Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category

Santa is coming to Goulbourn Museum! The jolly old soul will be available for photos and safe outdoor visits on Saturday, November 20th and Sunday, November 21st from 9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00-3:30 p.m.

To ensure safe distances, families must register for a time slot (registration form coming soon). Furry friends are welcome, too!

The cost for photos is a donation to the Goulbourn Museum which can be made at the event.

This Labour Day long weekend, Goulbourn Museum wants to hear from the kids in our community – and send them prizes!

Print out this 3 page colouring activity and complete it with your kids. Take pictures of their completed work and email them to info@goulbournmuseum.ca and we will be in touch about sending you a prize in the mail.

We can’t wait to hear from you about what you want to see from the Museum in future – and we can’t wait to see you in the months to come!

GOULBOURN MUSEUM has decided that its doors will remain closed to visitors for the remainder of 2021. This decision was an easy one, but not a happy one. We wish to continue to put the health and welfare of our staff, volunteers, and visitors first during these uncertain times. We believe we can best do this by continuing our focus on coming to you remotely.

Until we can meet again in-person, we hope you enjoy visiting our grounds outside, following us on social media, participating in our #WhatsItWednesday challenges, exploring our virtual tours and exhibits, reading the letters of Privt. Sefton Stewart, discovering our Summer Seekers program, and much more.

We’re so excited for what 2022 might bring and to see you again at the Goulbourn Museum when it is safe to do so. Thank you to our community for your ongoing support!

Summer Seekers is back! The first set of activities will be released on Monday, July 12th.

This year, our activities are designed to get us away from our screens, and connecting with others. The first new module is Wet ‘n’ Wild! Get outside, splash around, and learn about the importance of freshwater rivers.

What is Summer Seekers?
Summer Seekers is an at-home weekly program for kids aged 4-11 where we encourage you to explore how people lived and played in Goulbourn 150 years ago. Every other Monday, join us for a new set of activities, from games to food to crafts! You’ll have the chance to earn prizes while you learn some cool new skills!

You can find the modules here: https://goulbournmuseum.ca/summer-seekers-2021/

What are Badges and how do they work?
Our Summer Seekers digital badges will help you track your accomplishments as you go and give you the chance to earn prizes!

Each week, you can earn badges by completing certain activities or challenges! When you complete a challenge, simply fill out this form to request your badge. The museum will deliver all badges for the week by email every Friday. You can download badges to your computer or, if you create an account on Badgr, store them in a personal “digital backpack.” The final day to submit for badges is Monday, September 6.

For every FIVE badges you earn, you will receive a prize in the mail! The Museum will contact you when you become eligible for this offer, available to any residents of Canada.

Keep an eye out for take-home kits available throughout the summer.

Share your photos!
Did you take any pictures while completing a Summer Seekers activity? We would love to see them! Please email them to info@goulbournmuseum.ca.

Our 2020 modules are still up and running, and you can still earn badges from them! If you haven’t completed them, give them a try, or revisit your favourite activities from last year. 

We can’t wait to have some fun with you!

Please join us in welcoming our three summer employees: Jonah Ellens, Nigel Klemencic-Puglisevich, and Paige Mawson. The trio have some pretty impressive accomplishments between them, as well as some outstanding hobbies and interests. We’re very excited for you to read all about them and for the adventures we’ll have together as a team this summer!

Jonah Ellens, Assistant Curator of Collections

I was born and raised in Ottawa and continue to reside in this wonderful city. I studied history at Carleton University and Museum Studies at Algonquin College. In September I’ll be heading back to school to begin my Masters in Public History.

This summer I will be taking on the role of Assistant Curator of Collections. My first tasks are to oversee the transcription project of Sefton Stewart’s letters from the First World War, and to help develop the weekly ‘What’s It Wednesday’ posts. Over the next few months I’m hoping to learn what makes a meaningful community museum collection and discover more about the history of Goulbourn Township.

In my free time I enjoy re-enacting the War of 1812 with the 100th Regiment of Foot, sewing historical outfits and building scale model airplanes. I hope to one day design a history-themed board game.

Fun Fact: I first encountered Sefton Stewart’s letters when I portrayed him on screen in “Richmond, The Film.”

