A time to remember
With November comes shorter, cooler days along with the desire to nestle in the warmth of indoors. Thanks to our special Open House video series, you can explore our collections rooms and labs virtually, meet our experts and learn countless cool facts, all without leaving the comfort of your home.
November is also a time for remembrance. We share the touching story of a World War 1 soldier, and his boyhood collection of bird eggs that was later gifted to the our museum.
As always, we encourage you to stay connected with us. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and visit us on nature.ca.
Special video series
Virtual Open House
Go behind the scenes and enjoy fascinating glimpses into the many areas of science happening at our Natural Heritage Campus. Our latest videos in this comprehensive series highlight treasures from our national mineral collection and the people who study or curate them. Look forward to more videos over the next two months on rocks, fossils, mammals and much more.
Stories from Planet Ice
Adaptation to cold by past Arctic inhabitants
One of the many stories told in the special exhibition, Planet Ice: Mysteries of the Ice Ages, centres upon adaptation to cold conditions by past inhabitants of the Canadian Arctic. In a blog post, Scott Rufolo, Ph.D.—one of the exhibition’s scientific advisors—shares insights into the culture of the peoples who preceded the modern Inuit population of Nunavut. In the exhibition, visitors can see a selection of authentic tools and carvings from the Tuniit (c. 500 BC–AD 1300) and Thule (c. AD 1000-1600) cultures. These include artifacts excavated in 2019 by Dr. Rufolo and his colleague Sean Desjardins from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. These objects are part of the Government of Nunavut’s archaeological holdings, which are presently housed at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
Fun and educational
Winter scavenger hunt
Our spooky scavenger hunt was a hit; now get ready for the newest seasonal challenge. Find the wintery birds hiding in our galleries. Download the activity sheet, head to the museum (remember to book your ticket online in advance), follow the clues and have fun!
Mark your calendars
Ask a Conservator Day
On November 18, our museum will join conservators around the world to answer questions on Ask a Conservator Day. This global day, held in November, celebrates the international exchange of knowledge to conserve cultural heritage, and commemorates the incredible efforts half a century ago to conserve priceless art and artifacts damaged in the flooding of Florence. Follow the hashtag #AskAConservator, and head to our Instagram page to get behind-the-scenes insights from our own conservator Luci Cipera. The above photo shows Luci (right) and her colleague, conservator Carolyn Leckie, in 2005 working on the restoration of the museum's historic dioramas.
New species
Deep-sea tube worm
An interesting paper describing a new species of marine worm in our collections, Chaetopterus bruneli, was recently published, co-authored by our Chief scientist and marine invertebrate expert, Dr. Jean-Marc Gagnon. This species, which represents the northernmost record for the genus Chaetopterus in the western Atlantic, was named in honour of Dr. Pierre Brunel who has made a significant, career-long contribution to the study of the invertebrates that dwell on the sea bottom of the St. Lawrence maritime system. The animal lives in a U-shaped tube made of sediment. The scale in the above image represents 5 millimetres.
Editor: Laura Sutin
Questions or comments can be sent to lsutin@nature.ca
Photos:
Poppy: Veronika Andrews/pixabay.com
Artifacts: Red Dog Digital
