Experts provide the facts, but they must also be story tellers. If you can find an expert who can speak with passion, energy and enthusiasm for Canadian history then that’s your man, women or child!
In order to best serve Canadians, historians, curators, acheologists and other experts are needed. A museum whose content is shaped entirely by a public popularity contest would likely reflect the public’s current knowledge and understanding, and the museum should seek to broaden our knowledge and understanding, not merely glorify or celebrate what we already know. Give experts the resources they need to make the new Canadian Museum of History a world-class public AND scholarly institution.
The role of curators, historians, archaeologists, archivists, conservators, and other museum professionals in preserving objects, and choosing publication topics and exhibition themes must be supported – more so than it is today. The museum has rich expertise on site. Depending upon the subject, there are other experts who should be enabled to participate, and to work collaboratively with CMC staff, such as experts in other museums/universities/regions/cultural communities, etc.
The museum experts *should* be the people best suited to telling our story in a consistent, professional way but the fact that those same “experts” chose to start this website’s timeline with the founding of Quebec City leaving us with the impression that Canadian history begins with Quebec City is a MAJOR historical error. There are several well-documented dates with several well-documented historical figures prior to that date which create a broader representation of the origins of our country
I welcome the museum’s new vocation. I am appalled at how little many Canadians know of our history. That said, I believe the museum needs to avoid the trendy, the populist and the revisionist in favour of a balanced, academically sound recounting of Canada’s story. To whom is this task best entrusted? I believe the answer is professional historians (at least those without an axe to grind or an agenda to push). I wish them well.
I think that having public commentary and interaction is a very important way to directly engage all Canadians and other interested parties in our history and heritage. Yet I think it’s even more essential that the researchers and curators of the Museum, and their partners across Canada, can share their deep and broad expertise with us, so that we may become better informed about our selves and our country.
I would like to see archaeology and archaeologists given a strong role in telling Canada’s story. Very little information about archaeology makes it into the public domain in our country – we know so little about the archaeology explored in our own backyards. I would love to see displays showing what archaeologists do, how they do it, and what their work contributes to our understanding of the past. Then I might have fewer students tell me archaeologists dig up dinosaur bones!
It is very difficult to narrow down to two preferred choices; however, I have added this one as I particularly want to stress the importance of including archaeology and archaeologists in telling Canada’s story. There is far to little awareness of our archaeology – what goes on in our own backyards – and I would love to see not only input from archaeologists, but information about what they do, how they do it, what they contribute to our knowledge.
I believe the museum’s curators have the most experience and training in Canadian history. Those in ethnology and archaeology are especially well-suited to decide what stories are representative of Canadian history which begins with the peopling of this continent 11,000 years ago.
When our teacher brings us to a museum, i enjoy listening to the historians. They are so passionate and they know so much. I hope they continue to share their knowledge with us.
Experts provide the facts, but they must also be story tellers. If you can find an expert who can speak with passion, energy and enthusiasm for Canadian history then that’s your man, women or child!
In order to best serve Canadians, historians, curators, acheologists and other experts are needed. A museum whose content is shaped entirely by a public popularity contest would likely reflect the public’s current knowledge and understanding, and the museum should seek to broaden our knowledge and understanding, not merely glorify or celebrate what we already know. Give experts the resources they need to make the new Canadian Museum of History a world-class public AND scholarly institution.
The role of curators, historians, archaeologists, archivists, conservators, and other museum professionals in preserving objects, and choosing publication topics and exhibition themes must be supported – more so than it is today. The museum has rich expertise on site. Depending upon the subject, there are other experts who should be enabled to participate, and to work collaboratively with CMC staff, such as experts in other museums/universities/regions/cultural communities, etc.
Boy when a “Museum” starts asking children for input you know they’ve lost all credibility.
The museum experts *should* be the people best suited to telling our story in a consistent, professional way but the fact that those same “experts” chose to start this website’s timeline with the founding of Quebec City leaving us with the impression that Canadian history begins with Quebec City is a MAJOR historical error. There are several well-documented dates with several well-documented historical figures prior to that date which create a broader representation of the origins of our country
I welcome the museum’s new vocation. I am appalled at how little many Canadians know of our history. That said, I believe the museum needs to avoid the trendy, the populist and the revisionist in favour of a balanced, academically sound recounting of Canada’s story. To whom is this task best entrusted? I believe the answer is professional historians (at least those without an axe to grind or an agenda to push). I wish them well.
I think that having public commentary and interaction is a very important way to directly engage all Canadians and other interested parties in our history and heritage. Yet I think it’s even more essential that the researchers and curators of the Museum, and their partners across Canada, can share their deep and broad expertise with us, so that we may become better informed about our selves and our country.
The Museum has highly knowledgeable curatorial staff whose methods follow world curatorial standards.
I would like to see archaeology and archaeologists given a strong role in telling Canada’s story. Very little information about archaeology makes it into the public domain in our country – we know so little about the archaeology explored in our own backyards. I would love to see displays showing what archaeologists do, how they do it, and what their work contributes to our understanding of the past. Then I might have fewer students tell me archaeologists dig up dinosaur bones!
It is very difficult to narrow down to two preferred choices; however, I have added this one as I particularly want to stress the importance of including archaeology and archaeologists in telling Canada’s story. There is far to little awareness of our archaeology – what goes on in our own backyards – and I would love to see not only input from archaeologists, but information about what they do, how they do it, what they contribute to our knowledge.
I believe the museum’s curators have the most experience and training in Canadian history. Those in ethnology and archaeology are especially well-suited to decide what stories are representative of Canadian history which begins with the peopling of this continent 11,000 years ago.
I believe that the experts working at the Museum are in one the very best positions to tell us stories about our past.
I value the perspectives of museum experts because they have dedicated their lives to these subject
When our teacher brings us to a museum, i enjoy listening to the historians. They are so passionate and they know so much. I hope they continue to share their knowledge with us.