This text is part of the Summer of Museums special booklet
Canadian War Museum
If, on a national scale, the Second World War represented a cold exercise in international diplomacy, the populations lived it as a personal experience. Created to highlight the 75and anniversary of the end of this major conflict, the exhibition Transformed Lives brings together various stories and 175 evocative artifacts, which tell how the war was experienced, on a human scale, in Canada and around the world.
From the skydiver writing a last letter before being dropped into the danger zone at the bomb girl who got burned at work, to the prisoner of war turning to art to succeed in enduring suffering, or to the Canadian-Japanese teenager forced to live 600 km from her home… this new exhibition recalls the direct impact of the Second World War on the lives of Canadians. An immersive experience at the heart of gripping stories.
Until September 5, 2022
Canada Agriculture and Food Museum
Visiting the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum is an incredible outdoor adventure in the heart of Ottawa. Located on a Canadian heritage site, just minutes from Parliament Hill, the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum is the only farm in the world operating in the heart of a capital city. The interactive exhibition Soil superheroesavailable now, allows visitors to discover the secret of life in the land and the sciences behind sustainable agriculture.
Using playful imagery, a league of superheroes, including Captain Clay, the Elusive Mole and Inspector Worm, help children and adults understand why soil is such a critical element to life on Earth.
Until 1er August 2022
Canada Aviation and Space Museum
The Canada Aviation and Space Museum is particularly interested in the history of aviation in Canada in an international context — from its beginnings in 1909 to the present day. As Canada’s contribution to aviation has evolved to embrace aerospace technology, the Museum has broadened its mission and enriched its collection to encompass space navigation.
With the exhibition Health in space. The audacity to explore, you will be immersed in the heart of the orbital adventure. Visitors will be able to hear personal testimonies from astronauts and see amazing artifacts that reveal how Canada has helped advance knowledge about health outside of our atmosphere. Discoveries in this area will be critical to the success of future deep space expeditions and could also lead to new medical treatments on Earth.
All summer
Canada Science and Technology Museum
Visit the Canada Science and Technology Museum this spring or summer to experience Canada’s innovation story in an immersive, educational and fun way.
The Museum offers 11 captivating exhibits accompanied by hands-on learning experiences, as well as daily fun science demonstrations that are sure to please everyone. The exhibition In nature immerses us in the heart of the immensity of Canada. Come discover how transportation technology was used to explore natural landscapes from coast to coast. Plane, train, bicycle, transport is literally in the spotlight.
All summer
Canadian Museum of History
The Canadian Museum of History is the jewel in the crown of national museums. With its various permanent exhibitions, come and discover the unique history of our country. The Museum’s signature exhibit, the Canadian History Hall, is the largest and most comprehensive exhibit on Canadian history ever.
In contact with artifacts and stories, visitors explore historical events and currents, and meet the actors who have shaped this country and continue to inspire it.
The Grand Hall is the architectural focal point of the Museum with its impressive interior collection of totem poles, one of the largest in the world. This superb gallery showcases the history and culture of Aboriginal communities on the west coast of Canada. The First Peoples Hall showcases the history, diversity, creativity, ingenuity and determination of Canada’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
The program is also enriched with temporary exhibitions, such as Freedoms sacrificed which explores the suspension of civil liberties in Canada during the First and Second World Wars, as well as during the October Crisis of 1970, shedding new light on the Act and its impact on the country and the population.
A welcome reminder in these turbulent times.
Until September 5, 2022
National Gallery of Canada
The three-channel video installation Vertigo Sea (2015), by John Akomfrah, is devastatingly beautiful, heartbreaking and uniquely timely. Comprised of clips from films and television programs taken primarily from the archives of the BBC’s Natural History Unit, as well as staged scenes shot by Akomfrah, the work intertwines several narratives depicting the ocean as a place of terror and beauty. Vertigo Sea juxtaposes powerful images of whaling off Newfoundland, polar bear hunting on Arctic ice, schools of fish and plankton stretching for miles, and scenes showing the predatory instinct of different forms of marine life. But there are also images of black bodies lined up in the hold of a slave ship, of boat people Vietnamese, political prisoners thrown into the sea, and those all-too-common sights of refugees crammed into makeshift boats.
Many of these images are familiar to us. We can establish their historical and geographical context and we know their origin. However, putting them in close proximity without apparent correspondence on three screens during the 48 minutes that the work lasts creates a dizzying effect.
From July 15, 2022