Canmore Museum And Geoscience Centre

Known as Chuwapchipchiyan Kudi Bi by the Stoney Nakoda, Canmore is defined by the rugged Canadian Rocky Mountain landscape that surrounds us and shaped by the culture, language and traditions of those that have called this place home for over 10,000 years. Through its collections, exhibits and programs, the Canmore Museum tells this story.

The Canmore Museum is the public name used by the Centennial Museum Society of Canmore. The Society was incorporated in 1984 under The Societies Act of the Province of Alberta. The society is also a registered charity. In June 2004, the museum moved a new purpose built space in the Canmore Civic Centre.

History

The museum started from a school assignment in 1936. Teacher Edna Appleby gave the students an assignment to write a letter to a foreign country requesting a doll in ethnic dress. One of the students, Mavis Mallabone, continued to collect dolls from all over the world. This significant collection was on display at the original museum until the mid-1990s. The museum as steward of the town's history has a collection of artifacts from early mining history to the 1988 Winter Olympics and beyond.

After the mine closed in 1979, some expected that the town would soon follow the likes of nearby Georgetown, Anthracite and Bankhead and become a ghost town or vanish like the work in the coal mine. Instead, within a few years, Canmore was the site of the Nordic Centre for the 1988 Winter Olympics. The resulting development through the 1990s, and beyond have led to a mountain community with year round tourism as a sought after vacation destination and a major real estate market in recreational property. History buffs have no shortage of places to visit in the town of Canmore including the 19th Century North-West Mounted Police Barracks, which is operated seasonally by the Canmore Museum. In addition, the Canmore Hotel, Miners’ Union Hall, the Engine Bridge, the Shareholders’ Cabin and the Canmore Mine Lamphouse are located nearby and recall an earlier era of Canmore’s history.

Programs and Events

Programming is an important component of the overall mandate of the organization. The Canmore Museum offers a variety of public programs throughout the year. The museum also runs school and summer programs for children of various ages as part of its education mandate.

The Canmore Museum hosts an annual Rock and Fossil event and the Canmore Heritage Festival.

Exhibits

From Coal to Community

This new exhibit officially opened on March 4, 2016. It features coal mining artifacts from the Canmore Mining Industry. It is not just a museum of coal mining history however, but has a mandate to tell the stories of the heritage of the town and the people of the mountains. There are displays of rocks and fossils from the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

This museum is kid-friendly. There are multiple interactive stations, including one with a microscope, that explore geology, mining, and community history. A number of audio-visual presentations are found throughout the exhibit.

Publications

The first publication by the Canmore Museum was 'Survival in Paradise: A Century of Coal Mining in the Bow Valley'. The book was written by Walter J. Riva, a former mine engineer and manager at the Canmore Mines Ltd. and member of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame, with editing and layout design by Rob Alexander. This important book tells the story of coal mining in the Bow Valley, including Anthracite, Bankhead, Georgetown and Canmore.

Recognition

The Canmore Museum became one of the museums in the province of Alberta to receive the Recognized Museum designation from the Alberta Museums Association. To earn this designation, the museum provided a panel of museum professionals with evidence achieving internationally recognized criteria of a museum.

This designation is achieved by participating in the Museum Affirmation Program, a new initiative designed to strengthen the Association's accountability toward the public funds it distributes through grants and programming to the province's museums.

As a Recognized Museum, the Canmore Museum has met the internationally recognized definition and standards of a museum. This status is good for 5 years (until 2024), at which point the designation will be revisited.

The Canmore Museum received the following recognition for its participation in the Year of the Coal Miner, a year-long celebration of coal mining history in southern Alberta and south-eastern British Columbia:

* Museums and Society Award , Alberta Museums Association, 2005
* Marketing Excellence Award Finalist , Alberta Tourism Marketing Awards, 2004
* Marketing Partnership Award Finalist , Alberta Tourism Marketing Awards, 2004
* Tourism Partnership Initiative Award , Chinook Country Tourist Association, 2004
* The Town of Canmore, along with the City of Lethbridge, the Municipality of the Crowsnest Pass, the City of Fernie and the Town of Drumheller, was designated as the 2004 Cultural Capital of Canada by Canadian Heritage as a result of this heritage tourism initiative.

Affiliations

The Museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada. The Canmore Museum is a member of the ''Canadian Museums Association'', an organization that represents nearly 2000 museums. Each year, more than 55 million visitors attend Canadian museums. In turn, these institutions employ over 10,000 full-time, around 10,000 part-time employees and are supported by more than 40,000 volunteers. In addition, it is a member of the ''Alberta Museums Association''.

References

External links

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1984 establishments in Canada
Canmore, Alberta
History museums in Alberta
Mining museums in Canada
Museums in Alberta