Canadian Museum of Nature
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use Canadian English Template:Infobox museum The Canadian Museum of Nature (Template:Langx; CMN) is a national natural history museum based in Canada's National Capital Region. The museum's exhibitions and public programs are housed in the Victoria Memorial Museum Building, a Template:Convert in Ottawa, Ontario. The museum's administrative offices and scientific centres are housed at a separate location, the Natural Heritage Campus, in Gatineau, Quebec.
The museum originated from a museum established by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1856. Initially based in Montreal, the museum relocated to downtown Ottawa in 1881. In 1911, the museum relocated to the Victoria Memorial Museum Building. Initially, a natural history museum, the institution later expanded to include an anthropology and human history department; with the institution renamed the National Museum of Canada in 1927. The departments of the national museum were later split into separate national institutions, with the natural history department forming the National Museum of Natural Sciences in 1968. The museum adopted its current name in 1990 after it was made its own autonomous crown corporation. From 2004 to 2010, the museum renovated and expanded the Victoria Memorial Museum Building.
The museum's collection contains over 14.6 million specimens of the natural world, several of which are displayed in its permanent exhibitions. The museum also hosts and organizes several travelling exhibitions and supports and conducts several research programs relating to natural history.
History
Early museum (1856–1968)
The Canadian Museum of Nature originates from the collecting efforts of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), an organization established in 1842 in Montreal.<ref name=histoff>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1856 the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada passed an act that enabled the GSC to establish a museum to exhibit items found from its geological and archaeological field trips; with the museum initially established in Montreal.<ref name=histoff/> In 1877, the museum mandate was formally expanded to include the study of modern fauna and flora, in addition to human history, languages, and traditions.<ref name=histoff/>
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In 1881, the museum relocated from Montreal to downtown Ottawa; although space in the new facility soon proved to be inadequate, with the Royal Society of Canada petitioning the federal government to build a new building for the museum by 1896.<ref name=histoff/> Preliminary plans for a new building were drawn up by 1899, although work on the building did not begin until 1906.<ref name=histoff/> In the following year, management of the museum was assumed by the Department of Mines, with the mandate formally expanded to include anthropological studies.<ref name=histoff/> The new museum building, the Victoria Memorial building, was also completed in 1910, although it was not opened to the public until 1912.<ref name=histoff/> In 1927, the museum division of the Department of Mines was renamed the National Museum of Canada;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with the museum formally split from the GSC.<ref name=histnat>Template:Cite web</ref>
Management of the National Museum was transferred from the Department of Mines to the Department of Resources and Development in 1950.<ref name=histoff/> In 1956, the museum was split into two branches, one focused on natural history and another on anthropology.<ref name=histoff/> The mandate of the museum was later expanded when the National Museum of Canada assumed management of the Canadian War Museum in 1958. A history division was established within the museum's anthropology branch in 1964.<ref name=histoff/>
Natural History Museum (1968–present)
In 1968, the branches of the National Museum of Canada were split into separate museums.<ref name=histoff/> The Canadian Museum of Nature originated from the natural history branch of the museum, initially incorporated as the National Museum of Natural Sciences.<ref name=histoff/> The anthropological and human history branch of the former National Museum of Canada became the National Museum of Man (later renamed the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 1988, and the Canadian Museum of History in 2013), while the science and technology branch became the National Museum of Science and Technology (later renamed the Canada Science and Technology Museum).<ref name=histoff/> In the same year, the National Museums of Canada Corporation (NMC) was formed to serve as an umbrella organization for the national museums, as well as provide support and administrative units for the museums.<ref name=nmc>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The National Museum of Natural Sciences formed a part of the NMC until the organization was dissolved in 1988.<ref name=nmc/>
In 1990, the government of Canada passed the Museums Act, which led to the National Museum of Natural Sciences and several national museums being incorporated as autonomous crown corporations.<ref name=2000plan>Template:Cite web</ref> The same act also renamed the National Museum of Natural Sciences into the Canadian Museum of Nature.<ref name=2000plan/> By 1990, the museum was the only remaining occupant of the Victoria Memorial building.<ref name=histnat/> In 1997, the museum opened a new research and collections facility in Gatineau, Quebec, consolidating its research facilities and collections holdings in one building.<ref name=histnat/>
