Canadian Museum of Civilization
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Museum of Civilization (French
: Musée canadien des civilisations) is Canada's national museum of human history and the most popular and most-visited museum in Canada.
It is located in the Hull
sector of Gatineau
, Quebec
, directly across the Ottawa River
from Canada's Parliament Buildings
in Ottawa
, Ontario
. The Museum's primary purpose is to collect, study, preserve, and present material objects that illuminate the human history of Canada
and the cultural diversity of its people.
For the visiting public, the Museum of Civilization is most renowned for its permanent galleries, which explore Canada's 20,000 years of human history
, and for its architecture and stunning riverside setting. The Museum also presents an ever-changing program of special exhibitions that expand on Canadian themes and explore other cultures and civilizations, past and present. The Museum of Civilization is also a major research institution. Its professional staff includes leading experts in Canadian history, archaeology, ethnology, folk culture, and more.
With roots stretching back to 1856, the Museum is one of North America
's oldest cultural institutions. It is also home to the Canadian Children's Museum
, the Canadian Postal Museum
, and an IMAX
Theatre with 3D capacity.
The Museum of Civilization is managed by the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, a federal Crown Corporation
that is also responsible for the Canadian War Museum
, the Children's and Postal Museums, and the Virtual Museum of New France
. The Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums
(AAM) and a member of the Canadian Museums Association
.
Some 400 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada
at the Museum were on strike from 21 September to 16 December 2009.
The Museum of Civilization hosts a number of events year-round. The National Capital Commission’s Winterlude 2011 was launched on February 3 at the Museum with concerts, DJs, fireworks and live performances. The event was attended by an estimated 30,000 visitors to Museum grounds and 15,000 visitors inside the Museum. Canada Day celebrations included a citizenship ceremony, live entertainment and activities, workshops and an exclusive view of the fireworks, which brought more than 18,000 visitors to the Museum.
in the world.
The picture provides a backdrop for a dozen towering totem pole
s and recreations of six Pacific Coast Aboriginal
house facades connected by a boardwalk. The homes were made by First Nations
artisans using large cedar timbers imported from the Pacific Northwest
. The grouping of totem poles, combined with others in the Grand Hall, is said to be the largest indoor display of totem poles in the world.
The Grand Hall also houses the original plaster pattern for the colossal Spirit of Haida Gwaii
, the largest and most complex sculpture ever created by the celebrated Haida artist Bill Reid
. The pattern was used to cast the bronze sculpture displayed outside the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
. An image of the sculpture also appears on the Canadian twenty-dollar bill
.
Located at the end of the Grand Hall, by the river, is a 19 m (62.3 ft) diameter dome
. On the dome is the 418 m² (499.9 sq yd) abstract painting
known as Morning Star. The painting, by Alex Janvier
a Dene Suline
artist, and, with the assistance of his son Dean, was completed in four months in 1993.
from their original habitation of North America to the present day. It explores the diversity of the First Peoples, their interactions with the land, and their on-going contributions to society. The Hall a groundbreaking, intensive collaboration that occurred between Museum curators and First Peoples representatives during the planning stages.
Chronicling 20,000 years of history, the Hall is separated into three larger zones:
"An Aboriginal Presence" looks at Aboriginal cultural diversity, achievements and prehistoric settlement of North America. Included are traditional stories about creation and other phenomena told by Aboriginal people such as Mi'kmaq Hereditary Chief Stephen Augustine who recounts the beginning of the world in the Creation Stories Theatre film.
"An Ancient Bond with the Land" examines the relationship between Aboriginal Peoples and the natural world.
"Arrival of Strangers - The Last 500 Years" examines Aboriginal history from the time of European contact to today. It examines early relations, the Métis
, the clash of Christianity
and Aboriginal beliefs, intergovernmental relations, the introduction of a wage economy, and post-War
political and legal affirmation and civil rights. It also features a ten minute video about sustaining Aboriginal culture, and introduces visitors to Native art.
