The Canadian Canoe Museum is a museum dedicated to

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

s located in

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

, Canada. The museum's mission is to preserve and share the culture and history of the canoe.

History

It was founded as the Kanawa Museum, which was also called the Kanawa International Collection of Canoes, Kayaks and Rowing Craft, in 1957 by Kirk Wipper at Camp Kandalore, north of Minden, Ontario, when a friend presented Professor Wipper with a dugout made circa 1890. Over the years, the collection grew. It was housed inadequately in wooden buildings at Kandalore, and by the late 1980s it was becoming clear that a new home would be needed. Wipper transferred control of his historic collection in 1994 to the organization now called the Canadian Canoe Museum. The museum now holds the largest collection of its kind, with more than 600 canoes and kayaks, and a thousand related artifacts. The museum opened its doors to the public at its new location on

Canada Day Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...

in 1997. In May 2006,

Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...

, as a member of the

Canadian Royal Family The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the founda ...

, accepted the invitation to become the royal

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the museum, and visited on May 11 to celebrate its 10th anniversary. He also donated three canoes, originally built in the area of Peterborough, and gifted to the Royal Family between 1947 and 1981, on long-term loan.

Exhibits

The Canadian Canoe Museum's exhibits explore how the canoe defines the Canadian character and spirit. As well as the canoe collection, the museum features a dramatic waterfall, and a traditional

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

wigwam A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup'' ...

where visitors can hear creation stories. Visitors can also try their hand at building a birch bark canoe in the Preserving Skills Gallery, plan a prospecting expedition like in the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

days, feel what it was like to be a voyageur during the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

era, and enjoy the cottaging lifestyles of the early 20th century. A notable exhibit started in October 2001, when the museum gained further prominence with the launch of ''Reflections: The Land, the People and the Canoe''. This landmark exhibit featured

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

's famous buckskin jacket and birch bark canoe on public display for the first time, along with the personal artifacts of other significant paddlers, including

Bill Mason Bill Mason was a Canadian naturalist, author, artist, filmmaker, and conservationist, noted primarily for his popular canoeing books, films, and art as well as his documentaries on wolves. Mason was also known for including passages from Christ ...

, Victoria Jason and Eric Morse.

Visiting information

The Canadian Canoe Museum is located on 910 Monaghan Road, Peterborough. The museum is fully wheelchair accessible, and parking is free. The museum's hours and admission rates are available on its website.

Affiliations

The museum is affiliated with:

Canadian Museums Association The Canadian Museums Association (CMA; french: Association des musées canadiens, ''ACM''), is a national non-profit organization for the promotion of museums in Canada. It represents Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internat ...

Canadian Heritage Information Network , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Logo of Canadian Heritage Information Network.png , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = ...

, and

Virtual Museum of Canada The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity. Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...

References

External links

Canadian Canoe Museum website

Map to the Canadian Canoe Museum

Kirk Albert Walter Wipper Official Web Site

"Who was Kirk Wipper"
from David Spencer's Education Paragon {{Authority control History museums in Ontario Museums established in 1957 Transport museums in Ontario Organizations based in Canada with royal patronage Museums in Peterborough, Ontario Mus 1957 establishments in Ontario