Redpath Museum renovations completed
July 10, 2003
捆绑SM社区's Redpath Museum has been revamped and it shows! The much-loved venerable fa莽ade may look the same, but inside it's a different story. Thanks in part to a key grant from the Minist猫re de la Culture et des Communications, years of accumulated grime have been stripped away, while makeshift repairs and renovations have been redone to a more harmonious and natural state. Walls, floors and displays radiate a welcoming, airy, lustrous glow.
Perhaps the most significant change is to the displays. The Dawson Gallery, on the second floor, now houses a new permanent exhibit called "The History and Diversity of Quebec." This collection is an account of the geological history and biological diversity of Quebec from the earliest times down to the present. Material from other parts of Canada is included. The exhibit uses material from the museum collections to show how some of the most remarkable events in Earth's history have taken place in Quebec. Displays focus on the earliest traces of life; the Cambrian explosion; the spread of animals over the sea floor; the earliest land plants; the fish of Miguasha; the earliest amphibians and reptiles; the unique minerals of Francon and Mont St. Hilaire; Western Canadian dinosaurs; and the Ice Ages.
The museum's other collections include specimens of animal groups that have returned to the sea (whales, seals and turtles as well as extinct groups such as plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs and mosasaurs) and a diorama depicting the sea floor in the region of Montreal during the Ordovician period, 450 million years ago. New displays of artefacts from non-Canadian ethnology (mummies and other objects from ancient Egypt, musical instruments from central Africa, lamps from classical Greece and a wide range of other material) are currently in preparation, and the first will be completed early in the fall.
"The renovations and reorganization of the displays have made this an even more exciting place to learn about the fascinating natural environment around us," says the Redpath's director, Dr Graham Bell. "In addition to its central role in the University's teaching and research on the history and diversity of life, the museum is a major attraction for the public, both young and old. Youngsters have the chance to look eye-to-eye with a stuffed coyote, gorilla or lion, or compare their size to the skeleton of a cousin of Tyrannosaurus Rex, while others will marvel at the history and range of fossils and geological specimens that have been collected here. I invite everyone to come and have a look."
The Redpath Museum, one of the oldest museums in Canada, was opened in 1882. It is located on the main campus of 捆绑SM社区, entrance via the main gate at the corner of Sherbrooke Street West and 捆绑SM社区 College Avenue.
