Taking a page out of the history books
When she was juggling work at Niagara Falls Museums and competing on Canada’s national sprint cycling team in 2015, Sara Byers wanted to fill what little free time she had by doing something creative.
“I needed an easy activity to occupy my downtime when I was confined to home or athlete accommodations while resting from training,” the assistant curator recalled.
She turned to drawing and colouring to fill that void.
Specifically, she would draw scenes and artifacts from the museum’s online collections page and turn them in to colouring sheets.
“My passion is history and I find limitless inspiration from the museums since I can access the artifact collections online any time, anywhere.”
In the past, the drawings were compiled into a booklet and handed out to people visiting the museum.
Today, as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the images have been digitized and can be downloaded and printed by anyone at home.
There are four colouring sheets based on items in the museum’s collection, including a Clifton Hotel pitcher and a Battle of Lundy’s Lane commemorative banner, and seven architectural-type scenes from Niagara Falls History Museum, Willoughby Historical Museum and Battle Ground Hotel Museum.
Adding the colouring sheets to its website is one way Niagara Falls Museums is engaging with people during the pandemic.
Its social media sites feature a constant stream of online engagement designed to bring the museum into resident’s homes.
“We are very excited to keep in touch with our community and support each other in getting through this unique time,” Byers said.
Information and activities can be found at niagarafallsmuseums.ca under The Museum @ Home.