Enjoy International Museum Day & Month

May 9, 2014

Huron County, ON – The worldwide community of Museums will celebrate International Museum Day on May 18, 2014. “Museum collections make connections” is the theme of International Museum Day 2014 and the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol are doing just that. As the world moves away from traditional methods of engagement, museums must find new ways to engage with their communities by making their collections more accessible and relevant.

This theme demonstrates how museum exhibitions have the ability not only to tell a story, but to also engage with the community through shared memory. It also encourages public awareness of the role of museums in society and promotes the connection that exists between different types of collections and their audiences.

Celebrate International Museum Day on Sunday, May 18, 2014 with a visit to the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol. Explore our own local National Historic Site and investigate our local history displayed with both permanent and temporary exhibits. Learn about past prisoners at the Historic Gaol, celebrate train #6275 at the Museum, and enter a draw for an annual family membership so you can visit as many times as you want for the next year.

The Huron County Museum Museum & Historic Gaol will be open from 1 to 4:30 PM with admission by donation.

Temporary exhibits open at the Huron County Museum include:

Noteworthy: Musical Instruments
From a time when making your own entertainment often meant making your own music, discover a variety of pianos, organs and smaller musical instruments from the Museum’s collection. Special focus is given to the organ manufacturing companies in Goderich and Clinton, which built organs shipped throughout Canada.

Our Stories: The People of Huron County
Discover the stories of some Huron County residents who have made achievements in Science, Education, Technology and the Arts; some famous and some relatively unknown but all a part of our Huron County History. Learn about Harriet Brooks from Exeter, William Nichol Cresswell from Seaforth, Dr. William Thornton Mustard from Clinton, Marjorie Hays from Goderich, Philip Street from Blyth, and 25 other notable people from our communities.

International Museum Day 2014 will be an occasion for Huron County to discover and rediscover individual and collective memory by visiting their local museums.

Throughout May discover more by visiting not only the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol but also local libraries with the “Museum on the Go” programme.

The Huron County Museum will be visiting some of our Huron County Library branches throughout May to celebrate May is Museum Month with “Museum on the Go”.

Programmes include:

Mystery Artifacts. Put on the white gloves and get up close with some of the Museum artifacts. Can you guess what they were used for?

  • Blyth Library – Saturday, May 10 – 1 to 2 PM
  • Goderich Library – Saturday, May 24 – 2 to 3 PM
  • Clinton Library – Tuesday, May 27 – 6:30 to 7:30 PM
  • Exeter Library – Thursday, May 29 – 6:30 to 7:30 PM
  • Bayfield Library – Saturday, May 31 – 12:30 to 1:30 PM

Toys and Games. Explore life before video games, iPads and computers. Investigate and try some of our old fashioned toys.

  • Clinton Library – Tuesday, May 20 – 6:30 to 7:30 PM

Huron Homefront. Discover life during the war years in Huron County, including rationing, Victory activities and our four military bases.

  • Wingham Library – Saturday, May 10 – 10:30 to 11:30 AM
  • Kirkton Library – Thursday, May 15 – 6:30 to 7:30 PM

The Huron County Museum is located at 110 North St and the Historic Gaol is located at 181 Victoria Street North in Goderich. Groups and tours are welcome. For more information contact the Museum at 519.524.2686 or visit the website at www.huroncounty.ca/museum.

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TO LEARN MORE…
Our media contacts are: Elizabeth French-Gibson, Assistant Curator, or Claire Carter, Business Development Manager, Huron County Museum, 519.524.2686.

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For more information contact:

Susan Cronin, County Clerk
519.524.8394 (ext 3257)
scronin@huroncounty.ca