Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre facts for kids
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| Established | 1984 |
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| Location | Canmore, Canada |
The Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre (CMAGS) is a fun place to explore the history of Canmore. It's also known as the Centennial Museum Society of Canmore. This museum started in 1984 and moved to its current home in the Canmore Civic Centre in 2004.
The museum shares over 120 years of local history. It tells stories about different people, cultures, and how the town has changed over time.
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Working with Other Museums
The Canmore Museum works with other important museum groups. These include the Canadian Museums Association (CMA) and the Alberta Museums Association.
Being part of these groups helps the museum connect with nearly 2,000 other museums across Canada. This allows them to share ideas and learn new ways to tell amazing stories.
A Special Museum
The Canmore Museum has a special title: Recognized Museum. This means it meets high standards for museums around the world. To get this title, the museum showed that it follows important rules about how museums should be run.
This special status lasts for five years. It shows that the Canmore Museum is a great place to learn and explore.
Fun Programs and Tours
The museum offers many exciting programs and activities. One popular event is the annual Rock and Fossil Clinic. Here, you can learn all about cool rocks and ancient fossils found in the area.
The museum also leads special trips to famous fossil sites. These include the Mount Stephen trilobite beds and the Walcott Quarry. They've also visited places like the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology.
You can even take tours about Canmore's mining history! These tours are often led by Gerry Stephenson, who used to be a Chief Engineer in the Canmore mines. They are very popular and entertaining.
The museum also has special programs for kids during the school year and in the summer. These programs are designed to make learning about history and science fun for all ages.
Canmore's Amazing History
The idea for the museum started way back in 1936. A teacher named Edna Appleby gave her students an assignment to write to a foreign country and ask for a doll in traditional clothing. One student, Mavis Mallabone, kept collecting dolls from all over the world! This huge collection was shown at the museum for many years.
The museum collects artifacts that tell Canmore's story. This includes items from the early mining days and even from the 1988 Winter Olympics.
After the coal mine closed in 1979, some people thought Canmore might become a ghost town. But instead, Canmore became a host for the Nordic Centre during the 1988 Winter Olympics! This brought lots of new development.
Today, Canmore is a popular mountain town for tourists all year round. You can visit historic places like the 19th-century North-West Mounted Police Barracks, which the museum helps look after. The old Canmore Hotel, a favorite spot for miners, is also still around!
Cool Exhibits
From Coal to Community
This exciting exhibit opened in 2016. It shows off artifacts from Canmore's coal mining past. But it's not just about mining! It also tells the stories of the town's heritage and the people who lived in the mountains. You can see displays of rocks and fossils from the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
This exhibit is very kid-friendly! It has many interactive stations, including one where you can use a microscope. The museum also has videos that show how the community has changed over time.
David Thompson Bicentennial
In 2008, the Canmore Museum created a special traveling exhibit. It celebrated David Thompson, a famous explorer. The exhibit, called 'David Thompson: 200 Years Later', showed how Thompson helped map out North America. It also explored the environment and the lives of Indigenous peoples during his time. This exhibit traveled to other museums starting in 2009.
Special Events
The Canmore Museum hosts many talks and presentations. These often feature local authors and experts. They share stories about Canmore's history, heritage, and geology. The museum also works to protect historic sites in the area, like the Canmore Hotel.
Miner's Day
Miner's Day is a special event held every year around July 13. This date remembers the very last shift at the Canmore coal mines, which happened on July 13, 1979.
On Miner's Day, surviving miners and their families march in a parade down Main Street. After the parade, the Canmore Museum organizes a fun BBQ for everyone. It's a great way to remember the town's mining past.
