Thunder Bay Historical Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1908 |
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| Location | 425 Donald Street East Thunder Bay, Ontario |
| Public transit access |  Thunder Bay Transit via City Hall Terminal[[|1]] [[|3M]] [[|8]] [[|10]] [[|12]] [[|14]] [[|16]] [[|18]] [[|4]] (limited) |
The Thunder Bay Museum is a cool place in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It's run by a group called the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society. They work hard to keep the history of the area alive! The museum is connected to other big museum groups like the Canadian Museums Association. It also works with the Canadian Heritage Information Network and the Virtual Museum of Canada.
Contents
History of the Museum
The Thunder Bay Historical Society started a long time ago, on October 2, 1908. It was founded by Barlow Cumberland, who was the president of the Ontario Historical Society. The first president of the Thunder Bay Historical Society was Peter McKellar. He led the group from 1908 to 1923.
Since 1994, the museum has been in a special old building. This building used to be the Fort William police station and court house. It's located close to Thunder Bay City Hall. The building was built in 1910 and has three floors. It was designed by an architect named Robert Mason. The building looks very grand with its two large Corinthian columns. This style is called Classical Revival architecture.
Over the years, the inside of the building has been completely updated. This includes a new heating and cooling system. A wheelchair ramp was also added to make it easy for everyone to visit. A storage area for the museum's collection was made bigger. Recently, a special gallery was built where you can see large items like vehicles from the museum's collection.
What You Can See: The Collection
The museum has lots of interesting things to see!
First Floor Exhibits
On the first floor, you'll find exhibits that are always there. These exhibits show different parts of local history. You can learn about how people lived and what happened in the Thunder Bay area long ago.
Second Floor: James Murphy Room
The second floor has a special area called the James Murphy Room. This room is used for meetings and fun activities. It's a great place for birthday parties! The museum also holds themed camps for kids here during March Break and summer holidays.
Third Floor: Military, Music, and More
The third floor has exhibits about military history and music. There's also space for both local exhibits and traveling exhibits from other places. This floor also has a multi-purpose room that can be rented for different events.
The museum collects many items that are important to the region. These include old dolls, pictures, and furniture. They even have a firetruck in their collection! The museum also has a huge archive. This is where they keep old records, maps, and over 150,000 photos. They also have a library with 2200 books.
Museum Programs and Publications
The Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society does more than just show exhibits.
They create an annual journal called Papers & Records. This journal is reviewed by experts and shares stories and research about local history. The Society also publishes several books each year. These books cover many different topics about the local and regional area.