Between 2004 and 2010, the federal government spent approximately C$216 million dollars on expanding and renovating the Canadian Museum of Nature.<ref name=histnat/> Construction for the rehabilitation project was done in phases, with large portions of the existing structure removed and demolished for renovations.<ref name=pcl>Template:Cite web</ref> On 22 May 2010, International Day for Biological Diversity, the museum building was reopened to the public.<ref name=histnat/> The building's glass tower, or the Queens' Lantern, was dedicated in honour of Queens Victoria and Elizabeth II, with the latter attending the tower's dedication ceremony in June 2010.<ref name=histnat/>
Facilities
The Canadian Museum of Nature operates two facilities. The Victoria Memorial Museum Building in Ottawa houses the museum's exhibitions and public programs, while its administrative, research and collections facility is situated at the Natural Heritage Centre in Gatineau.<ref name=randcf>Template:Cite web</ref>
Victoria Memorial Museum Building
The Victoria Memorial Museum Building in Ottawa houses the museum's exhibitions and galleries and other public programs operated by the museum. The building is located on a Template:Convert property is located in Centretown, a neighbourhood of Ottawa.<ref name=padolsky>Template:Cite web</ref> Situated approximately Template:Convert south of Centre Block on Parliament Hill, the building was initially designed to mirror the Canadian Parliament Buildings as a part of a larger envisioned planned capital.<ref name=histplace2>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=histbuild>Template:Cite web</ref> The property is surrounded by several roadways including O'Connor Street to the west, and Metcalfe Street to the east. Metcalfe Street's southern and northern portions also terminate north and south of the building as it detours to the east of the property.<ref name=histplace>Template:Cite web</ref>
The building is the first purpose-built museum building erected in Canada.<ref name=histplace/> The federal government authorized the construction of the building in 1901, in honour of Queen Victoria;<ref name=histnat/> with construction for the building taking place between 1905 and 1911.<ref name=histplace/> After its completion, the building housed the national museums, in addition to the National Gallery of Canada from 1911 to 1959.<ref name=histplace/> The building's auditorium also housed the Ottawa Little Theatre until 1916.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The theatre company was forced to vacate the space after a fire ravaged Centre Block, forcing the temporary relocation of the parliament to the building until 1920.<ref name=histplace/> The Canadian Museum of Nature became the building's sole occupant after the Canadian Museum of Civilization relocated to another facility in 1988.<ref name=histoff/> On 23 February 1990, the building was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada, given the building's importance to the development of museology in Canada, as well as for its architecture.<ref name=histplace/>
Design
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The Template:Convert Tudor-Gothic Revival-style building was designed by David Ewart, the Chief Architect of the Department of Public Works.<ref name=histplace/><ref name=pcl/> Tudor-Gothic detailing may be found throughout the building; including its original entrance that consists of a triple arch with neo-gothic tracery, pointed arch windows, decorative buttresses, and crenellations and corner turret.<ref name=histplace/><ref name=histplace2/> Many of the carvings found on the building depict Canadian flora and fauna.<ref name=histplace/> In addition to its Tudor-Gothic detailing, the design and orientation of the building also draw upon Beaux-Arts architectural principles.<ref name=histplace/>
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The interior is also embellished with carved wood and bronze balustrades, mosaic floors, marble and plaster detailing and decorative works, and stained glass windows.<ref name=histplace/> The interior spaces are centred around a formal hall from which all the museum's other spaces are accessible.<ref name=histplace/>
The building initially included a central tower at its entrance.<ref name=histplace/> However, the original tower caused the building to "sink" as the original design did not account for the Leda clay the structure was built on, resulting in the original tower's removal several years after the building opened.<ref name=kpmb>Template:Cite web</ref> A glass and steel tower erected in the place of the former central tower was built between 2004 and 2010. The new central tower, named the Queens' Lantern was formally opened in May 2010.<ref name=histnat/> The Template:Convert glass tower houses a butterfly staircase that was installed to improve visitor circulation in the museum.<ref name=padolsky/>
The construction of the Queens' Lantern formed a part of a larger rehabilitation project undertaken by the museum between 2004 and 2010, including a Template:Convert partially below-grade expansion to the south of the building, which included laboratories, the shipping and receiving area, workshops, and a green roof;<ref name=padolsky/> the latter feature used as an outdoor public gathering place.<ref name=kpmb/> The area surrounding the building's south-side expansion includes green spaces, a greenhouse, and a live animal display area.<ref name=kpmb/> Other renovations included extensive redesigns to the exhibitions, seismic and building code upgrades, mechanical and electrical system upgrades, asbestos removal, and repairing and restoring the masonry on the building.<ref name=padolsky/> Designs for the 2004-2010 renovations, including the Queens' Lantern, was a joint effort between Barry Padolsky Associates Inc., KPMB Architects, and Gagnon Joint Venture Architects;<ref name=padolsky/> with PCL Construction contracted to renovate and build the expansion.<ref name=pcl/>