Canada Hall occupies most of the building's third level. Presented as a "streetscape," it invites the visitor to stroll through hundreds of years of Canadian history beginning with the arrival of Viking
explorers: the first non-Aboriginal people known to have set foot on what is today Canadian soil. The journey starts on the East Coast
circa 1000 AD and then moves westward through time, following Canada’s development from coast to coast. Along the way, visitors learn about the various waves of immigration that arrived on Canada's
shores, the resources and opportunities that drew the newcomers, the discrimination and hardships that some new Canadians encountered, and the contributions all immigrant groups have made to their new country.
Highlights in Canada Hall include numerous life-size recreations, ranging from the interior of a Basque
whaling ship
circa 1560, to an airport lounge circa 1970. Other exhibits include a New France
farmhouse; a stretch of main street, typical of an early Ontario town; an actual Ukrainian
church that once stood in Alberta
and was moved in its entirety to the museum; and a 10 metres (32.8 ft) long fishing boat that once operated off the coast of British Columbia
.
, a famous North American Native
architect educated at the University of British Columbia
, and the University of Texas at Austin
.
the museum was moved to Ottawa in 1881. 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 after, the anthropologists Diamond Jenness
and Marius Barbeau
were hired. In 1910, now named the National Museum of Canada, it moved into the brand-new Victoria Memorial Museum Building on Metcalfe 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.
In response to criticisms that "Museum of Man" could be interpreted as gender-biased in light of modern sensibilities, a competition was launched in 1986 to find a new name. The National Museum of Man became the Canadian Museum of Civilization. In 1989, the museum 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 Disneyfication
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." The museum attracts over 1.3 million visitors per year, making it Canada's most-visited museum.
and nearby Jacques Cartier Park
.
(CMA), Canadian Heritage Information Network
(CHIN), and Virtual Museum of Canada
.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Musée canadien des civilisations) is Canada's national museum of human history and the most popular and most-visited museum in Canada.
It is located in the Hull
Hull, Quebec
Hull is the central and oldest part of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadian National Capital Region, it contains offices for twenty thousand...
sector of Gatineau
Gatineau
Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, directly across the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
from Canada's Parliament Buildings
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The Museum's primary purpose is to collect, study, preserve, and present material objects that illuminate the human history of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the cultural diversity of its people.
For the visiting public, the Museum of Civilization is most renowned for its permanent galleries, which explore Canada's 20,000 years of human history
History of Canada
The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to the present day. Canada has been inhabited for millennia by distinctive groups of Aboriginal peoples, among whom evolved trade networks, spiritual beliefs, and social hierarchies...
, and for its architecture and stunning riverside setting. The Museum also presents an ever-changing program of special exhibitions that expand on Canadian themes and explore other cultures and civilizations, past and present. The Museum of Civilization is also a major research institution. Its professional staff includes leading experts in Canadian history, archaeology, ethnology, folk culture, and more.
With roots stretching back to 1856, the Museum is one of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
's oldest cultural institutions. It is also home to the Canadian Children's Museum
Canadian Children's Museum
The Canadian Children's Museum is located inside the Canadian Museum of Civilization, in Gatineau, Quebec. The CCM is among the most popular museums in the country, attracting about half a million visitors each year. It is also Canada's largest exhibition centre designed specifically for children...
, the Canadian Postal Museum
Canadian Postal Museum
The Canadian Postal Museum is housed within the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec. It has been described as one of the largest postal museums in the world, ranking second in annual attendance. The museum is not primarily about postage stamps, although it has a first-class...
, and an IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
Theatre with 3D capacity.
The Museum of Civilization is managed by the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, a federal Crown Corporation
Crown corporations of Canada
Canadian Crown corporations are enterprises owned by the federal government of Canada , one of Canada's provincial governments or one of the territorial governments. Crown corporations have a long standing presence in the country and have been instrumental in the formation of the state...
that is also responsible for the Canadian War Museum
Canadian War Museum
The Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum covers all facets of Canada’s military past, from the first recorded instances of death by armed violence in Canadian history several thousand years ago to the country’s most recent...
