The Canadian Children's Museum (CCM) is a

children's museum Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums fea ...

and

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

operated by the

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. The CCM attracts about half a million visitors each year. It is also Canada's largest exhibition centre () designed specifically for children up to age 14 and their adult companions.

History

The Children's Museum opened in 1989 when the

(then known as the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

) moved into its current building in Gatineau. The Canadian Museum of History has expanded the exhibition twice since its opening, first in 1994 and again in 2007. At the end of July 2007, it welcomed its eight-millionth visitor. The museum announced that it would undertake a major renewal project from January 2020. It reopened in May 2022.

Exhibits

Most of the space is devoted to the museum's permanent exhibition ''The Great Adventure'' ('). This displays multi-cultural destinations (

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

) geared towards children 14 and under. The exhibit contains activities geared towards children, including a library and theater. The CCM also presents a changing line-up of special exhibitions curated internally or acquired from other institutions. In September 2022, the museum opened a one-year exhibition titled, "From Pepinot to PAW Patrol – Television of Our Childhoods," which explores 70 years of television programming for children. It features approximately a hundred shows in English, French, and indigenous languages. The exhibition was developed in collaboration with

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

Radio-Canada Radio-Canada may refer to: * CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation *Ici Radio-Canada Télé, the CBC's main French-language television network *Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) i ...

and with the participation of

Télé-Québec The (; ), branded as () (formerly known as ), is a Canadian French-language public educational television network in the province of Quebec. It is a provincial Crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec. The network's main studios an ...

Collections

The Children's Museum has a permanent collection of more than 15,000 items for use in its exhibitions and programs. The items include artifacts, toys, games, clothing, art, photographs and other objects from around the world that relate to the lives of children, past and present.

Affiliations

The CCM is a member of the international

Association of Children's Museums The Association of Children's Museums (ACM) is a Washington, D.C.–based organization that represents more than 300 children's museums in 23 countries throughout the world. The association began in 1962 as the American Association of Youth Muse ...

, and the only Canadian member of the Youth Museums Exhibit Collaborative.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1989 establishments in Canada Museums established in 1989 National museums of Canada Museums in Gatineau Children's museums in Canada

Children's_Museum Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums fea ...