CBC Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1994 1960 (its collection) |
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| Dissolved | 22 December 2017 |
| Location | 250 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Owner | Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |
| Public transit access |
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The CBC Museum was a special place that kept and showed off the history of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The CBC is Canada's national public broadcaster. The museum was located in the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The idea for the museum's collection started around 1960. The main display area opened in 1994. It closed its doors on December 22, 2017.
The museum had many fun exhibits you could interact with. Visitors could watch clips from famous CBC television shows. These included children's series, news reports, and exciting sports events.
Contents
How the Museum Started
Collecting CBC History
People working in the CBC's promotion department began gathering items for a museum around 1960. In 1961, a newspaper called The Globe and Mail mentioned this collection. It was stored in a CBC building and included items from early radio to modern TVs. Many items were found from collectors.
One amazing item was a huge 1000-pound Blattnerphone. This was a steel tape audio recorder. Staff believed it was the only complete one in North America. Some of these items were shown to about 100,000 people in Aylmer, Ontario, in October 1960.
Later, in the early 1970s, a CBC publicist named Jack Brickenden dreamed of a museum. However, CBC management wasn't very keen on the idea at first. Still, in 1971, an employee named Ivan Harris is credited with starting the modern museum collection. Harris also helped create other museums.
The CBC did have a museum in one of its Toronto buildings for a while. It closed before 1991 due to budget cuts.
A New Home for History
A new, much larger museum opened in 1994. It was 16,000 square feet! This new museum was part of the big Canadian Broadcasting Centre. Before this building, the CBC's offices were spread out in many different places across Toronto.
At first, volunteers helped run the museum. One of these volunteers was Ivan Harris, who became its curator. He even met Queen Elizabeth II when she visited the building in 2002!
The first displays were very cool. There was a pretend living room where you could watch clips from 1950s CBC shows. There was also a listening station with clips from CBC Radio's early days. You could see photos of famous CBC personalities. There were also audio stations featuring voices like Lorne Greene and Barbara Frum. Screens showed clips from TV shows from the 1960s to the 1980s.
The museum also displayed real items. These included old broadcasting equipment. There were also costumes worn by famous performers like Juliette and Tommy Hunter.
In 2002, for its 50th anniversary, the CBC sent a special train across Canada. It carried artifacts from the CBC Museum for people to see.
Why the Museum Closed
In 2017, the CBC announced plans to change the main floor of the Canadian Broadcasting Centre. They wanted to create new displays that would still show CBC's rich history.
A newspaper columnist noticed that for years before the closure, some displays were "falling apart." Monitors were broken. The museum was even called one of the "museums you never knew existed" by the Toronto Star in 2011.
The museum's closure was announced suddenly in an email to staff.
Cool Exhibits to Explore
The CBC Museum had many interesting exhibits over the years:
- CBC War Effort This exhibit ran in 1996. It showed how the CBC helped during wartime. It looked at their news service and special programs.
- Show & Tell: Growing Up Canadian (1999-2000) This exhibit featured items from beloved children's shows. These included Chez Hélène, The Friendly Giant, Maggie Muggins, Mr. Dressup, and Razzle Dazzle. There was even a "Club House" where kids could try puppetry on camera! The exhibit also had workshops and storytelling.
- A Canadian Document (2001) This exhibit showed amazing photographs from famous photographers.
- Ballet From Stage to Screen (2003) This exhibit was all about how ballet was shown on television.
- Growing Up with CBC (around 2003-2017) This popular display had props, puppets, photos, and video clips from CBC children's shows. You could see items from Mr. Dressup, Sesame Park, and The Friendly Giant. It even had the Neighborhood Trolley from the CBC version of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
- CBC Radio Sound Effects (around 2003-2017) This exhibit showed the objects and equipment used by the CBC's sound effects team. They made all sorts of sounds for radio shows!
The museum also had an interactive video area. Here, you could watch clips from old documentaries and news programs. There were also displays of old recording equipment, cameras, and microphones.
Some exhibits even went beyond the main museum space. For example, Casey and Finnegan's treehouse from Mr. Dressup was right across from the entrance! Other displays were in cases around the CBC lobby.
Beyond the Main Gallery
The Ivan Harris Gallery was on a lower level of the building. It had a window where you could see stored artifacts. There were also many display cases with various items. An exhibit about the radio show The Happy Gang started in 2005. It included fan letters and photos.
The famous treehouse from Mr. Dressup was also added to the building's lobby.
Graham Spry Theatre
Next to the museum was the Graham Spry Theatre. This small theatre had 40 seats. It showed videos on a screen that looked like a giant 1950s television set. It played a loop of selected CBC television shows.
The shows usually changed every month. When it first opened, it showed clips of ballets and musicals. Later, it included episodes from shows like The Tommy Hunter Show and The Kids in the Hall.
Visiting the Museum
The CBC Museum was usually open on weekdays from 9 AM to 5 PM. It was closed on holidays. The museum was also easy to access for people using wheelchairs.
When it first opened in 1994, it was open daily from 10 AM to 3 PM. Guided tours were also available. By 2001, the hours changed to weekdays, 9 AM to 5 PM, and Saturdays, noon to 4 PM.
The museum was free to enter, but they did have a donation box for visitors.
Museum Connections
The CBC Museum worked with other organizations. These included the Canadian Museums Association and the Virtual Museum of Canada.
Since at least 1996, large equipment from the CBC Museum has been sent to the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa.
