50 TENBEST
Engage your curiosity and fuel your imagination with a visit to one of Alexandra Pope’s picks for the top museums in Canada
From big and well-known to small hidden treasures, check out these picks of the nation’s top museums
A VISIT TO A MUSEUM is more than a pleasant way to while away an afternoon; it offers us a chance to discover something new about our world and ourselves. Whether you’re planning a first visit to a new region or looking for things to do in your hometown, here are 10 museums to add to your summer fun itinerary.
The Rooms, St. John’s The Rooms brings Newfoundland’s archives, art gallery and museum together under one roof for a comprehensive and eloquent showcase of what it means to be a Newfoundlander. Permanent exhibits include artifacts and testimonies from the First World War Battle of Beaumont-hamel and an introduction to the Irish who settled the island beginning in the late 1600s. therooms.ca
Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic,
Lunenburg, N.S. The Bluenose exhibit will give you a new appreciation for the schooner on the dimes in your pocket, while the rooms devoted to Nova Scotia’s fishing heritage will make you see this brightly painted seaside town with new eyes. Take a break from the aquariums, wharf-side touch tanks and preserved fishing vessels to enjoy a bowl of chowder or local oysters at the Old Fish Factory, the on-site restaurant. fisheriesmuseum.novascotia.ca
Anne of Green Gables Museum, P.E.I. As a young girl, author Lucy Maud Montgomery called the white clapboard home of her Aunt Annie and Uncle John Campbell a “wonder castle,” and it’s easy to see why. Explore Montgomery memorabilia, including the author’s own handtinted photos, then take a horse-drawn carriage ride around the picture-perfect grounds that inspired some of her most beloved stories. annemuseum.com
Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa It’s hard to pinpoint what makes this national museum so cool. It could be that it’s housed in a castle built in the early 1900s, or its groundbreaking research on Canadian species, or the way it mixes learning and fun, for example with afterhours Nature Nocturne parties that transform the place into the capital’s nerdiest nightclub. Whatever it is, you’ll want to keep coming back to marvel at Canada’s spectacular biodiversity. nature.ca
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto It’s almost impossible to fully appreciate Canada’s largest museum of natural history and culture in just one visit, but if one is all you have time for, spring for the extra $10 for the Out of the Depths exhibit, on until September. It tells the story of a blue whale that washed up in Newfoundland in 2014 and the herculean efforts to turn tragedy into opportunity by unlocking the secrets of Earth’s largest animal. rom.on.ca
Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto When was the last time you gave serious thought to what you put on your feet? This offbeat museum will give you a new appreciation for the social, cultural and economic role of footwear in civilizations spanning 4,500 years. Highlights from its 13,000 artifacts include ancient Egyptian sandals, Queen Victoria’s silk slippers and Elton John’s bedazzled platforms. batashoemuseum.ca
Itsanitaq Museum, Churchill, Man. Housed in a space the size of a school gymnasium in a nondescript building, this hidden gem is jam-packed with Inuit artifacts dating from about 1700 BC to modern times. Part of its appeal lies in the surprise of discovering such an important collection up North rather than in a southern museum. Plan to
spend a couple of hours exploring the room’s many treasures. 204-675-2030
Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Alta. Your trip back to prehistory begins the moment you enter the Canadian badlands, a semi-arid moonscape of ancient riverbeds and bizarre rock formations. At the museum, come face-to-face with the giant creatures that roamed Alberta 75 million years ago ( above), and learn how paleontologists piece together the past from bone fragments and fossils unearthed in the surrounding canyons. tyrrellmuseum.com
Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver Museum of Anthropology architect Arthur Erickson described the building as “a work of light and shadows … designed to resonate to the metronome of the seasons.” Linger in the Great Hall, which features towering totem poles and other artifacts of the Kwakwaka’wakw, Nisga’a, Gitxsan, Haida and Coast Salish peoples set against panoramic views of the mountains and Salish Sea, and keep an eye out for the many contemporary works displayed on the grounds. moa.ubc.ca
U’mista Cultural Centre, Alert Bay, B.C. To the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, u’mista means “the return of something important” — in this case, dozens of masks and artifacts used in potlatch ceremonies seized during a period of government repression in the 1920s and sent east to museums and private collectors. Recent repatriation efforts resulted in the creation of the cultural centre, which is keeping the potlatch tradition alive through displays and dance performances. umista.ca