Materials used to erect the building include Tyndall stone, steel frames, reinforced concrete, stone exterior cladding, and sandstone.<ref name=histplace/> Most of the sandstone used in the building was quarried from Nepean, Ontario, Wallace, Nova Scotia, and several communities in Quebec.<ref name=histbuild/> Granite used in the building was quarried from Stanstead, Quebec.<ref name=histbuild/>
Natural Heritage Campus
The Natural Heritage Campus houses the museum's administrative offices, scientific facilities, and collection storage.<ref name=randcf/> Situated in Gatineau, Quebec, the Template:Convert campus was opened by the museum in 1997.<ref name=randcf/> The building itself is Template:Convert, and offers workspaces, in addition to laboratory spaces.<ref name=randcf/>
The building includes three environmentally controlled "pods," housing 42 individual collection rooms and nine documentation rooms.<ref name=randcf/> More than 3,000 cabinets are used in the facility's storage spaces to house the museum's specimens.<ref name=randcf/> To help preserve the specimens, none of the storage facilities share a wall with the exterior of the building; with a specially sealed corridor surrounding its storage spaces.<ref name=randcf/>
Exhibitions
The museum has seven permanent exhibitions at its Victoria Memorial Museum Building.<ref name=exhibt>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the museum also hosts and organizes several travelling exhibitions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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The permanent exhibitions at the museum include the Bird Gallery; with over 500 specimens mounted throughout the gallery, representing over 450 species.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Several diorama backgrounds featured in the Bird Gallery were painted by James Perry Wilson.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Mammal Gallery is a gallery centred on mammals found in Canada, and also includes several dioramas painted by Clarence Tillenius during the mid-20th century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Earth Gallery is a permanent exhibition focused on minerals, rocks, and other geological forces.<ref name=earthgal>Template:Cite web</ref> A goodwill Lunar sample gifted to Canada by the United States is on display in the Earth Gallery.<ref name=earthgal/> The Fossil Gallery is another permanent exhibition that contains fossils from dinosaurs, mammals, and marine animals from approximately 35 to 85 million years ago; including over 30 nearly complete sets of dinosaur skeletons dating between 65 and 85 million years old.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A fairly complete specimen of an Edmontosaurus in the museum's Fossil Gallery was the first specimen to be mounted in a Canadian museum; having been acquired by the museum in 1912 and on display since 1913.<ref name=dino>Template:Cite book</ref> The other permanent exhibitions include Nature Live, a gallery that houses live arachnids, insects and other invertebrates; and the Water Gallery, which focuses on marine animals and hydrology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The newest permanent exhibition to be introduced at the museum is the Canada Goose Arctic Experience, with over 200 specimens and artifacts from the Canadian Arctic on display in the exhibition.<ref name=arctic>Template:Cite web</ref> The Arctic Experience gallery was opened in June 2017, coinciding with the 150th anniversary celebrations for Canada.<ref name=arctic/> The Arctic Experience gallery encompasses Template:Convert, and is divided into four themed areas that cover climate, ecosystems, geography, and sustainability; in addition to a Beyond Ice installation.<ref name=arctic/> The Beyond Ice installation provides visitors a sensory experience of the Arctic region, and was designed alongside the National Film Board of Canada.<ref name=arctic/> Although many of the items on display in the Arctic Experience gallery form a part of the museum's collection, the seal-skin kayak, and the items originating from John Franklin's lost expedition were loaned to the museum by the Government of Nunavut.<ref name=arctic/> Canada Goose Inc. is the gallery's title sponsor.<ref name=arctic/>
Collections
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Collecting efforts by the Canadian Museum of Nature forms a part of the museum's core mandate, with the collection intended to be used to facilitate "interest in, knowledge of and appreciation and respect for the natural world."<ref name=mandate>Template:Cite web</ref> The museum's collection includes algae, amphibians, birds, bryophytes, fishes, gemstones, invertebrate animals, lichens, mammals, minerals, mosses, palaeobotany material, reptiles, rocks, vascular plants, and vertebrate fossils.<ref name=canen>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> In addition these specimens, the museum's collection also includes a collection of art and film pertaining to natural history, audio recording of animal behaviours, and animal models; the latter two typically employed in the museum's exhibitions.