Donald Crowdis (December 24, 1913 – November 27, 2011) was a Canadian educator, museum

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

, broadcaster, and one of the world's oldest

bloggers A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

. He created ''

The Nature of Things ''The Nature of Things'' (also, ''The Nature of Things with David Suzuki'') is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on 6 November 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that hum ...

'' for CBC Television in 1960, which remains one of the longest running and most successful programs in Canada, and was a member of the executive team which oversaw the establishment of the

Ontario Science Centre The Ontario Science Centre, formally the Centennial Museum of Science and Technology, is a science museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the Don Valley Parkway about northeast of downtown on Don Mills Road just south of Eglint ...

. Crowdis was also one of the last living survivors of the

Halifax Explosion On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship collided with the Norwegian vessel in the waters of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The ''Mont-Blanc'', laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond ...

Life and career

Born in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, he received degrees in science, arts and education from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

. He later studied education administration at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and museum studies at the Buffalo Museum of Science on a Carnegie fellowship.Obituary
''Globe and Mail'', 13 December, 2011 He worked initially as a school teacher, rising to a school administrator, before transitioning to museum administration.

Museum administration

In 1940, he succeeded the

Harry Piers Harry Piers (1870–1940) was a Canadian historian. He was a long-serving and influential historian and curator at the Nova Scotia Museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Piers was born on February 12, 1870, in Halifax. He became the second curator of ...

as curator and director of the

Nova Scotia Museum Nova Scotia Museum (NSM) is the corporate name for the 28 museums across Nova Scotia, Canada, and is part of the province's tourism infrastructure. The organization manages more than 200 historic buildings, living history sites, vessels, and speci ...

. He served at the museum for 25 years, focusing on the growth of its science collections until his departure in 1965. Notable initiatives included the creation of the first public planetarium in Canada, and live exhibits aimed at attracting children, including the development of innovative fish tanks which would come to be emulated elsewhere by public aquariums. Among the live exhibits he introduced was a 20-year-old

gopher tortoise The gopher tortoise (''Gopherus polyphemus'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. The gopher tortoise is seen as a keystone species because it digs burrows that provide ...

, purchased in 1942. The tortoise still thrives in 2019 as one of the museum's most popular attractions. His role transitioned from that of curator to director as he hired several specialist curators in various sciences. In 1947, he was a founding member and later President of the

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 ...

. While still with the museum, Crowdis accepted an invitation to spearhead efforts to establish a permanent library for Halifax. This eventually resulted in the construction of the Halifax Memorial Library, designed by Leslie Fairn and completed in 1951. It was later known as the Spring Garden Road Memorial (Main) Branch of the

Halifax Public Libraries Halifax Public Libraries (HPL) is a Canadian public library system serving residents of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is the largest public library system in Nova Scotia, with over 2.8 million visits to library branches and 172,520 active registered ...

system). As Canada was preparing for its centennial year, federal matching funds were made available to provincial and municipal governments to undertake significant public projects (see

Canadian Centennial The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1, 1967. Commemorative coins w ...

). Frustrated that the Nova Scotia Museum was overlooked for such funding in favor of a competing initiative, Crowdis moved to Toronto in 1965. There he became a member of the executive team which oversaw the establishment of the “Centennial Centre of Science and Technology” which would come to be known as the

. He afterwards worked for the Ontario Education Communications Authority. He consulted in later years.

Broadcasting

As part of his outreach efforts with the Nova Scotia museum, Crowdis embraced the medium of radio, appearing on local radio programs in Halifax for more than two decades. One of his shows was called "Things of Nature". When it transitioned to television, he adapted the name as ''

'' He was an early host of the popular

CBC television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

series, which continues to air new episodes as ''The Nature of Things with David Suzuki''.

Blogger

Late in his life (from age 91 to 95), he wrote a

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

named
Don To Earth
', making him Canada's, and one of the world's, oldest bloggers. His brief blogs, which he kept "no longer than a page," were principally meditations on ''

Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War ''Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War'' is the title of an influential book by English surgeon Wilfred Trotter, published in 1916. Based on the ideas of Gustave Le Bon, it was very influential in the development of group dynamics and crowd psyc ...

'' by Wilfred Trotter. Said, Crowdis, "this column is for the single purpose of urging my readers to read it. I have read it myself several times a year for over thirty years. I'll stop this now, and you go read."

Honours

* Recipient of the

Canadian Centennial Medal The Canadian Centennial Medal (french: Médaille du centenaire du Canada) is a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint in 1967 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation and was awarded to Canadians who were ...

* Fellow,

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

* Fellow,

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT) is Canada's only all-graduate institute of teaching, learning and research, located in Toronto, Ontario. It is located directly above the St. George subway sta ...

* Nova Scotia

Discovery Centre Discovery Centre is an interactive science museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is a not-for-profit charitable organization whose mission is to stimulate interest, enjoyment and understanding of science and technology. History In October 2010, th ...

Hall of Fame.Nova Scotia Discovery Centre Award - List of Recipients
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References

External links

Don To Earth Again -- Donald Crowdis's blog

Don To Earth -- Donald Crowdis's first blog
* Stan Johnson
1980s story on Gus the Turtle will have you in stitches
CBC News * Mak, Eileen Diana (1996)
Patterns of change, sources of influence : an historical study of the Canadian museum and the Middle Class 1850-1950
Doctoral Thesis (History), University of Western Ontario. {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowdis, Donald 1913 births 2011 deaths Canadian television hosts Canadian bloggers Canadian curators People from Halifax, Nova Scotia Dalhousie University alumni