This is Canada’s Arctic!, a new photo exhibit organized by the Canadian Museum of Nature for Winterlude, will be on view at Confederation Park from February 1 to 18, 2013.
“The exhibit is a tribute to the Arctic, which has been a frontier of Canadian scientific discovery for 100 years,” says Meg Beckel, president and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Nature. “The Museum’s history of studying the Arctic dates back to the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913. We are very pleased to share This is Canada’s Arctic! with Canadians during Winterlude”.
In the exhibit, the public will see two of the Museum’s scientists, Paul Hamilton and Jennifer Doubt, who participated as experts in the most recent expedition for Students on Ice (SOI) in summer 2012. Hamilton studies diatoms that show environmental change over time in lakes and Doubt is the museum’s botany curator. The National Herbarium of Canada, housed in the Museum’s research facility in Gatineau, contains some 100,000 plant specimens from the Arctic.
A well-recognized authority on Arctic natural sciences, the Museum has partnered with SOI for over a decade to provide scientific advisors on their annual educational expeditions to the North for students. A photo of SOI founder Geoff Green is featured in the exhibit. Green was recently appointed a member of the Order of Canada for his contributions as an environmental educator and explorer, notably his commitment to conservation issues in the Arctic and Antarctic.
This is Canada’s Arctic! is a special collaboration between Students on Ice, Habitat Seven and Michelle Valberg. The exhibit includes seven of the many stunning images that Valberg has photographed in the Arctic—a region she has visited 26 times. She founded Project North, which raises money for sports equipment for Inuit youth. In 2011, Valberg’s Arctic Kaleidoscope photo exhibition was presented at the Museum.
SPECIAL EVENT:
On February 7, the Museum is hosting a panel discussion on Arctic issues, moderated by CBC television host Lucy van Oldenbarneveld, and including Michelle Valberg. The event is part of the Museum’s de Natura discussion series and will take place from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 each (taxes included). For more information, visit nature.ca/denatura or call 613-566-4791.
The exhibit and the de Natura evening are just a few of the Arctic-themed events the Museum will host in 2013 to mark the centennial of the Canadian Arctic Expedition. Visit nature.ca/arctic for details.
The Canadian Museum of Nature (http://nature.ca/en/home) is located at 240 McLeod Street in Ottawa. Follow the Museum on Twitter (@museumofnature) and “Like” it on Facebook.
Top Photo:
