Museum London facts for kids
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| Established | 1940 |
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| Location | 421 Ridout Street North London, Ontario N6A 5H4 |
| Type | Art and history museum |
- For the museum in London, England, see Museum of London.
Museum London is an art and history museum located in London, Ontario, Canada, and for more than 70 years has preserved, interpreted and shared the story of London and Londoners.
The museum is located near the forks of the Thames River, situated within the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Attawandaron (Neutral), and Wendat peoples and the homeland of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, Oneida Nation of the Thames, and Munsee Delaware Nation. It started its operations in 1940 with London Public Library and amalgamated with London Regional Art Gallery and London Regional Historical Museum in 1989. The current building is designed by Raymond Moriyama, architect of Science North in Greater Sudbury, the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto and the National Museum of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh.
Its collection includes more than 5,000 regional and Canadian works and over 45,000 artifacts. The art collection includes works by Paterson Ewen, Jack Chambers, and Greg Curnoe among many others. Particular noted examples of Canadian art include Group of Seven and Paul Peel.
In January 2015, the museum was visited by actor and comedian Steve Martin. Martin was there to see Lawren Harris' oil on canvas painting called From the North Shore, Lake Superior, c. 1927.
Centre at the Forks
Museum London recently renovated its space with the Centre at the Forks that started in 2016 and recently finished in mid-2018. The new space is for community engagement and programming, focused on youth, families, seniors and newcomers. The infrastructure had a campaign from 2015-2018 that raised 3.5 million dollars from various donors and patrons. The ribbon cutting ceremony to open the centre was held on September 30, 2018.
