The New Old History Museum

This past weekend was rainy.  Depressingly rainy. Depressingly November rainy - the type of rain that is so cold it almost falls as snow.  In other words, the perfect day to visit a museum (or stay home in your PJs and do laundry)

I haven't hit up Ottawa's Museum of History (formerly the Museum of Civilization) for a few years now. I used to go a lot when Margot was a toddler but lately we've focused more on hikes and activities than museums. But I'm glad we went.

They've really revamped the space to have a more modern feel and to emphasize Canada's aboriginal heritage. The "great hall" in the museum, which is full of totem poles and aboriginal art, has always been pretty cool.

Glosette Girl explains the Bill Reid sculpture

But the other showpiece of the museum, "the Canadian History Hall", now has a whole section devoted to pre-European contact whereas previously it previously much jumped from the Viking discovery of Newfoundland to the French and British colonists with little in between. It also presents the information in a more organic space and contains less hokey dioramas and more interactive multimedia displays.

This land is my land...

But really I think it was the way they presented aboriginal history that was the most impressive. It wasn't boring or preachy. It was interesting. Non-Canadians may not realize this but most non-aboriginal Canadians (at least in this part of the country) have practically no contact with aboriginal Canadians. So for many of us, this is new. Margot was certainty attentive as Glosette Girl explained the various panels and artifacts to her.

Anyways, we were so impressed we bought ourselves a museum pass. Great job History Museum curators!