Canadian Museum of History Tour ~ Look Beyond the Sights & Sounds

Canadian Museum of History ~ Ontario Visited Tour

The Canadian Museum of History may be known to some as the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Times change; names change; history does not change; but the interpretation of the history can change with every perspective humans can imagine.

The Museum allows visitors to discover rich information from exhibitions, artifacts and exciting experiences. Today we were fortunate to tour the Museum with our guide Michel. Michel was insisted we start the tour outside. Here you will see the architecture that has been designed to look like a mask.

The Canadian Museum of History has an amazing website where you can learn all about the structure, where from 1983 to 1989 it began to take shape. I highly recommend taking the time to view the Slide Show, Video Clips ~ streaming Video, Quick Time Movies,, a Full Tour and more; truly an experience in itself. Another great place to start is to view their Full-Colour Visitor Guide. It will assist with guiding you to the main points of interest.

The Museum attracts over 1.2 million visitors, so you can imagine it is one of the country’s most-visited Museums. It is a highly respected centre sharing its history, archaeology, ethnology and cultural studies to visitors from around the world. The Museum also houses the Canadian Children’s Museum and an IMAX® Theatre. Today a large group of students enthusiastically joined in a line-up waiting to take their turn in the Theatre, the noise was high with excitement; then quite ensued as the children entered the Theatre, leaving us in a peaceful state to start our Tour.

…As we saw from outdoors, The St. Lawrence Seaway cut through the Canadian Shield forming the “strata”. You can actually see the layers of limestone. If you have ever been caving or even rock climbing, you will recognize the magnificent natural work of art. The design represents the Plains and the water cascading is made to represent ice melting. What better place to start. 

Judi "Scoop" McWilliams ~ Ontario Visited
Canadian Museum of History

There are over 4 million artifacts and specimens, being housed in the Museum archives. Acquisitions of Canadian heritage are received via donations or bequest, but there are mitigating circumstances for acceptance. The new acquisitions can bring a new perspective to the existing collection and they can be used for research. Michel tells us these artifacts are unparalleled anywhere in the world. He also mentioned that they are at the point where the CMH is looking for rare items, ones they don’t already have and considerations to see if there is a “fit” for their research. You can check out their website for more details if you are interested.

The Artifacts in the Museum are strategically placed in the telling of a story. On the second level, there are three galleries are devoted to changing exhibitions. Some are designed by the CMH while others may be presented by other International Institutions. We did not have time today to check out the Canadian Children’s Museum or the IMAX® Theatre.

Stay tuned for Canadian Museum of History Tour ~ Look Beyond the Sights & Sounds ~ our Tour continues. In the meantime, if you wish to visit their website, check it out at http://www.historymuseum.ca/home .