Indigenous Gifts to Prince of Wales Being On Display For Peterborough Museum & Archives Exbibit Beginning Friday

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Indigenous birch bark baskets are returning to ancestral lands of Michi Saagiig territory as a new temporary exhibit being featured at Peterborough Museum & Archives announced on Tuesday morning.

From left to right) Rachel Peat, Laurie Beavis, Laura Peers and Laurie Carr. The quilled wiigwaasii makakoons must remain in a crate for 48 hours prior to being displayed in order to properly climatize them. Photo by David Tuan bui.

The 13 birch bark baskets, also known as quilled wiigwaasii makakoons (weeg-wah-see mah-ka-coons) go on display to the public beginning Saturday to Nov. 19.

They were made by Michi Saagiig women and gifted to Prince of Wales on Sep. 7, 1860 when he stopped at Rice Lake village (Hiawatha First Nation) as part of a cross-Canada Royal tour.

The exhibition is called “To Honour and Respect: Gifts from the Michi Saagiig Women to the Prince of Wales, 1860,” and explores the cultural knowledge, love, respect and diplomacy that went into the makakoons.

“Hiawatha First Nation and the Mississauga Nation communities are coming together to welcome these Ancestors home for a visit,” said Chief Laurie Carr of Hiawatha First Nation. “We know that the makakoons have the names of women makers attached and there are descendants of these women in our First Nations.

Since 1860, the makakoons have been part of the Royal Trust Collection and housed at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. They are on loan for exhibition by His Majesty King Charles III. The “To Honour and Respect” curators and the Planning Committee have worked closely with the Royal Collection Trust to facilitate the unique loan.

“Royal Collection Trust is delighted to exhibit this group of gifts presented to the future King Edward VII during the landmark first royal meeting with the Michi Saagiig in 1860,” said Rachel Peat, Royal Collection Trust Curator of Decorative Arts. “Since then, these outstanding works of art have been displayed within the royal residences as a symbol of relations between Mississauga Nation communities and the Crown. Today, this project offers an important opportunity to reconnect with Michi Saagiig knowledge holders and affirm links with this community.”

During the visit of the makakoons, there will be associated programming including workshops on quillwork, provided by Hiawatha First Nation artist Sandra Moore, and on Michi Saagiig language, provided by Curve Lake member Jonathan Taylor.

“While the Ancestors are with us on Michi Saagiig Territory, the PMA will create space for everyone to visit, and we will share knowledge about this art through viewing, workshops and language classes,” said Carr. “We will sit with the Ancestors and acknowledge their spirits and what they have to teach us. Each of the makakoons will add to our cultural knowledge and strength as Michi Saagiig Peoples.”

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Camp Kawartha Celebrates 100 Years With Exhibition Through Peterborough Museum & Archives

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The Camp Kawartha: Making a Splash for 100 Years exhibition celebrates a century of camp life from Sept. 17 to Dec. 4 at Peterborough Museum & Archives.

File Photo.

Since 1921, children have experienced outdoor activities and education on the eastern shore of Clear Lake through Camp Kawartha’s summer camps, retreats and workshops.

Featuring nostalgic camp memorabilia like a 1930s wool swimsuit and a Peterborough Canoe Company vessel, Camp Kawartha: Making a Splash for 100 Years displays archival and contemporary photographs of campers participating in various activities at the campsite.

Through this temporary exhibition attendees can learn how the camp evolved over the last century into the award-winning environmental leadership centre it is today.

The exhibition admission is by donation.

For more information, contact the curator of Peterborough Museum & Archives Kim Reid at (705) 742-7777 (ext. 2473).

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Peterborough Museum And Archives Presents 'Space To Spoon' A Hands On Experience For All Ages

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The Peterborough Museum & Archives’ newest temporary exhibit Space to Spoon will be on display until September 11.

File Photo.

Space to Spoon seeks to answer the question ‘What does a satellite orbiting 798 kilometers from Earth have to do with the food on our plate?’.

