Shirleys Bay facts for kids
Shirleys Bay is a special area located on the Ottawa River in Ontario, Canada. It's about 16 kilometres (10 miles) away from downtown Ottawa. This place is more than just a bay; it also has important wetlands and a nature preserve.
This nature area is part of something called an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). This means it's a very important spot for many different kinds of birds and other wildlife. The specific IBA here is known as the Lac Deschênes-Ottawa River IBA.
Shirleys Bay is also home to a campus where Canadian military and civilian groups do research, especially in telecommunications. Several important organizations have facilities here. These include Defence Research and Development Canada, which works on new technologies for defense. The Communications Research Centre also has a base here, focusing on communication technologies.
You can also find the Canadian Space Agency's David Florida Laboratory at Shirleys Bay. This lab helps test satellites and other space equipment. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have a training unit for firearms here, and the Department of Defence also uses the area for firearms training. Another group, the Connaught National Army Cadet Summer Training Centre, uses the site for summer training programs.
In October 1952, the Canadian government set up an observatory at Shirleys Bay. Its goal was to measure magnetic or radio noise disturbances. The area also includes the Innis Point Bird Observatory, which studies birds, and the Shirley's Bay Crown Game Preserve, which is managed by the Ottawa Duck Club to protect wildlife.
What Was Project Magnet?
Project Magnet was a special study program that looked into unidentified flying objects (UFOs). The Department of Transport (DOT) started this project on December 2, 1950. It was led by Wilbert B. Smith, who was a senior radio engineer for the DOT.
The project was officially active until the middle of 1954. However, it continued informally until Smith passed away in 1962.
The Shirleys Bay UFO Station
The station at Shirleys Bay, which was part of Project Magnet, had special equipment. This included tools to monitor radio signals, Geiger counters to detect radiation, and cameras.
On August 8, 1954, the station reportedly picked up a strange signal. Some people thought this signal might have come from a UFO. Even though there was a lot of fog that day, so no pictures could be taken, all the information gathered from this event was later declared secret.