, the Children's and Postal Museums, and the Virtual Museum of New France
Virtual Museum of New France
The Virtual Museum of New France was established by the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation on January 22, 1997. As an entirely virtual museum, it has no physical exhibits and only exists on the World Wide Web at . The mission of the museum is to promote awareness of all facets of life in...
. The Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums
American Association of Museums
The American Association of Museums is a non-profit association that has brought museums together since its founding in 1906, helping develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community...
(AAM) and a member of the Canadian Museums Association
Canadian Museums Association
The Canadian Museums Association is a national organization for the promotion of museums in Canada.The Canadian Museums Association is the national organization for the advancement of the Canadian museum sector, representing Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. The...
.
Some 400 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada
Public Service Alliance of Canada
The Public Service Alliance of Canada is one of Canada’s largest national labour unions, with members in every province and territory. In fact, it is the biggest union in the Canadian Federal Public Sector...
at the Museum were on strike from 21 September to 16 December 2009.
The Museum of Civilization hosts a number of events year-round. The National Capital Commission’s Winterlude 2011 was launched on February 3 at the Museum with concerts, DJs, fireworks and live performances. The event was attended by an estimated 30,000 visitors to Museum grounds and 15,000 visitors inside the Museum. Canada Day celebrations included a citizenship ceremony, live entertainment and activities, workshops and an exclusive view of the fireworks, which brought more than 18,000 visitors to the Museum.
Permanent Exhibitions
The Museum has four permanent exhibition galleries: the Grand Hall, the First Peoples Hall, the Canada Hall, and Face to Face: The Canadian Personalities HallGrand Hall
The Grand Hall on the building's first level is the Museum's architectural centrepiece. It features a wall of windows 112 m (367.5 ft) wide by 15 m (49.2 ft) high, framing a view of the Ottawa River and Parliament Hill. On the opposite wall is a colour photograph of similar size. It captures a forest scene and is believed to be the largest colour photographLargest photographs in the world
Most of the photographs that are claimed to be the largest are stitched from smaller images. The Legacy Project photograph made in Irvine, California is an exception to this in that it was made as a single exposure on a seamless piece of sensitized fabric using a building as a huge...
in the world.
The picture provides a backdrop for a dozen towering totem pole
Totem pole
Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
s and recreations of six Pacific Coast Aboriginal
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...
house facades connected by a boardwalk. The homes were made by First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
artisans using large cedar timbers imported from the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. The grouping of totem poles, combined with others in the Grand Hall, is said to be the largest indoor display of totem poles in the world.
The Grand Hall also houses the original plaster pattern for the colossal Spirit of Haida Gwaii
Spirit of Haida Gwaii
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii is a sculpture by British Columbia Haida artist Bill Reid . It is featured on the Canadian $20 bill. -Background:...
, the largest and most complex sculpture ever created by the celebrated Haida artist Bill Reid
Bill Reid
William Ronald Reid, OBC was a Canadian artist whose works included jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and painting. His work is featured on the Canadian $20 banknote.-Biography:...
. The pattern was used to cast the bronze sculpture displayed outside the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. An image of the sculpture also appears on the Canadian twenty-dollar bill
Canadian twenty-dollar bill
The Canadian $20 bill is the most common banknote of the Canadian dollar; it is the main banknote dispensed from Canadian automatic banking machines . The Canadian $20 bill was introduced on September 29, 2004 as part of the Canadian Journey Series....
.
Located at the end of the Grand Hall, by the river, is a 19 m (62.3 ft) diameter dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
. On the dome is the 418 m² (499.9 sq yd) abstract painting
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
known as Morning Star. The painting, by Alex Janvier
Alex Janvier
Alex Janvier, AOE is a Native Canadian artist. As a member of the commonly referred to “Indian Group of Seven”, Janvier is a pioneer of contemporary Canadian aboriginal art in Canada.- History :...
a Dene Suline
Chipewyan
The Chipewyan are a Dene Aboriginal people in Canada, whose ancestors were the Taltheilei...
artist, and, with the assistance of his son Dean, was completed in four months in 1993.