The exhibit was produced by the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, in partnership with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA),featuring how space technology benefits Canadian farmers and sustainable agriculture. This exhibition will also highlight the CSA’s Earth observation satellite, RADARSAT-2, and its cutting-edge successor, RADARSAT Constellation.

Space to Spoon is a hands-on experience, with graphics and interactive elements for visitors of all ages. The science, technology, and innovations that transform satellite images into agricultural application is showcased in a way that encourages informal science learning among all visitors.

“As an astronaut who grew up on a farm in southern Ontario, this is a topic that really interests me,” said Jeremy Hansen, an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency. “Satellites like the RADARSAT-2 have made Canada a world leader in Earth observation, which includes agricultural land. Visitors will learn how satellite data helps Canadian farmers monitor their crops and determine the condition of their land. Radar data allows farmers to better manage their resources, like water and fertilizer; and engage in agricultural practices that are sustainable and environmentally responsible.”

The exhibition features four interactive modules inclusive of videos, a RADARSAT-2 replica, photos, and stunning satellite images. All exhibition elements are presented in both English and French. Admission to the Peterborough Museum & Archives is by donation.

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Peterborough Museum and Archives Receives Grant From Canadian Heritage

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The Peterborough Museum & Archives (PMA) has been awarded a grant of $6,500 by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

The grant was provided through the Museums Assistance Program Exhibition Circulation Fund, in support of the of The Ones We Met: Inuit Traditional Knowledge and the Franklin Expedition, currently on display until Dec. 5.

This exhibition, produced by the Canadian Museum of History in partnership with the Inuit Heritage Trust, explores the role of Inuit oral history in solving the mystery of the Franklin expedition.

“The Ones We Met” features photographs, illustrations and an animated map of routes chartered by Europeans looking for a northwest passage 350 years before Franklin’s expedition. Visitors can also listen to recordings of the late Inuit historian Louie Kamookak, including his reflections on the ongoing importance of oral histories.

“An important part of the PMA’s mandate is to present exhibitions that are of interest to our community. Funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage allows us to share Canadian and globally relevant stories with visitors of all ages,” said Councillor Lesley Parnell, Council representative on the Museum and Archives Advisory Committee.

Visit www.peterborough.ca/museum to learn more.

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Peterborough Museum Exhibit Highlights Inuit Role in Search for the Franklin Exhibition

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A new exhibit, The Ones We Met – Inuit Traditional Knowledge and the Franklin Expedition, will occupy the Peterborough Museum & Archives for three months announced on Monday.

Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.

Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.

The exhibition features photographs, illustrations and an animated map of routes charted by Europeans looking for a Northwest Passage in the 350 years before Franklin’s expedition.

The Franklin Expedition was a voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed from England in 1845 aboard two ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.

Visitors can hear stories of Inuit encounters with Franklin and his men and of Martin Frobisher’s voyages to Baffin Island in the 1570s.

The expedition ended in disaster after both ships and their crews, a total of 128 officers and men, became icebound in what is now Nunavut.

“This exhibit is a great opportunity for visitors to learn about an important perspective surrounding the account of the Franklin Expedition. From the time HMS Erebus and Terror got trapped in the icy north, Inuit have been a part of the story. When that chapter came to a close, they continued to share their experience to younger generations, of the crewmen they met, and of ships stuck in ice,” said Dustin McIlwain, Peterborough Museum and Archives Community Engagement Coordinator.

Presented in Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English and French — the four official languages of Nunavut — the travelling exhibition will be on display at the Peterborough Museum & Archives from Sept. 18 to Dec. 5.

“This tradition of sharing oral histories was a key component to the discovery of these wrecks. To this day, the Inuit continue their key role in sharing this story, as well as the preservation of this historical site. The narrative will continue to evolve with time, as we embrace the concept of storytelling as a way to keep our history alive,” said McIlwain.

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Peterborough Museum & Archives New Exhibition Avro Arrow: A Dream Denied

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The current exhibition at Peterborough Museum & Archives is Avro Arrow: A Dream Denied, which tells the remarkable story of one of Canada’s greatest technological achievements. 