Nigel Klemencic-Puglisevich, Assistant Museum Administrator

I’m so happy to have the opportunity to return to Goulbourn Museum, this time as the Assistant Museum Administrator! I’m currently in my final year at Carleton University studying for my BA Hons. in Greek & Roman Studies and History with minors in Archaeology and Medieval & Early Modern Studies. I’ve worked in museums and archives for a number of years now and am so excited to continue gaining experience at Goulbourn Museum in the areas of communication and administrative assistance.

My work in this field first started at Clarington Museum & Archives in my hometown of Bowmanville. My love of heritage has brought me to a variety of opportunities, mostly in the areas of digitization, social media, digital content development, and research. After I finish my BA, I plan to pursue a Masters of Archaeology, specifically researching medieval Malta, and continue working in museums there.

When I’m not working, I enjoy researching my family history in Malta, Slovenia, Romania, and England. I also enjoy cooking, gardening, reading, and learning different languages. I can get by in Maltese, Swedish, and German and I can decently read Etruscan, Latin, and Ancient Greek. I’m currently learning Arabic and I could probably manage Italian and Spanish in a survival situation!

I’m looking forward to this summer and the variety of projects I’ll be working on with Goulbourn Museum!

Fun fact: I’m slated to appear in an upcoming David Suzuki documentary!

Paige Mawson, Programming Assistant

I am a graduate of McMaster University’s Arts & Science program and I’m currently pursuing my Master’s Degree in Museum Studies at the University of Toronto. I come to the Goulbourn Museum with a background in pedagogy and curriculum, and will be applying my skillset to develop the Summer Seekers programming. I’m based in Toronto (thank goodness for Zoom meetings!) and over the summer I hope to learn more about exhibition planning and community outreach to further enrich my skills as an emerging museum professional. I’m excited to get to know the Goulbourn community and immerse myself in the rich history of the area.

Outside of work, I’m an avid equestrian (I have four horses: Gretzky, Falco, Freddie and UFO!) and I participate in international showjumping competitions. I’m also a farmer! Every summer I harvest hay on my family farm in King, Ontario. My interests in agriculture and education inspired me to write a journal article on the pedagogy in the community garden programming at the Jewish day school where I grew up. It is published in Volume 29 of Canadian Jewish Studies. You can read it HERE.

Fun Fact: As an equestrian showjumper, I was the Canadian Junior Jumper Champion in 2013, and I continue to represent Canada as an individual and on teams in international competitions.

Discover the world of historical costuming with Loree Tannett as she shares her process for creating clothing items that bring the past alive. Goulbourn Museum invites you to join us for this exciting second installment of our 2021 Speaker Series on Wednesday, May 19 at 7:00 pm.

You’ve probably seen people dressed up in period garb at living history museums or historical re-enactments – but what goes into making these costumes? Loree Tannett will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the steps required for creating historical costumes, including the extensive research required, sewing individual clothing items, and putting together an outfit.

Loree Tannett is a Perth-based seamstress and costume designer. She enjoys merging the look of historical costuming with the comfort of modern clothing. She thinks that using costumes makes the museum experience more real and gives visitors a look into the lives of the people of the area highlighted in the museum.

Register here.

This event will take place over Zoom. Upon registering, participants will receive an email confirmation. On the day of the event, we will email participants an invitation to access the Zoom meeting. Please register by noon on May 19 in order to receive the Zoom invitation.

The event will start promptly at 7:00 pm and run for one hour. We encourage attendee participation during the Question and Answer period.

For any questions, please email register@goulbournmuseum.ca.

See you there!

On April 15, 2021 Goulbourn Museum welcomed Mara Benjamin, curator of the Erland Lee Museum, to speak on the key role that Women’s Institutes have played in preserving the local histories of small-town Ontario. If you missed the live event, you can watch the recording on our YouTube channel. 

The Goulbourn Museum is excited to announce that we are looking for three post-secondary students for the following positions:

1. Assistant Museum Curator: Duties include working with the collection, cataloguing artefacts, supporting research requests, and daily operations.
2. Programming Assistant: Duties include the development and delivery of public programs and events and facilitating visitor experiences.
3. Assistant Museum Administrator: Duties include updating social media channels and website, supporting communications and marketing, and assisting with operational administration.

Interested? Click above on the job titles above to learn more about each one. Apply by emailing your application to tracey@goulbournmuseum.ca by 11:59PM on April 18, 2021.