First Peoples Hall
Also on the Museum's first level, this permanent exhibition narrates the history and accomplishments of Canada's Aboriginal peoplesAboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
from their original habitation of North America to the present day. It explores the diversity of the First Peoples, their interactions with the land, and their on-going contributions to society. The Hall a groundbreaking, intensive collaboration that occurred between Museum curators and First Peoples representatives during the planning stages.
Chronicling 20,000 years of history, the Hall is separated into three larger zones:
"An Aboriginal Presence" looks at Aboriginal cultural diversity, achievements and prehistoric settlement of North America. Included are traditional stories about creation and other phenomena told by Aboriginal people such as Mi'kmaq Hereditary Chief Stephen Augustine who recounts the beginning of the world in the Creation Stories Theatre film.
"An Ancient Bond with the Land" examines the relationship between Aboriginal Peoples and the natural world.
"Arrival of Strangers - The Last 500 Years" examines Aboriginal history from the time of European contact to today. It examines early relations, the Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
, the clash of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and Aboriginal beliefs, intergovernmental relations, the introduction of a wage economy, and post-War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
political and legal affirmation and civil rights. It also features a ten minute video about sustaining Aboriginal culture, and introduces visitors to Native art.
Canada Hall
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
explorers: the first non-Aboriginal people known to have set foot on what is today Canadian soil. The journey starts on the East Coast
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
circa 1000 AD and then moves westward through time, following Canada’s development from coast to coast. Along the way, visitors learn about the various waves of immigration that arrived on Canada's
Immigration to Canada
Immigration to Canada is the process by which people migrate to Canada to reside permanently in the country. The majority of these individuals become Canadian citizens. After 1947, domestic immigration law and policy went through major changes, most notably with the Immigration Act, 1976, and the...
shores, the resources and opportunities that drew the newcomers, the discrimination and hardships that some new Canadians encountered, and the contributions all immigrant groups have made to their new country.
Highlights in Canada Hall include numerous life-size recreations, ranging from the interior of a Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
whaling ship
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
circa 1560, to an airport lounge circa 1970. Other exhibits include a New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
farmhouse; a stretch of main street, typical of an early Ontario town; an actual Ukrainian
Ukrainian Canadian
A Ukrainian Canadian is a person of Ukrainian descent or origin who was born in or immigrated to Canada. In 2006, there were an estimated 1,209,085 persons residing in Canada of Ukrainian origin, making them Canada's ninth largest ethnic group; and giving Canada the world's third-largest...
church that once stood in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
and was moved in its entirety to the museum; and a 10 metres (32.8 ft) long fishing boat that once operated off the coast of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Face to Face
Face to Face: The Canadian Personalities Hall introduces the visitor to people — in the museum's words — "whose vision and action had a significant impact on Canada and its inhabitants." Located on the Museum's top level, Face to Face is the Museum of Civilization's newest permanent exhibition. When it first opened on 29 June 2007, the exhibition profiled 27 individuals. They included writers, artists, entrepreneurs, explorers, activists, and military and political leaders. The line-up of personalities will change over time, but the number profiled at any one time is expected to remain fairly constant.Museum architect
The museum was designed by Douglas CardinalDouglas Cardinal
Douglas Joseph Cardinal, OC is a Canadian architect.Born of Métis and Blackfoot heritage, Cardinal is famous for flowing architecture marked with smooth lines, influenced by his Aboriginal heritage as well as European Expressionist architectureIn 1953, he attended the University of British...
, a famous North American Native
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
architect educated at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, and the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
.
