Farewell to the Penny!

The Canadian Penny was taken out of circulation on Monday, February 4^th which has resulted in many businesses implementing the “rounding” of transactions.  The Canadian Canoe Museum’s Gift Store is in the process of installing a new Point of Sale system that will feature tax-included pricing with the “rounding” feature configured within the system.  So the price you see is the price you’ll pay!

The deciding factors for this new concept included the demise of the penny, but also to assist the “young” consumer.  The forlorn look on the face of a young child when they find out they don’t have enough money to pay for an item because of tax also prompted the change.  We will also be altering our Member Discount program to a “Member Pricing” format instead.  There will be a few exceptions to the evenly rounded price though – customers entitled to an exemption of the Provincial portion of HST and certain percentage discounts will still have to be “manually” rounded for the lack of the penny.  We are confident that this new system will be beneficial to you our Museum’s visitors and perhaps we will start a trend for businesses!  And for those of you that would like a keepsake, the “Canoe Penny Scratcher” is still available in the Gift Store.

The Canadian Canoe Museum and Birchbark Media…its a beautiful thing!

Those of you who have been friends of the Museum for a long time have probably tangled with our website at some point over the years. Maybe you foolishly tried to use a contact form to contact a staff member, or perhaps you wanted to make a donation or renew your membership only to find your efforts thwarted at every turn.

As staff members we feel your frustration. Our current site has been a faithful workhorse, but it has become as difficult to use on our end as it is on the visitor’s, and for this reason we are really excited to announce our website redevelopment project! Thanks to grants from the Peterborough Foundation and the Museums and Technology Fund we have been able to hire local web developer Scott Adams and his team at Birchbark Media (I swear we didn’t choose them just because of their name), to revamp our website and help us develop a Virtual Exhibit Space (stay tuned for more news on this in the near future!)

The website development is going fabulously and we are continually exploring new ways to deliver the information and content that our visitors and members want.  One of the ways we are looking to receive feedback from our visitors is through a short online survey. Its only 10 questions long (and its mostly multiple choice) so if you could spare a few minutes to click on the link below, we would love to hear what you have to say!

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions or words of support I’d sure love to hear them! You can contact me, Jessica Lapp, at jessica.lapp@canoemuseum.ca.  Thank you for taking the time to help us build a better website, we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on.

Take Our Survey!

Canoe-Themed DIYs

This blog post was inspired by this funny little image that our General Manager, John Summers, emailed to me the other day.   I’ve often stumbled upon the same image while lurking around on the internet, usually while doing strange combination-searches for things canoe-related and things knitting-related.  Here it is:

This crafty pattern made me think.  A ‘Crocheted Barbie Canoe’ might not be very practical – but, there’s definitely something fun about it.  So what happens when you combine canoeing stuff and DIY stuff?  Well, keep reading and you’ll see some unique examples!  (by the way, you might still have time to purchase the Crochet Canoe pattern on Ebay!)

Where will you be for National Canoe Day 2013?

National Canoe Day?! Perhaps you are in the know about this national holiday and are wondering when it will become an official statutory holiday.  Perhaps you have never heard of this ‘Day’ and are wondering why I am taking up valuable space in your inbox for such silliness as a national day for canoeing. Well, let me elaborate.

It is not a secret in Canada that the canoe is indeed a national icon.  It became known as such and was officially declared so by over 1 million voters, in 2007.  In 2007, the CBC launched a nation-wide project to unearth what Canadians thought were the country’s Seven Wonders. After many weeks and millions of votes, the canoe was named one of the Seven Wonders of Canada.  In celebration of this, The Canadian Canoe Museum declared June 26th as National Canoe Day with the aim of increasing participation in paddlesports in Canada, engaging new paddlers and reaching across generational and cultural divides to introduce the canoe to those who haven’t had the opportunity to experience this great national heritage.

Bringing the Canoes to Life: Bluebird Racing Canoe

The Bluebird was acquired by Kirk Wipper and transported from British Columbia back to Ontario on the roof of his pick-up truck. It is the largest canoe in the collection at 53 feet 8 inches in length. The canoes origins trace back to a rich history of Coast Salish dugout canoe racing on the United States’ and Canada’s Western Coasts. This particular canoe would have been raced by an eleven person crew and even at its length, would have been required to make sharp turns during a race.

