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SPRI Polar Directory

Museums

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There are 21 entries in the museums directory for Canada:

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Canadian Language Museum

Website: www.languagemuseum.ca
Contact name: Jocelyn Kent
Address: Glendon Gallery, Glendon College, 2275 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M6
Telephone: +1-647-785-1012
Year of foundation: 2011
Activities: The Canadian Language Museum promotes an appreciation of all of the languages spoken in Canada and creates travelling exhibits that tour the country. The travelling exhibit "Speaking the Inuit Way" introduces audiences to the diversity of the Inuit language. It presents Inuit writing systems, dialect differences, and modern revitalization efforts, and illustrates how the language reflects both historical and contemporary Inuit culture and identity. Includes interactive audio component.
Collections: Small collection of children's literature and non-fiction written in or about Canadian languages, including the Inuit language.

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Canadian Museum of Civilization

Website: www.civilization.ca
Address: 100 Laurier St., PO Box 3100, Station B Hull, Quebec J8X 4H2
Telephone: +1-819-776-7173
Fax: +1-819-776-8491
Year of foundation: 1910 [previously Anthropological Division of the Geological Survey of Canada (1910-27); National Museum of Canada (1927-67); then National Museum of Man (1967-86)]
Collections: The museum contains displays relating to the archaeology, ethnography, history and native peoples of Canada, including much northern material. Artefacts include material collected by numerous expeditions including those of Jenness (1913-18) and Dutilly. The Archaeological Survey of Canada and the Canadian Ethnology Service are based here. Library
Publications: Mercury Series

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Canadian Museum of Nature

Website: www.nature.ca
Address: Victoria Memorial Museum Bldg., 240 McLeod St., Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6P4
Telephone: +1-800-263-4433
Fax: +1-613-566-4763
Year of foundation: 1842
Collections: Extensive Arctic collections with excellent dioramas of Arctic and sub-Arctic species. Arctic aquarium. Arctic Odyssey - looking at the Arctic through the eyes of Aboriginal peoples and scientists. The Polar Studies Group carries out detailed, long-term studies on Arctic animals, especially on the behavioural adaptations that allow them to survive in High Arctic environments. Library.

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Canadian Ski Museum / Le Musée canadien du ski

Website: www.skimuseum.ca
Address: Canadian Ski Hall of Fame / Le Temple de la renommée du ski canadien 1960 rue Scott St Suite 301 Ottawa, ON K1Z 8L8
Telephone: (613)722-3584
Fax: (613)722-2914
Year of foundation: 1971
Collections: Artefacts and records relating to the history of skiing in Canada.

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Dawson City Museum and Historical Society

Address: Old Territorial Administration Building, 5th Av. and Mission St., PO Box 303, Dawson City, Yukon Y0B 1G0
Telephone: +1-867-993-5291
Fax: +1-867-993-5839
Year of foundation: 1974
Collections: Local history. Many exhibits relate to the Klondike Gold Rush for which there is a large photographic archive. Good collection of Beringian fossils.

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Eskimo Museum

Address: PO Box 10, Churchill, Manitoba R0B 0E0
Telephone: +1-204-675-2030
Fax: +1-204-675-2140
Year of foundation: 1944
Collections: Sponsored by the Diocese of Churchill-Hudson Bay and containing many artefacts obtained by members of the Order of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI). Excellent holdings of Inuit art and material culture for the pre-Dorset, Thule and Inuit cultures, also wildlife specimens
Publications: Carved from the land: the Eskimo museum collection (Brandson, 1994)

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Glenbow-Alberta Institute

Website: www.glenbow.org
Address: 130-9th Av. S.E., Calgary, Alberta T2G 0P3
Telephone: +1-403-268-4100
Fax: +1-403-265-9769
Year of foundation: Established in 1955 as the Glenbow Foundation, adopting present title in 1966
Collections: Extensive ethnology collections (ca. 1500 artefacts) of Canadian Inuit groups, Alaska Aleut and Eskimo, Greenlandic and Saami peoples. About 170 artefacts are on display in the Inuit Gallery. The art collection includes prints and soapstone sculptures, primarily from the late 1950s to early 1960s. The Library contains a sizeable Arctic collection including historic works, of which about 2000 formerly belonged to Vilhjalmur Stefansson. The Archives has an extensive photographic collection including the Lomen Collection (3,000 items) and Revillon Freres (200 items), as well as several small collections dealing with mounted police, missionaries, medical personnel, and oilmen in the North. For catalogue of holdings, see www.glenbow.org/lasearch/basic.htm
Publications: Archives Series; Catalogue of the Glenbow Historical Library (1973); Glenbow (1980-, 4pa); Lomen Brothers' photographic collection: Nome, Alaska, 1900-1935 (1968); Occasional Papers (1966-); exhibition catalogues.

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Hawthorne Cottage National Historic Site

Website: www.parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/hawthorne/index_e.asp
Address: Brigus, Newfoundland
Collections: Home of Captain Robert Abram Bartlett (1875-1946).

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Itsarniiakarvik [Inuit Heritage Centre]

[Inuit Heritage Centre]
Address: c/o Baker Lake Hamlet Office, PO Box 149, Baker Lake, NU X0A 0A0
Telephone: +1-867-793-2598
Fax: +1-867-793-2509
Year of foundation: 1998

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MacBride Museum

Address: 1st Av. and Wood St., PO Box 4037, Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 3S9
Telephone: +1-867-667-2709
Fax: +1-867-633-6607
Year of foundation: 1951
Collections: Natural and cultural history of Yukon, including exhibits relating to the Klondike Gold Rush.

