Taiko Drumming at Museum School

Last month, Ms. O'Hara brought her Grade 3/4 class from Gibsons Elementary for a week of Museum School. On Friday, we had special guest Joyce Chong come in for a visit to talk about her expertise as a Taiko drummer. What a treat! There was a demonstration with Joyce and players from Tonbo Taiko and then the class got to practice and learn some lines from the piece called 'Matsuri'. It was the perfect way to end the week of Museum School with a bang - literally!

Check out the video - Joyce, Jojo, Carol and Kimiko play a version of Matsuri. Those drums sure look good next to the Squamish canoe.

 
Here the kids are learning a few lines from Matsuri - pretty fast learners for only a few minutes of practice!


Thanks go out to Joyce for taking the time to share her knowledge with us, to Jojo and Carol for joining us for the demonstration, and to Dan for transporting the drums (and the players) to the museum. I hope we can do this again some time!

Terri's Journal: Week Two

On Saturday, May 25th, we had our annual George and Charlotte Gibson Day. It was huge fun and a nice change after a week of working on the computer scanning photos. I was pretty exhausted when it was all through though - hosting an all-day party is a lot of work!

Check out the photos of the day here.

We had a group of wonderful volunteers to help us with the event. Setting up everything  was a breeze and after that we just had to wait for guests to arrive. The weather threw a little wrench in the works right before the event: it began pouring with rain. We weren’t sure whether that would bring us more or less guests, but by around 12:30 the wondering became moot as the sun came back out and gave us a beautiful day.

As I predicted, it got really busy right around 1:00. Guess what time we said we’d cut the cake?

Matthew Lovegrove, the Curatorial Assistant, gave a great presentation on the history of Gibsons at 2:00. So many people came to watch that we were scrambling to find extra chairs!

As the event started to wind down, our amazing volunteers helped us to pack everything back up. Then it was just a matter of getting our Gift Shop back in order and convincing random passersby to take home the leftover cake. 

Thank you to our volunteers, and to everyone who came to celebrate with us. It was really neat getting to know all of you, and I hope we meet again! We’d also like to thank all of our sponsors for their continued support. We are very grateful for the donation made in memory of Jean Clark. Thank you to Super Valu and Tim Horton’s for the generous donations of cake and coffee; and  to Carol Service for the beautiful planters.

Keep an eye out for my post next week, another Museum School is coming through so I should have lots to share.

Until then,

Terri 

Terri's Journal: Week One

Well, my first week here at the museum has come and gone and I’d say I’m more knowledgeable for it. There are at least five questions about the museum I could answer on my own now. I won’t tell you what they are, but if you guess correctly, you’ll receive the grand prize of an intelligent answer.

During my first few days we had Ms. O’hara’s Grade 3/4 class in for museum school, so things were a little hectic. It seems unnaturally quiet now without the sound of all that excitement. Check out the photos we took of the kids in this post.

 I’d say my favourite task so far has been double checking our digital photo archives. We want to make sure our digital files match our physical archives and that we have the most accurate digital copy we can get. I’ve been though nearly 400 photos now and I’m starting to recognize places and people that lived over 100 years ago. If any of you have access to a time machine, take me on your next trip to 1900 and I can be your tour guide!

Don’t forget, this Saturday is George and Charlotte Gibson Day. If you can’t make it, I’ll fill you in with a recap this time next week.

Terri

Museum School : May 13 – 17, 2013

Ms. Ohara’s grade 3/4 class from Gibsons Elementary came for a week of Museum School – an immersion program where the class comes each day for a week to learn about the museum, meet community experts, and practice observation and contemplation using journaling and sketching techniques! Check out the photos:

On Monday our curator, Kimiko Hawkes, spent the morning giving the kids a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the museum. She spoke about Hubert Evans and his handliner, Dr. Inglis and the legacy of Stonehurst, and Don Hauka’s inventions like the underwater submersible we have on display.

On Tuesday, Coast Salish master weaver Jessica Casey came in to share her skills and teach the class about the wonders of the cedar tree. The students were given cedar strips and twisted them into rope bracelets. 

Wednesday’s visitor was Artist/Illustrator Jan Poynter who made the beautiful mural on the front of our museum building. Jan explained the process that went into creating the mural and then let the kids have a try at scratchboarding.

On Thursday, Museum Assistant Matthew Lovegrove took the class on an adventure to draw boats in the Marina and check out the Stonehurst building that is now a heritage B&B.

When they got back, Gary Little was here to talk to the kids about early European explorers using some of the incredible charts that he collects.

Fitting for a Friday, we got loud and boisterous with Joyce Chong’s taiko drum lesson. Her and members of the group Tonbo Taiko started off with a demonstration performance of a song called Matsuri. The class was excited to try it out. Joyce taught them three “lines” from the song, starting orally with the words for the sound, and then on the drums themselves. Everyone had a blast!

Each afternoon, the class spent time looking at objects, drawing them, and writing about them. 

May 18th is International Museums Day!

 

Canada Celebrates International Museums Day

OTTAWA, Ontario, May 17, 2013 -- The Canadian Museums Association (CMA) is encouraging all Canadians to visit and show support for their local museums and galleries in celebration of International Museum Day, Saturday, May 18.

The goal of this annual event, held on May 18 every year, is to raise awareness about the importance and value museums bring to society. Institutions around the world can participate by offering free admission, special offers and unique events. Visit your community museums' websites to learn more about their involvement.

The first International Museum Day was organized by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in 1977. The event has since provided museums with an opportunity to get creative and raise awareness about the challenges they face every day. This year, ICOM is aiming to inspire museums to make a difference in their communities by promoting the theme Museums (memory + creativity) = social change.

"This year's theme is significant because it reminds us of our mandate to contribute to the future of Canadian society by remembering and honouring the past," says John McAvity, Executive Director of the CMA. "Museums have the power to promote creativity and innovation in their role as keepers of our national heritage. Canadians of all ages benefit from a visit to a museum and International Museum Day is an ideal time for it!"

Canada's 2,600 museums attract more than 59 million visitors every year and nearly 15% of those visitors are students, our youth. Museums serve as ambassadors to our rich culture and attract more than half of all international tourists who visit our country.

Museums make for a stronger local and national community. Serving as forums for public engagement and discussion, Canada's museums are more than repositories of preserved artefacts. Unfortunately Canadian museums continue to struggle to maintain their collections and keep our culture alive. The CMA urges the public to support their local museums in an effort to preserve our heritage for the sake of future generations.

For more information on this year's celebrations, visit the International Council of Museums' website and follow the activity on Twitter using the hashtag #IMD2013.