The Bluebird was carved by Elder and Master Carver Hwunumetse’ (Simon Charlie, 1920-2005) from Duncan, British Columbia. Later in life he encouraged and taught heritage, culture and traditions to both First Nations and non-First Nations alike. Charlie was passionately focused on the preservation of his peoples traditions, language, arts and culture. He was dedicated to passing on this knowledge to younger generations by mentoring young artists and teaching them traditional designs and methods.

A New Face Around the Museum

Hi there! My name is Stacey Reynolds and I am thrilled to introduce myself to all of you as the new Volunteer and Events Coordinator here at the Museum. I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight a little bit about what I do and how I can help you with all of your event, room rental and volunteer needs.

I’m your go-to gal if you are looking to host your next meeting, conference, or private function here at the Canoe Museum. With unlimited access to our fully equipped kitchen and large rental space, the Museum is a unique venue for all sorts of gatherings, big and small. We even offer wedding packages and play host to large parties for Jack n’ Jills, anniversaries, engagements and birthdays.

One of my favourite aspects of my new role is interacting with all of the amazing Museum volunteers. These folks are dedicated and talented individuals who bring so much to the table. From the customer service volunteers at reception and in the gift shop, to event volunteers and the crews in the wood and metal shops, we’re lucky to attract an eclectic mix of volunteers that add to the vibrancy and culture of the Canoe Museum.

If you would like to become part of the terrific volunteer team, or if you have inquires about room rentals and events, please email me at stacey.reynolds@canoemuseum.ca or give me a call at 705.748.9153 x210. I would love to hear from you and answer any questions you may have. Thank you for welcoming me wholeheartedly to The Canadian Canoe Museum; I am excited to be here!

Calling All Kids (And Those Who Wish They Were)

Canoe go fishing? You bet you can. Where? At the Canadian Canoe Museum. Let me tell you a story…

A few years ago, one of our most talented artisans, Beth Stanley, spent many hours making some amazing replicas of fish from each of our Great Lakes. These poor fish hung in humility from their little magnets on a metal pole in our Education Office waiting for a long, long, time looking for a home they could call their own.

THEN.. the exhibit, Canoes To Go was born and they finally found their home in the calm and shallow waters of that very exhibit.

Madam Zoom and Northern Canoe Trips

Attendees at the Saturday evening portion of the 2013 Wilderness Canoe Symposium in Toronto were treated to a presentation by Madam Zoom, aka Dr. Wendy Cecil, 13th Chancellor of Victoria University and much admired board member of The Canadian Canoe Museum.  Before transforming into character, Dr. Cecil explained that everyone has an alter-ego and that hers is a teacher who headed to the Klondike in the 1890s to take up her position as mistress of the school in Dawson City.  Mightily inspired by the chorus line at Diamond Tooth Gerties, and more inclined—or so it would seem—to boas rather than books, “Madam Zoom,” who comes alive on northern canoe trips, has lived on into the 21st Century.  She has some interesting and inspiring things to say about the value of canoe tripping, particularly for Canada’s youth. The following is a summary of her remarks presented to a packed auditorium in Monarch Park High School on Saturday, February 16th.

Canoes and Conservation

I’ve been volunteering at the Canoe Museum since the start of the year, helping update contact lists and keeping the computer database current. But last week I got to volunteer in a different capacity when my class came here on assignment to help with exhibit maintenance. Studying Conservation and Collections Management at Fleming College, we learn the nuts and bolts of what happens behind the scenes at a museum; from creating optimal environmental conditions, to artefact cleaning. The majority of our time is spent in the Fleming Conservation lab. Having the Canoe Museum open its doors to us, and allow us to work in situ was an amazing way for us to put our lab skills to work. It was a great reminder of why we do the work we do, seeing patrons of the Museum enjoying the collection brought the importance of our work into sharp focus.

Canoeing Through the Generations

Canoeing is an enthralling action which has been passed down to us from ancestors before. Even if your nationality does not originate from Canada many cultures have used the vessel or similar forms throughout history for travel and leisure. Personally, I was not clear just how canoeing ended up in my life until my adoring parents came for a visit to the Museum.

While passing though the Museum I felt the urge to boast about some of our very famous items;  “Over there is Pierre Trudeau’s actual canoeing jacket, and look over here (Pointing Profusely) all our Royal Canoes like Queen Elizabeth’s, and Prince Andrew’s. Oh and here is Bill Mason’s Canoe!”

Politely my mom waited for my enthusiasm to subside and then explained to me how Bill Mason taught her how to canoe. I looked at her with scrunched eyebrows and a puzzled look as I was surprised that such an iconic man in the Canoeing World had taught my mom.