Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category

“Using music, interviews, storytelling and re-enactment, historian John Curry tells the tale of Richmond… from its founding in 1818 to the road ahead. At times poignant, at times humorous, but always entertaining; this glimpse into the 200-year history of the village reveals what makes Richmond so special.” 

-Richmond: The Movie! back cover synopsis

Join us on Thursday, September 24 at 6:15 p.m. for a remote screening of Richmond: The Movie! (2019). Produced by local author and historian John Curry, the film explores the fabric of Richmond’s past on the occasion of the village’s 200th anniversary. The screening will include opening remarks from John Curry.

To register for the event, please click here. Registration is open until noon on September 23.

The live screening will take place on YouTube. Upon registering, participants will receive an email confirmation. On the day before the event, we will email all participants a link to access the YouTube stream.

The event will start promptly at 6:15 pm and run to 8:45 pm.

If you would like more information, please contact us at register@goulbournmuseum.ca.

This year’s holiday market is going to look a little different. Annually, we host our Old Fashioned Christmas and Outdoor Artisan Market in November, but, due to COVID-19, the Museum will not be opening until at least the end of 2020. We’ve had great success moving all of our programming and events to online platforms and so, to ensure the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, and visitors, we have opted to host our Market online as well!

Goulbourn Museum’s Virtual Holiday Market will run from 10 a.m. Thursday, November 19, 2020 to 5 p.m. Sunday, November 22, 2020. The market will be entirely online, hosted on a new website specially made for the event, which you can visit by clicking HERE. While the Market itself is virtual, the Museum will be facilitating in-person pick-up for all sold items.

It is at this time that we are opening up our call for vendors. To apply, please fill out this form. Applications will remain open until September 25th. Please note, all items must be handmade by the vendor. For more information on the Virtual Holiday Market, click HERE.

Sarah Catterall

I started as the Education Officer at Goulbourn Museum on March 9th. Two days later, a global pandemic was declared, and on March 13th, the Museum closed down and suddenly became a virtual organization. Despite this turn of events, I have enjoyed the challenges of creatively developing new and impactful online programs, researching, reflecting, and retooling our Programming team for virtual delivery, and, most importantly, collaborating with this passionate and dedicated staff. Our Programming department grew from a team of one to two in May, when we hired Enya Barbeau as the Programming Assistant. I am leaving the staff team in September to begin graduate studies at Carleton University and, while I am sad to go, I am thrilled that the capable, talented, and creative Enya will be stepping into the role of Education Officer.

~ Sarah Catterall

Enya Barbeau

I’m so excited to continue my work at Goulbourn Museum in a new capacity as Education Officer. I joined the Goulbourn team in May just after graduating from the University of Toronto with a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies—and what a whirlwind introduction this summer has been! I’m proud of the Programming department’s responsive shift to a fully virtual suite of public programs and services. As we head into an equally uncertain fall, I remain committed to finding new and creative ways of connecting with the community in a safe manner.

A bit about myself! My background lies in heritage interpretation and programming. I spent three years developing and delivering public programs for the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum. In the past two years, I have also had the privilege to work with cultural institutions like the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto Museum of Contemporary Art, and Canadian Women in Film Museum in the areas of collections management, visitor research, and exhibition development.

I look forward to facilitating engagement with Goulbourn’s rich past and meeting new challenges and opportunities as they arise.

~ Enya Barbeau

This photo, taken in 1981 by John Curry, shows the “Heritage Hall” log building being erected at the Stittsville Flea Market.

SUMMER LECTURE SERIES
John Curry Revisits the Stittsville Flea Market

Join us on Thursday, July 23 at 7 p.m. for the Goulbourn Museum’s first virtual presentation in its Summer Lecture Series. Author and local historian, John Curry will kick things off with a look at Stittsville’s beloved Flea Market.
The Stittsville Flea Market used to attract thousands of visitors to Stittsville each Sunday. When it closed down in 2004 after 30 years in operation, the market was a multi-building complex billed as the largest indoor/outdoor flea market in Canada. It was known to draw up to 20,000 visitors on its busiest Sundays!

Click HERE to register!

The lecture will take place over Zoom. Upon registering, participants will receive an email confirmation. At a later date, we will email all participants an invitation to access the Zoom Meeting as well as a video on how to use Zoom.The event will start promptly at 7 p.m. and will include a Question and Answer period following Mr. Curry’s lecture.

August’s virtual lecture will discuss The Great Fire of 1870 and takes place on August 17 – exactly 200 years to the day that the fire hit Stittsville!

If you would like more information about either lecture, please contact us at register@goulbournmuseum.ca.

Hope to see you there!

Summer Seekers is a virtual weekly program where we encourage children to explore how people their age lived and played in Goulbourn 150 years ago! Each 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!

Summer Seekers is filled with opportunities to try fun activities and learn new skills. Our 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 best part? 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.* You can collect up to THREE prizes over the course of the summer.

