Around Town: Arctic Voices opens at Nature Museum

[guest]

An area that covers almost half of Canada’s landmass but remains home to less than a half-percent of our population is now the focus of a new exhibit, Arctic Voices, at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

Realizing that few people ever visit the Arctic, the museum has brought the Arctic to us city dwellers through a travelling exhibit co-produced with Science North in Sudbury.

“Most Canadians will never step foot in the Arctic, so Arctic Voices aims to dispel the idea that the Arctic is a place that is dominated by snow and ice,” said museum president and CEO Meg Beckel, speaking to attendees in the Barrick Salon at Tuesday’s VIP reception.

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  From left, throat singers Heidi Langille and Lynda Brown performed at the opening of the new travelling exhibit, Arctic Voices, at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.
  
  Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
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  Canadian Museum of Nature botanist Jeff Saarela with the museum president and CEO Meg Beckel at the opening of the new travelling exhibit, Arctic Voices, held Tuesday, December 9, 2014.
  
  Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
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  Liza Meloche, 12, tries to hop as far as an Arctic hare at the opening night of the new Arctic Voices exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.
  
  Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
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  Samantha Ewart and Evan Clark examine the bear skulls on display at the opening of the new exhibit, Arctic Voices, at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.
  
  Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
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  From left, Mark Kristmanson, CEO of the National Capital Commission, with Claude Doucet from Canadian Heritage at the opening of the new travelling exhibit, Arctic Voices, at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.
  
  Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
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  From left, Courtney Merchand and Danika Grenier from Ottawa Tourism at the opening of the new travelling exhibit, Arctic Voices, at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.
  
  Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
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  NSERC vice president Blair Dickerson and Mario Pinto, new president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), attended the opening of the new exhibit, Arctic Voices, at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.
  
  Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
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  Canadian adventurer, environmentalist and educator Geoff Green, seen next to an inukshuk, at the opening of the travelling exhibit, Arctic Voices, at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.
  
  Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
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  From left, throat singers Heidi Langille and Lynda Brown performed at the opening of the new travelling exhibit, Arctic Voices, at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.
  
  Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen
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  Canadian Museum of Nature president and CEO Meg Beckel welcomes guests Tuesday, December 9, 2014, in the Barrick Salon to the official opening of Arctic Voices
  
  Caroline Phillips / Ottawa Citizen

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Photos: Around Town at Arctic Voices


An area that covers almost half of Canada's landmass but remains home to less than a half-percent of our population is now the focus of a new exhibit, Arctic Voices, at the Canadian Museum of Nature.




Projected on a nearby screen was a photo of a polar bear lumbering through a field of purple flowers, with no signs of any of that “white stuff” to be seen. “I would suggest this image alone begins to get you to think differently about what it’s like in the North,” said Beckel.

Attendees included Canadian adventurer, environmentalist and educator Geoff Green, National Capital Commission CEO Mark Kristmanson and Mario Pinto, the new president of NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada).

Since 1913, scientists have been combing the Arctic to study, collect and document the region’s natural and geological history. “With issues such as climate change becoming a growing concern, having records of this diversity in our national collection and the experts that can interpret them is critical,” said Beckel.

Among those experts is Jeff Saarela, a botanist, or plant scientist, with the museum and its founding director of the Centre for Arctic Knowledge and Exploration. He was on hand for the opening and spoke to guests about some of the work he’s been doing up north. “I hope the exhibit leaves you with the magical feeling I get each time I go back to the Arctic,” said Saarela. “It’s a key part of our national identity.”

The reception also included Inuit throat singing by Lynda Brown and Heidi Langille. The public can test their own throat-singing skills as part of the exhibit’s interactive features. As Beckel will attest, it’s not easy. “I did try it and I did not do very well,” she told the room before giving a brief demonstration that sounded pretty good to me.

carolyn001@sympatico.ca

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