences continued to share the same building in Ottawa.
In 1986, the National Museum of Man changed its name to the Canadian Museum of Civilization. It opened to the public on 29 June 1989 in a new building in Hull, Québec. On 1 July 1990, the Museums Act disbanded the National Museums of Canada Corporation and established four crown corporations: the Canadian Museum of Civilization; the National Gallery of Canada; the Canadian Museum of Nature; and the National Museum of Science and Technology. On 12 December 2013, the Museum of Civilization has renamed the Canadian Museum of History. The museum’s mandate also changed to reflect a focus on social and political History.
About the architecture:
One thing I loved about coming here is the architecture; most of it represents waves and boats. So I took the time to learn more about it, and here it’s what I learned.
The Canadian Museum of History complex was designed by architect Douglas Cardinal to reflect features of the Canadian landscape. According to Cardinal, the buildings “speak of the emergence of this continent, its forms sculptured by the winds, the rivers, the glaciers.” The museum was built between 1983 and 1989. It comprises a 75,000 m2 structure located on a 9.5 ha site that overlooks the Ottawa River and Parliament Buildings from Laurier Park in Gatineau, Québec. The roof of its public Glacier Wing is built of nearly 11,000 m2 (or 90 tonnes) of copper. The exterior walls of the complex are faced with 30,000 m2 of Tyndall limestone quarried in Manitoba — enough to build 460 bungalows. The infrastructure is constructed of 56,000 m3 of cement, or enough for 8,500 truckloads, as well as 7,300 tonnes of steel, about three-quarters the weight used to build the Eiffel Tower. The dome that sits atop the IMAX theatre is 23 m in diameter and weighs 8.6 tonnes.
Exhibitions and collections
The Canadian Museum of History contains several permanent exhibitions, including First Peoples of the Northwest Coast and From Time Immemorial. Tsimshian Prehistory is in the Grand Hall. First Peoples Hall showcases Aboriginal peoples’ enduring traditions; the Canadian Stamp Collection ; the Canadian Children’s Museum; and Canadian History Hall (open 2017). The museum also houses a 500-seat theatre for live performances and lectures and a 295-seat IMAX 3D theatre. The Canadian Museum of History has 25,000 m2 of exhibition space, more than any other museum or art gallery in Canada. The complex contains:
- Over four million artifacts (218,000 of which are accessible through the museum’s online database).
- One boutique.
- Three restaurants.
- More than 500 workers (including persons who work at the Canadian War Museum).
The Canadian Museum of History corporation also oversees operations at the Canadian War Museum and the Virtual Museum of New France, which explores French colonial History in Canada.
What did I love about this museum?
Because we lived for a year in British Columbia, I was so happy to see the Grand Hall with the Exhibition of the First Peoples of the Northwest Coast. The totems are impressive, and the architecture in this room (I probably should say Hall) is so beautiful. You can learn about the First Peoples and have a nice view of the Ottawa River and the Parliament.
It is an excellent place for everybody who wants to learn more about Canadian History, and if you have children, they should come with you. We wanted to go into the Canadian Children’s Museum, but we couldn’t as we needed to make a reservation.
Enjoy your day in the museum!
