Page 18 - 2024-2025 Travel Guide to Canada

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Canadian War
Museum Offers
History and Hope
BY E. LISA MOSES CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM • CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM/HARRY FOSTER
Designed by renowned Canadian architect
Raymond Moriyama, the Canadian War
Museum in downtown Ottawa sees some
500,000 visitors a year. The theme of its
architectural design, “regeneration,” evokes
not only the impact of war on the land, but
also nature’s ability to regenerate and
accommodate the physical devastation from
human conflict.
The prize-winning design holds much
symbolism. The gently sloping roof sweeps
up to a height of 25 metres, where the
windows of Moriyama Regeneration Hall
provide an evocative view of Parliament
Hill. Inside, Memorial Hall holds a pool of
calm water and a lone artefact: the
headstone from the grave of Canada’s
Unknown Soldier.
It is also one of the world’s most
respected museums for the study and
understanding of armed conflict. The four
Canadian Experience Galleries highlight
how past events have shaped Canada and
Canadians, the brutal realities of organized
human conflict, and the importance of
remembrance and understanding.
Exhibitions use the human experience of
war—told mainly through personal stories,
artefacts, and recollections of ordinary
Canadians—to engage visitors in a personal
dialogue about their country, its past and
its prospects.
This year’s major exhibition, Outside the
Lines, runs from May 24 to January 5. It explores
how more than two centuries of women artists
have interpreted Canada’s military history.
Whether illustrating scenes from a 19th century
uprising, workers in First World War factories,
or Canadian Rangers patrolling the Far North,
Outside the Lines offers an engaging look at
conflict through the eyes of women.
Across the street from the Canadian War
Museum is the National Holocaust Monument,
titled Landscape of Loss, Memory and Survival
(www.warmuseum.ca).
Canadian Museum
of History: An
Immersive Canadian
Experience
BY E. LISA MOSES
CANADIAN MUSEUM OF HISTORY
Canada’s most popular museum, the
Canadian Museum of History, welcomes
more than 1.2 million visitors a year.
Explore the country’s rich cultural heritage,
including the outstanding achievements
of First Peoples. The National Collection
consists of more than four million
artefacts, specimens, works of art, written
documents, and sound and visual
recordings.
Designed by Indigenous architect
Douglas Cardinal, the Museum sits on the
shores of the Ottawa River in Gatineau,
Québec, less than five minutes from
downtown Ottawa and Parliament Hill. One
of Canada’s top ten architectural wonders,
it attracts admirers from around the
world. The Grand Hall is the architectural
focal point with an awe-inspiring indoor
collection of totem poles. And the Canadian
History Hall traces Canada’s story from the
dawn of human habitation to present day.
It is also home to the Canadian Children’s
Museum, where guests can travel the world
on a colourful Pakistani bus, visit a Mexican
kitchen and load packages onto a cargo ship.
A special exhibition running until
January 19, 2025 takes visitors on an epic
6,500-year journey to discover the origins of
power and inequity in ancient Europe. The
displays showcase more than 700 rare and
exquisite objects from 26 institutions across
southeastern Europe.
From November 21 to November 24, the
Museum’s Christmas Market will feature
more than 80 exhibitors showcasing
delicious treats and unique handmade
creations. This is an exceptional place to shop
for Christmas decorations, woodcraft, glass
objects, gourmet foods, artisanal spirits,
handcrafted jewellery and amazing fashion
accessories (www.historymuseum.ca).