FIVE KEY DATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE CANADIAN MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION

1855-1856
Staff of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) win international acclaim for Canada’s exhibits at the earliest World Fairs (London 1851 and Paris 1855). In recognition of their success, the Government of Canada grants the GSC a legal mandate to establish the first Provincial (eventually the first National) Museum of Canada on May 16, 1856.

1881
Amid much controversy, the Geological Survey and its Museum move from Montreal to Ottawa to be closer to the Federal Government. They occupy the former Clarendon Hotel at the corner of Sussex and George Streets, where an enlarged Museum begins to draw much greater public interest.

1910
The National Museum of Canada, the Geological Survey of Canada and the National Gallery of Canada move to the new Victoria Memorial Museum Building in Ottawa: the first specialized museum building in the country. An Anthropology Division is founded in the Museum, and later becomes the core of a Human History branch.

1968
April 1– The National Museum of Canada is divided into three museums which are separated from government into a new crown corporation: The National Museums of Canada Corporation. The Human History Branch becomes the National Museum of Man which, together with the National Museum of Natural Sciences, continues to occupy the Victoria Memorial Museum Building. A complete renovation of the exhibition halls is launched, incorporating ideas and technologies used with great success at Expo 67.

1989
The National Museum of Man changed its name in 1986 while new quarters were under construction opposite the Parliament Buildings on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. On June 29, 1989, the Canadian Museum of Civilization opens its new building to the public. With over 3,000,000 objects in its collections, strong scholarly traditions of historical and cultural exploration, exciting new permanent exhibitions, a continually changing sets of temporary exhibitions, an innovative Canadian Children’s Museum, an IMAX^® Theatre, and a striking new building, the Museum draws over a million visitors during its first year of operation. Today, the CMC is one of the National Capital’s most important cultural centres and tourist destinations and attracts nearly 1.4 million visitors each year.