Canadian Canoe Museum Opens New Building
The Canadian Canoe Museum launches into a fresh era this spring with the opening of its new building. Besides enlarged exhibition, studio, and research spaces, the location alongside Little Lake in the heart of Peterborough allows people to take part in activities on the water or to enjoy dining on the lakefront terrace. As the museum notes, “visitors will be able to walk through the front doors and paddle out the back!”
The museum holds the world’s largest collection of canoes, kayaks, and paddled watercraft — more than six hundred in total — plus many related artifacts. However, the previous building permitted the display of only twenty per cent of the collection, while the remainder was stored in a separate warehouse.
Now that the entire collection is housed in a purpose-built 6,000-square-metre facility, the museum is better able to fulfill its aim of inspiring visitors to learn about Canadian history while fostering connections “to land, water, and one another — all through the unique lens of the iconic canoe.”
The building utilizes timber and other natural materials that reflect a connection to the land and to the artisanship of canoe making. The local Michi Saagiig dialect of the Anishnaabemowin language is used along with French and English to provide information throughout the museum, while other Indigenous languages are employed in relation to particular watercraft. The museum is open to the public from May 13.
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