Summertime is Funtime!

On Sunday July 17, 2011 we held our annual Summertime is Funtime Family Craft Day event. Children created and decorated kazoos, paper plate fish and made their own ball in cup game. We ventured outside on a gorgeous sunny afternoon, where they got to make and experience the magic of magic mud, play with bubbles and fly kites. Fun times were had by all!

The museum staff was joined by 28 visitors including children and their parents, volunteers and reporters. What a great turn out! Join us again on August 14, 2011 for our next family craft day, Bears, Foxes, and New Moons.

A sneak peak

On Sunday July 17 we have a family craft and activity day called Summertime is Funtime for kids ages 4-12.
                    
Of course, as part of our job we have to test out our ideas before running them with the kids. Tough, I know. This is Magic Mud. After testing it out (we learned a little something about blue food colouring) we got a little carried away. If you look closely, you can see the Magic Mud that Liz (left) made - in the air on the very edge of the frame.
                                              
If you are interested in joining in on the fun this Sunday, give us a call at 613-831-2393 or send us an email. Read more about the event here.

Preserving The McCoy Scrapbooks for the future

Original scrapbook pages

Reproduction scrapbook pages

As Curatorial Assistant at the museum this summer, one of my tasks has been to digitize and re-create our McCoy Scrapbook collection…

          

These scrapbooks were created, and donated to the museum by local history enthusiast Mildred McCoy, a resident of Richmond. Who cut out articles from area papers pertaining to the lives of Goulbourn residents. There are 23 books in all, spanning the years 1907 to 1987. The articles cover a variety of topics from births, deaths, and marriages to municipal politics, local businesses, and church groups. The books are indexed by last name, so looking up articles on a specific person is easily done.
                

Due to the age of the books, many pages were falling a part and in poor condition, or the newspaper clippings were becoming too dark to read. In order to preserve the information held in each book the museum decided to have all the articles scanned, printed, and placed in to new scrapbooks using acid free pages and glue. As soon as all the books have been reproduced, the originals will be put away in storage, and the re-productions will be used for reference and research.
            

So far 9 scrapbooks have been preserved …This is an important project for the museum since it will allow future generations to read the stories of their families and communities…For me personally, I have found my grandma’s birth announcement, great grandparents wedding announcement, and an article on my great grandfathers death while working on the scrapbooks…You should stop in and take a look…you never know what you might find.

Voyage of the 100th Regiment

 

Have you ever wondered how pioneers arrived in Goulbourn Township? Or where they came from & why they settled here in 1818?

With the help of our fantastic volunteer Kurt Johnson and some great resources we created a travelling exhibit where visitors will discover how soldiers of the 100th Regiment endured death & hardship on their journey to defend Canada before the War of 1812. This exhibit opens today and is on display at the Stittsville Library until August 4. To see how we created the panels, see this post, and to learn about about the exhibit process and a bit of history, see this article in the Stittsville/Richmond EMC.