Skin on frame kayaks: hands-on learning from an ancient tradition

Russ Parker and kayak

A weekend visit to The Canadian Canoe Museum will often lead to an encounter with a very talented woodworker on our team named Russ Parker. Retired from a long career with the Toronto Fire Services and an avid guitar maker, Russ has also been producing some very fine skin-on-frame kayaks in our Living Traditions Workshop as a Canadian Canoe Museum volunteer.

Restoration in Progress!

Fall is becoming a busy time of year here at the Canoe Museum- from lectures, school programs and the annual Beaver Club Gala just on the horizon, all hands are on deck to provide a welcoming and memorable experience for our guests.

I love interacting with the public. Greeting visitors at the door, working with children and answering questions as guests peruse the galleries are some of the highlights of a museum setting- but sometimes it’s just nice to bask in the solace of our artifact storage facilities.

View of the Museum’s storage facilities.
Look at the rainbow, I wonder if there is a bucket of gold hidden behind an old dugout!

Public programs at the Museum this fall

Sitting at a small table at Starbucks, hoping a cappuccino will help illuminate the path, I wonder how in the world all of the stuff the Canoe Museum is working on is going to come together.  We are working on a full roster of fall adult artisan workshops, new education programs, new public events, new tour packages, fundraisers, a strategic planning retreat, a new exhibit for the spring, a fall appeal, the Beaver Club Gala and on top of it all, a project bigger than any of this–a partnership with Parks Canada and the full redevelopment and moving of the Museum to the water!  How do we do it??

Celebrate Father’s Day at the Canoe Museum

 

Why not celebrate that incredible dad in your life with a visit to The Canadian Canoe Museum?! It is hard to find the right gift for that special guy so we have come up with 3 ways to celebrate him:

 

 

1. FREE admission to The Canadian Canoe Museum for DAD on Father’s Day.

2. Members’ Pricing (10% off) on ALL Adult Artisan Workshops

3. Members’ Pricing (10% off) in the Museum Shop

Beading At The Canoe Museum

We’ve had some exciting new things happening here at the Museum this spring.  A few of those exciting things have been new bead-work workshops taught by local instructor Andy Bullock.

5 Cool Things To do This Spring – Yes, It Really Will Be Here Soon!

It’s springtime here in Peterborough, Ontario and although this may seem hard to believe right now with most of the ground still covered in large snowbanks – it’s here. Pretty soon we’ll be enjoying watching the flowers bloom, the relief of ditching the extra winter layers, and for many the joys of dipping our paddles again. Because the snow (hopefully) will be melted sooner rather than later, it’s a great time to start planning for your spring.

Here are 5 cool things to do this spring:

In the Skin of a Tree: Why Birch Bark?

Birch bark opened, looking up (CCM/JW)

From time to time, The Canadian Canoe Museum uses one of its gallery workshops to explore or recreate the various canoe and kayak-building traditions reflected within its collection.  These opportunities always make for engaging interactive experiences for our guests and have also led to very rewarding collaborations with colleagues. In the end, these projects also aspire to deepen our shared understanding of the many different traditions, techniques and stories reflected within the Museum’s own remarkable collection.

91-year old Walter Walker (right) and helpers with wide-board raised batten canoe (photo:CCM/DR)

 

It’s a Good Year for a Warm Coat!

How can I write a blog this week and NOT mention the Winter Olympics?  You may be asking yourself how could the Canoe Museum possibly relate to the Sochi Olympics?

Well, here is the official Canadian Olympic Team opening ceremony outfit (you can read more here):

Stylish Canadian Olympic Team opening ceremony outfits designed by HBC

2014 Workshop Line-Up

I couldn’t be more excited to unveil our amazing workshop line-up for 2014!

There are some exciting new additions including Snowshoe Weaving (probably the most requested workshop in our feedback forms!) and three really fun Beading Workshops taught by a talented and experienced artist (and new Canoe Museum volunteer).

Thanks for supporting the Canoe Museum and our programs!

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Sew a Hudson’s Bay Blanket Coat

My First Weekend Back at the Museum

Well, after two months of being away from the Museum, it was so nice to be back this past weekend and re-acquaint myself with all of the galleries and of course the wonderful volunteers.

Ahhh … The Canoe Museum

We had a pretty busy weekend, some visitors with very interesting stories to tell, some with tales of adventures in the wilderness and some just wishing that the Summer was only just beginning instead of coming to an end.