Archive for the ‘collections’ Category

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. 

Hello from Goulbourn! My name is Elise Anderson, and I’ve had the opportunity to work as the Collections Intern this fall through the Capital Heritage Mentorship Program.

Today I’m going to give you a preview of one of the projects I’ve been working on: the Children’s Toy Collection Virtual Tour!

As the holiday season begins, we thought it would be fun to show you what kinds of toys would have been given as gifts in the past. In the virtual tour, you can explore each shelf of our collection from your own home.

Our goal was to make this tour as interactive as possible! You’ll be able to click on the toys to learn more about them, play games, watch videos, and enjoy other exciting activities.

For example, one of the objects in the tour is a Canadian winter themed Snakes and Ladders game. Not only can you learn about the history of the game (hint: it’s ancient!), but you can actually play the game for yourself!

I don’t want to give away too much, but my absolute favourite object of the collection is a 1960’s Barbie doll. She’s similar to the Barbie dolls I grew up with, but with a Jackie Kennedy Onassis inspired bubble cut hairstyle. You’ll also be able to watch the original ad for this doll to see more of her wardrobe. I love that she is a fashion time capsule!

Barbie as seen in the Children’s Toy Collection virtual tour.

I want to thank the Goulbourn Museum and Collections Officer Sarah Holla for the opportunity to work with this incredible collection. It was so much fun bringing these objects to life in digital form!

I can’t wait for you all to experience this collection and I hope you enjoy the virtual tour

Click here to explore the tour.

The Museum is excited to announce a new series “WHAT’S IN A NAME.” In this series Museum staff will explore the story behind names that appear throughout Goulbourn Township.

Our first topic: A Transparent Look at Sir Henry Goulburn and Slavery.

Staff are actively conducting research and gathering knowledge and diverse perspectives on the subject of Sir Henry Goulburn. We are looking forward to sharing the results of our research and hosting an in-depth discussion.

Watch for updates on our blog and social media.

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!