Valcourt, Quebec - Close to 100 people gathered
at the J. Armand Bombardier Museum to attend the launch of the interactive
exhibition Expedition: Arctic produced
by the Canadian Museum of Civilization in collaboration with the Canadian
Museum of Nature. This exhibition, which relives the triumphs and tragedies
that marked the Canadian expedition of 1913-18, truly won over the attendees.
The exhibits highlight the profound impact of the
expedition through the discovery of new lands and a better understanding of the
Inuit culture in addition expanded and defended Canada's Arctic sovereignty. More
than 100 extraordinary artefacts are showcased, most of which are being shown
to the general public for the very first time--work instruments and various
supplies used by the members of the expedition, tools and clothing made by the
Copper Inuit and a variety of fossils, plants, mammals and birds. When visitors
choose one of the 16 "Explorer Cards"
(they're grouped into five categories--clothing makers, hunters, scientists,
sailors, explorers) they experience the Expedition first hand, gaining an
understanding of how this voyage of adventure and discovery unfolded (in
chronological order).
Visitors can track the movements of explorers
Vilhjalmur Stefansson, R.M. Anderson and their companions, reliving the
Expedition through the eyes of each character. Expedition: Arctic is an invitation to travel into the heart of our
collective past, by way of one of the most fascinating adventures in Canada's
history. "This is an epic adventure that every citizen of the country,
from coast to coast to coast, ought to know something about," Nicolas
Gauvin, the guest of honor at the event and Director, Travelling Exhibitions,
Planning and Partnerships for the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation,
said. Gauvin said he was delighted to partner with the J. Armand Bombardier
Museum and hoped this first collaboration would lead to others that would
benefit both the institutions and their visitors. The North and the
achievements associated with it, will also be highlighted in an extra component
to the main exhibit entitled the Plaisted
Polar Expedition, the first such foray into the North Pole on land, using
motorised vehicles.
Expedition:
Arctic
runs until April 7.