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 MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
the museum was moved to Ottawa in 1881. In 1910, upon recommendation from Franz Boas
Franz Boas
Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
, the anthropologist-linguist Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir was an American anthropologist-linguist, widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the early development of the discipline of linguistics....
was appointed as the first anthropologist in the newly-formed anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
division of the museum. Soon after, the anthropologists Diamond Jenness
Diamond Jenness
Diamond Jenness, CC was one of Canada's greatest early scientists and a pioneer of Canadian anthropology.-Biography:...
and Marius Barbeau
Marius Barbeau
Charles Marius Barbeau, , also known as C. Marius Barbeau, or more commonly simply Marius Barbeau, was a Canadian ethnographer and folklorist who is today considered a founder of Canadian anthropology...
were hired. In 1910, now named the National Museum of Canada, it moved into the brand-new Victoria Memorial Museum Building on Metcalfe Street in downtown Ottawa
Downtown Ottawa
Downtown Ottawa is the central area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Like other downtowns it is the commercial and economic centre of the city. It is sometimes referred to as the Central Business District and contains Ottawa's financial district. It is bordered by the Ottawa River to the north, the...
. The National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
also occupied half a floor in the building. In 1968, the museum was split into the Museum of Nature
Canadian Museum of Nature
The Canadian Museum of Nature is a natural history museum in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its collections, which were started by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1856, include all aspects of the intersection of human society and nature, from gardening to gene-splicing...
and the Museum of Man, but both remained squeezed into the same building. In 1982, Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
's government announced that the Museum of Man would be moved to its own separate facility in Hull.
In response to criticisms that "Museum of Man" could be interpreted as gender-biased in light of modern sensibilities, a competition was launched in 1986 to find a new name. The National Museum of Man became the Canadian Museum of Civilization. In 1989, the museum 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 Disneyfication
Disneyfication
Disneyfication is a term which describes the transformation of something, usually society at large, to resemble The Walt Disney Company's theme parks. The latter term appears in Sharon Zukin's book, The Cultures of Cities , and was popularized by Alan Bryman in a 2004 book, The Disneyization of...
of the museum, its enormous costs, unique architecture, and unfinished exhibits from many quarters (including the Conservative government of Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
), the museum soon became a major tourist attraction and was embraced by different political factions as a national symbol of "a pluralistic, multicultural society." The museum attracts over 1.3 million visitors per year, making it Canada's most-visited museum.
Main architectural elements of the museum exterior
The museum complex consists of two wings, the public and curatorial wings, surrounded by a series of plazas connected by a grand staircase. Naturalized park areas connect the museum and its plazas to the Ottawa RiverOttawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
and nearby Jacques Cartier Park
Jacques Cartier Park
Jacques Cartier Park is a park in Gatineau, Quebec, across the river from the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. It is named for French explorer Jacques Cartier, who arrived at the mouth of the Ottawa River while he was looking for the Northwest Passage. The National Capital Commission uses the...
.
Presidents and CEOs
| Years | Director |
|---|---|
| 1968–1983 | William E. Taylor |
| 1983–1998 | George F. MacDonald George F. MacDonald George F. MacDonald is a Canadian anthropologist and museum director who pioneered archaeological and ethnohistorical research on the Tsimshian and Gitksan and was the director of the Canadian Museum of Civilization from 1983 to 1998.... |
| 1999–2000 | Joe Geurts (acting) |
| 2000–2011 | Victor Rabinovitch Victor Rabinovitch Victor Rabinovitch was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation , which is responsible for two of Canada’s national museums: the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum.... |
| 2011 | David Loye (acting) |
| 2011– | Mark O'Neill |
Affiliations
The Museum is affiliated with: Canadian Museums AssociationCanadian Museums Association
The Canadian Museums Association is a national organization for the promotion of museums in Canada.The Canadian Museums Association is the national organization for the advancement of the Canadian museum sector, representing Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. The...
(CMA), Canadian Heritage Information Network
Canadian Heritage Information Network
The Canadian Heritage Information Network is a Canadian government-supported organization that provides a networked interface to Canada's heritage, largely through the World Wide Web. It aims to give access to Canada's heritage for both Canadians and a worldwide audience, by supporting the...
(CHIN), and Virtual Museum of Canada
Virtual Museum of Canada
The Virtual Museum of Canada is Canada's national virtual museum. With a directory of over 3,000 Canadian heritage institutions and a database of over 600 virtual exhibits, the VMC brings together Canada's museums regardless of size or geographical location.The VMC includes virtual exhibits,...
.