<ref name=canen/> As of February 2017 the museum's collection includes over 14.6 million specimens, forming the largest collection of biological specimens in Canada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although a number of these items are on display in its exhibitions, many of these specimens are held at an off-site storage facility, the Natural Heritage Campus in Gatineau, Quebec.<ref name=canen/> The off-site facility holds over 3.1 million accessioned lots representing more than 10.6 million specimens.<ref name=canen/> As of 2014, approximately 22 per cent of the accessioned lots have been digitized and may be viewed through an online database.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 2001, there were approximately 43,000 specimens added to the museum's collections annually; acquired primarily through fieldwork by staff, research associates and other collaborators.<ref name=canen/>
The first items from the museum's collection originated from the collecting efforts of John Macoun, who was hired as the museum's first biologist by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1882.<ref name=herbarium>Template:Cite web</ref> Other early researchers who helped build up the institution's collections includes Erling Porsild, Charles Mortram Sternberg, and Percy A. Taverner.<ref name=canen/> In addition to museum staff, the museum's collection also includes specimens collected from other naturalists including Catharine Parr Traill.<ref name=herbarium/> The museum's collection includes over 25 scrapbooks from Traill from 1866 to 1899, forming the most extensive collection of plant pressings by Traill.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Traill collection forms a part of the National Herbarium of Canada, the museum's botany collection.<ref name=herbarium/>
The museum's herpetology collection includes over 133,000 specimens and forms the world's largest collection of herpetological specimens that originate from Canada.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The museum also holds the largest collection of Arctic plant specimens from Canada;Template:Sfn with over 100,000 Arctic plant specimens forming part of the National Herbarium of Canada collection.<ref name=herbarium/>
The museum's collection also includes the skull of an Albertosaurus, the first dinosaur skull found in Canada, discovered by Joseph Tyrrell.<ref name=dino/> Other specimens from its fossil collection include the holotypes for the Daspletosaurus torosus and the Vagaceratops. The former skeletal set was initially mistaken for a Gorgosaurus although research conducted by the museum during the 1960s determined that the fossils were a new species of dinosaur.<ref name=fossilchar>Template:Cite web</ref> The holotype for the Vagaceratops was similarly mistaken for a different species when its fossils were first delivered to the museum in 1958; with museum researchers later discovering the fossil was a new species after removing it from the plaster field during the 1990s.<ref name=fossilchar/> In 2015, the museum received over 60 specimens of the Tiktaalik roseae.<ref name=tiktaalik>Template:Cite web</ref> The species was discovered by American paleontologists Edward Daeschler, Farish Jenkins, and Neil Shubin on Ellesmere Island, who studied the fossils in the United States before they were sent to the Canadian Museum of Nature.<ref name=tiktaalik/>
Research
Supporting and conducting research into natural history forms a part of the museum's core mandate according to the Museum Act.<ref name=mandate/> The museum's Research Services are split into two disciplines, life sciences and earth sciences.<ref name=canen/> The museum operates two cross-disciplinary centres, the Beaty Centre for Species Discovery and the Centre for Arctic Knowledge and Exploration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Museum researchers have been conducting research on Arctic flora since the 1980s, with a particular emphasis on alkali grass.Template:Sfn Other major research programs the museum took part in include several excavations of the Foremost Formation for dinosaur remains,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and the China-Canada Dinosaur Project between 1986 and 1991.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Between 1972 and 1995, the institution published its own scientific journal, Syllogeus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Library and archives
The museum also operates a library and archive at the Natural Heritage Centre.<ref name=libarch>Template:Cite web</ref> The library contains over 35,000 books, 2,000 periodic titles, museum publications, and microfilms relating to natural history.<ref name=libarch/> The museum's archives contain three collections: archival records relating to the museum; a photograph collection of more than 275,000 slides, photos, negatives, and plates; and an art collection of 1,800 works primarily focused on nature.<ref name=libarch/>
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Template:National museums of Canada Template:NHSC Template:Ottawa landmarks
- Pages with broken file links
- Museums in Ottawa
- National museums of Canada
- Natural history museums in Ontario
- Natural history museums in Quebec
- Canadian federal Crown corporations
- Gothic Revival architecture in Ottawa
- Scottish baronial architecture in Canada
- Parliament of Canada buildings
- Dinosaur museums in Canada
- Fossil museums in Canada
- Paleontology in Canada
- National Historic Sites in Ontario
- Designated heritage properties in Ottawa
- Paleontology in Ontario
- Paleontology in Quebec
- Federal government buildings in Ottawa