Decades have passed since the development and destruction of the Avro Arrow and Iroquois engine yet many still wonder "what-might-have-been."

Should the projects have been cancelled? Were they as good as their builders said they would be? What were the real reasons behind the cancellations? These and other mysteries are explored in this exhibition full of images, artifacts and explanations.

Avro Arrow: A Dream Denied was developed and produced by the West Parry Sound District Museum as part of the Travelling Exhibition Partnership Project.

Check it out at Peterborough Museum & Archives (Ashburnham Memorial Park on Museum Drive, 300 Hunter Street East). Admission is by donation, with free parking and barrier-free access. The exhibition runs through September 30th.

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Reproduction Of Peterborough's Book Of Remembrance On Display At Museum (& Digital Version Available)

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The Book of Remembrance was formally dedicated on November 11, 1962. It listed the names of men and women "who were killed in action, died of wounds, illness or injuries in the First Great War (1914-1918), the Second Great War (1939-1945) and in the Korean Conflict (1950-1953)."

Since its unveiling in 1962, the Book has been on permanent display at Peterborough City Hall. But late last fall, Conservators at the Peterborough Museum & Archives (PMA) removed the original Book of Remembrance from the lobby of City Hall as a regular inspection had revealed that the book had begun to experience some cockling—where paper becomes buckled and will not lie flat—and warping.
 
At the time, the book's removal was expected to be temporary but as PMA Conservator, Cindy Colford, notes, "this kind of minor damage is typically an early warning sign that a paper object is being stored in an environment where the relative humidity is out of its ideal range."
 
Conservation treatments on the original have thus far been successful, but in order to ensure that this valuable artifact is preserved for future generations it will need to remain in specialized storage at the Museum.
 
Back in June, Peterborough’s Cenotaph Committee approved an expenditure amount of up to $5,000 from the Cenotaph Trust Fund for the purpose of the reproduction and binding of the Book of Remembrance. The replica has now been completed and will be available for public viewing at the Museum from November 5 to 20, 2011.* It will later be placed on permanent display back in the lobby of City Hall. Visitors will be able to access the replica directly and can view any or all pages.
 
A full digital version of the Book of Remembrance is available online by clicking here. 

*The Book of Remembrance will not be at the Museum on November 8th between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. as it will be on display at the Peterborough Armories as part of the Veteran’s Week Celebration and Educational Fair.

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Groovy: New Exhibition Celebrating Peterborough In The 1970s Is On!

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[Peterborough Museum & Archives]

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]

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Stuff to Do in the Patch This Weekend

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Looking for something to do in Peterborough this weekend?

Friday:

Peterborough Fall Psychic Fair (3 p.m. to 9 p.m. - $5) Evinrude Centre 

21st Annual Autumn Treasures Fine Art & Craft Show (4 p.m. to 9 p.m. - $3.50) Trentwinds International Centre 

Royal Wood with Hannah Georgas (7:30 - Sold Out) Gordon Best Theater

Saturday:

Peterborough Fall Psychic Fair (10 a.m. to 9 p.m. - $5) Evinrude Centre

21st Annual Autumn Treasures Fine Art & Craft Show (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. - $3.50) Trentwinds International Centre 

Our Space Fall Gala (6 p.m. to 10 p.m. - $25) Adam Scott CVI

Peterborough Lions Club & Peterborough Theatre Guild present a Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre (Tickets $20, Proceeds towards the James Fund) Peterborough Lions Centre
 
 

Sunday:

Peterborough Fall Psychic Fair (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. - $5) Evinrude Centre

21st Annual Autumn Treasures Fine Art & Craft Show (11 a.m. to 4 p.m. - $3.50) Trentwinds International Centre 

A Century of Toys (Noon to 5 p.m.) Peterborough Museum & Archives

 
Looking for a quick bite between each event? Try the new hotspot El Camino's on George Street!

To submit info for "Stuff to do in the Patch This Weekend", email evan@ptbocanada.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ptbo_Canada.