Kits Club Members will also receive a 50c credit on their membership card for every badge they earn! For more information on how to become a Kits Club member, email info@goulbournmuseum.ca. 

*Offer is available to residents of Canada only.

For more information about the Summer Seekers program, watch the video above! If you have any questions, email register@goulbournmuseum.ca

Please join us in welcoming our three summer employees: Ashley Wong, Enya Barbeau, and Nigel Klemencic-Puglisevich. They officially started on May 19th and although we have yet to meet in person, they have already become invaluable members of our team!

ASHLEY WONG
I’m excited to join the Goulbourn Museum team as the Collections Assistant this summer! As an archaeology student, I hope I can learn more about the behind-the-scenes action that goes into interacting with artefacts!

I’m currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto, double majoring in Archaeology and East Asian Studies, with a minor in Linguistics. I’ve had the privilege of volunteering in the university’s archaeological lab, handling artefacts from Wadi Ziqlab, Jordan, and so in my time as Collections Assistant I want to learn more about the life of artefacts in a museum versus the life of artefacts in the lab.Down the line, I also hope to further my technical skills to continue into museum work or pursue life as an archaeologist. I will be returning to Toronto in the fall to continue my studies but I hope to make the most out of my time here at the Museum!

ENYA BARBEAU
I’m thrilled to be joining the Goulbourn Museum team this summer as the Programming Assistant. I earned a Bachelor’s Degree with a Double Major in History and Visual Arts from University of Ottawa and recently graduated from the University of Toronto with a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies.

My background lies in heritage interpretation and programming. I spent three years developing and delivering public programs for the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum in Ottawa.
In the past two years, I have also had the privilege to work with cultural institutions like the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto Museum of Contemporary Art, and Canadian Women in Film Museum in the areas of collections management, visitor research, and exhibition development.

When I’m not eating (and sleeping and breathing) all things museums, I enjoy learning about the past through books, podcasts, and television show binges. I also keep up a creative practice in painting, drawing, and other visual art forms.

I look forward to planning virtual and on-site activities that engage the Goulbourn community. Here’s to a fun-filled, if unusual, summer season!

NIGEL KLEMENCIC-PUGLISEVICH
I’m so excited to be joining Goulbourn Museum this summer as the Museum Assistant! I’m currently attending Carleton University for a BA in History and Greek & Roman Studies with minors in Medieval Studies and Islamic Studies. I’ve worked for years in local history institutions in Ontario and am excited to experience Goulbourn Museum and all the former township has to offer, even during this complicated time of social distancing. I hope during my time working with the museum that I’ll get the opportunity to learn more about museum operations and management as well as historical research.

I grew up in Bowmanville, Ontario where I was lucky enough to work with Clarington Museums & Archives for over four years. From there, I began working with more local museums and exploring my love of history further. Upon moving to Ottawa, I began to once again work in museums and further developed my love for this industry. I hope after my degree to move to Malta and take my love of history to a graduate level.

In my spare time, I work mostly on researching my family histories from Malta, Constantinople, England, Slovenia, and Croatia. I also enjoy reading, cooking, gardening, and painting.

I look forward to the summer I’ll be spending with Goulbourn Museum and learning so much from the staff and community!

We are challenging YOU to get silly and recreate old photos of Goulbourn Township!

The photos (below) depict families from as far back as the 1800s.

HOW IT WORKS: Once you’ve chosen a picture, use your imagination to recreate the scene with the people, props and pets you have at home!

Click on the thumbnails below to take a closer look at the photos and find the perfect one to replicate. To keep the challenge fresh, a new series of photos will be added each week.

Participants can share their masterpieces (in either colour or black-and-white) on social media with the hashtag #YoreYourselfChallenge, and tag the Museum. Photos can also be emailed to info@goulbournmuseum.ca. Submissions will be compiled into a gallery that can be viewed on the Museum’s website and social media.

Have fun!

We may not be able to host Family Craft Days at the Museum right now but we can bring the crafts to you!

Our next “virtual” Family Craft Day is Show Me the Mushu which takes its cue from Mulan. We have designed three crafts for you to make from home. Here are the SUPPLY LISTS (including substitutes you can scrounge from around the house).

Click on each of the links, below, to watch our Education Officer, Sarah Catterall walk you through each of our “Show Me the Mushu” crafts!

Click HERE to make DANCING DRAGON.

Click HERE to make LUCKY CRICKET.

Click HERE for INDOOR FIREWORKS

We hope you enjoy this “virtual” craft day. We’re learning as we go so your feedback is welcome. We’d love to see pictures of your kids making the crafts as well as your finished products so feel free to post them on social media and tag us, or email them to: info@goulbournmuseum.ca (let us know if it’s okay for us to share them on social media).

Have fun, stay safe and hope to see you soon!