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Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature

Website: www.manitobamuseum.mb.ca
Address: Centennial Centre, 555 Main St., 190 Rupert Av., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0N2
Telephone: +1-204-956-2830
Fax: +1-204-942-3679
Year of foundation: 1970
Collections: The entire Hudson's Bay Company collection of over 6,000 artefacts, collected over 324 years, most relating to aboriginal cultures and the fur trade, and many of northern interest, was presented to this museum in 1994.

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Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

Website: www.museum.gov.ns.ca/mma
Address: 1675 Lower Water St., Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 1SJ
Telephone: +1-902-429-8210
Fax: +1-902-424-0612
Year of foundation: 1982
Collections: Includes material relating to the history of exploration, sealing and whaling in the Canadian eastern Arctic.

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Museum of Anthropology

Website: www.ubc.ca
Address: University of British Columbia, 6393 Northwest Marine Dr., Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2
Telephone: +1-604-822-5087
Fax: +1-604-822-2974
Collections: Good holdings for the Inuit and northern Athapaskans. Excellent collections and displays for Haida and other Northwest Coast peoples.

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Newfoundland Museum

Website: www.nfmuseum.com
Address: 287 Duckworth St. and Beck's Cove, St. John's, Newfoundland A1C 1G9
Telephone: +1-709-576-2460
Fax: +1-709-576-2179
Year of foundation: 1849
Collections: Natural and cultural history of Newfoundland, including the history of early settlement, navigation, whaling, cod and seal fishing. Some Inuit artefacts. Exhibit relating to V. Campbell, Second-in-Command and leader of Northern Party on last expedition of Robert Falcon Scott
Publications: Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador (1980-, annual)

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Northern Life Museum

Address: PO Box 371, 110 King St., Fort Smith, Northwest Territories X0E 0P0
Year of foundation: 1974
Collections: Natural and cultural history. Substantial ethnographic collections include many artefacts gathered by the Oblate Brothers and Priests. Non-native northern culture is also well-represented.

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Nunatta Sunagutangit Museum

Address: PO Box 605, Iqaluit, Northwest Territories S0A 0H0
Year of foundation: 1969 [formerly Frobisher Bay Museum]
Collections: Major collection for Baffin Region. Aims to maintain and preserve northern artefacts within the culture to which they relate.

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Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre

Website: www.pwnhc.ca
Contact name: Sarah Carr-Locke, Director
Address: P.O. Box 1320, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories X1A 2L9, Canada
Telephone: +1-867-767-9347
Fax: +1-867-873-0205
Open to the public? / Opening hours: Daily: 10.30-17.00, Thursdays: 10.30-21.00. Closed holidays. week, open until 9pm Thursdays. Closed holidays.
Year of foundation: 1979
Activities: Northwest Territories Museum and Archives. Museum exhibits focus on land, people, and history of the arctic and subarctic region. Displays include contemporary art, dioramas, and community-based exhibits. Operated by the Government of the Northwest Territories, the centre houses the Culture and Heritage Division programs including archaeology, geographical names program, and arts funding.
Collections: General focus on historical and ethnographic collections, with some natural history and palaeontology items. Archives contain rare books, documents, extensive photo collection, and government records. All collections focus on the Northwest Territories.
Publications: Archaeological reports, as well as a variety of books and research publications. List can be found here: http://www.pwnhc.ca/books/ http://www.pwnhc.ca/cultural-places/archaeology-program/fieldwork-reports/ http://www.pwnhc.ca/research-publications/
Notes:

Free admission. Archives also open to the public. Many online resources.

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Royal Ontario Museum

Website: www.rom.on.ca
Address: 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6
Collections: Extensive ethnographic collections for Inuit and northern Athapaskans
Publications: Life Scences Contributions

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Vancouver Maritime Museum

Website: www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com
Address: 1905 Ogden Av., Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 1A3
Telephone: +1-604-737-2211
Fax: +1-604-737-2621
Year of foundation: 1958
Collections: The major exhibit is RCMP St Roch, the Arctic patrol vessel, the first vessel to circumnavigate the North American continent, the second to transit the Northwest Passage and the first to make this transit twice. In addition to the St. Roch, the Museum also holds the Inuit collections of Henry Larsen, captain of St. Roch, as well as the Inuit collection of the late Senator Arthur Laing, Minister of Northern Affairs. The W.B. and M.H. Chung Library holds more than 2,000 Arctic images taken by the crew of RCMP St. Roch between 1928-48, as well as the substantial Arctic library of Henry Larsen. The Library catalogue is available on-line through the web. The Museum's collections also contain material from the British exploration of the Arctic and collected by the crew of St. Roch
Publications: Signals (1992-, 4pa)

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Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies (WMCR)

Website: www.whyte.org
Address: 111 Bear St., PO Box 160, Banff, Alberta T0L 0C0
Telephone: +1-403-762-2291
Fax: +1-403-762-8919
Year of foundation: 1958
Collections: Includes a substantial art gallery, heritage collection and archives in addition to maintaining the library of the Alpine Club of Canada
Publications: Cairn; Guide to manuscripts: the fonds and collections of the Archives (1989); Guide to photographs: the fonds and collections of the Archives (Hadley, 1990); Inventory of the Alpine Club of Canada Collection (1986)

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Winnipeg Art Gallery

Website: www.wag.mb.ca
Address: 300 Memorial Blvd., Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 1V1
Telephone: +1-204-786-6641
Fax: +1-204-788-4998
Year of foundation: 1912
Collections: 10,000 Inuit artworks - sculpture, drawings, prints and textiles - collected since 1949, including the collection of Hudson's Bay Company. Holds frequent catalogued exhibitions organized by the Curator of Inuit Art
Publications: Tableau (6pa); exhibition catalogues

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