Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum of Alberta facts for kids

Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum Of Alberta

Established	1972 (1972)
Location	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Type	Historical

The Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum Of Alberta (UCAMA) is a special museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It focuses on the history and culture of Ukrainians who came to Canada.

The museum recently bought the old Lodge Hotel and the Brighton Block buildings. These are located on Jasper Avenue. The plan is to turn these buildings into a new, modern home for the museum. This new space will have galleries for showing exhibits. It will also have areas for storing historical items and a library. There will be special rooms for learning, meetings, and fun events.

The museum wants to help people explore Ukrainian heritage. They also want to add more items to their collection. They plan to move their collection to the new building. Plus, they want to make their exhibits available to travel to other places.

History of the Museum

Ukrainians are one of the largest groups of people who settled in the Canadian Prairie Provinces. Because of this important history, a group of eleven Ukrainian community members in Edmonton decided to act. In 1972, led by Hryhory and Stefania Yopyk, they wanted to create a place. This place would keep the history and culture of Canadians of Ukrainian heritage safe. The museum officially opened its doors on October 27, 1974.

In 2003, the museum bought the Lodge Hotel and Brighton Block buildings. These buildings are on Jasper Avenue. The city, province, and federal government gave the museum C$9.2 million. This money was for a big renovation project. The total cost was expected to be C$13 million. These buildings have always been important to the Ukrainian community. Many Ukrainian businesses used to be located there.

Construction on the new museum started in 2012. Over time, the cost of the renovation grew to C$22 million. To help pay for this, the museum plans to sell the Brighton Block building. This will help fund the development of the museum in the former Hotel building.

How the Collection Started

Mr. Yopyk began collecting items for the museum in the mid-1960s. He started by contacting the local Ukrainian newspaper. He published an article asking other Ukrainians to donate items. He asked for books, personal belongings, and other printed materials.

The collection quickly grew bigger. Mr. Yopyk started traveling around Alberta on weekends. He met with people who wanted to donate things for his archives. Hryhory also carried a camera with him. He loved taking pictures of churches in rural Alberta.

At first, Mr. Yopyk kept all the collected items at home. But as his collection grew, he ran out of space. That's when he got the idea to create a whole museum. It grew from something he simply enjoyed doing.