TEN MILLION VISITORS IN EIGHT YEARS SAYS IT ALL!Hull, Quebec, July 3, 1997 — The Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC) today greeted its ten millionth visitor in style. Ms. Jane Peddie of Old Chelsea was thrilled to hear George F. MacDonald, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, announce that she had just become the Museum's ten millionth visitor. Ms. Peddie, who was accompanied by her two children and a friend, told Mr. MacDonald: "We often come to the Museum but I never expected such a warm welcome."
That ten million people have crossed the Museum's threshold in eight years amounts to an impressive record for the country's largest museum — a museum that houses almost five million artifacts and is considered an architectural masterpiece. The site for the CMC was officially designated in 1983, while construction began in 1984. The Museum, designed by native architect Douglas J. Cardinal of Alberta, officially opened its doors on June 29, 1989.
"For these eight years, the CMC can congratulate itself for rising to countless challenges and achieving numerous major accomplishments, including offering rich and varied programmes and activities that reflect Canada and the civilizations of the entire world," declared George F. MacDonald. "We continue to work hard and to base our activities on four major objectives: museological excellence and dissemination, a shared sense of identity and heritage, intercultural understanding and dialogue, and financial and operational viability."
Among the Museum's major achievements are the recent opening of the Canadian Postal Museum; the expansion of the Canadian Children's Museum and the opening of Adventure World, complete with the magnificent Chinese dragon canopy leading to it; the First Peoples Hall; phase II of Canada Hall, which will be completed next year; the New Media Centre; the inauguration of the Virtual Museum of New France® and the Pocket Museum® ; the publication of scholarly books and catalogues on several of our exhibitions; the See and Hear the World concert series, which enjoys an unprecedented success; and several visits by heads of state, notably Bill Clinton in 1995 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1992.
As well, our major exhibitions have attracted international recognition. These have included Isumavut: The Artistic Expression of Nine Cape Dorset Women; INDIGENA: Indigenous Perspectives on Five Hundred Years; Lost Visions, Forgotten Dreams: The Life and Art of an Ancient Arctic People; *Les paradis du monde*: Quebec Folk Art; Opus: The Making of Musical Instruments in Canada; Alex Janvier: The First Thirty Years 1960-1990; and Edward Poitras: JAW REZ, which represented Canada in visual arts at the XLVI Biennale di Venezia. The CMC collaborated in the production of several IMAX® films, including Mystery of the Maya, The First Emperor of China and Egypt: Journey to Eternity, in addition to creating, in 1994, a major site on the World Wide Web, which today features 8,000 pages and in 1996-97 received more than 850,000 visits. The CMC is also the only museum in Canada to boast a professional theatre troupe, Dramamuse, whose role is to enhance exhibitions with a variety of historical and ethnocultural characters.
"Canadians have every reason to be proud of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, a magnificent space that houses visions of the past, present and future. The fact that the Museum has had ten million visitors in eight years is an amazing success and should serve as a model for others. It gives me great pleasure to wish continued success and a long life to the Canadian Museum of Civilization," declared Sheila Copps, Minister of Heritage Canada.
During the Museum's five years of construction, 3,500 steels posts were planted, up to 500 construction workers were on site at any one time, 8,500 truckloads of cement were poured, and 90 tons of copper cover the 11,000 m2 roof. The Museum's façade extends over three-and-a-half blocks on Laurier Street in Hull, and the Museum fills 93,000 m2 on a site of 9.6 hectares that is one of the most prestigious in the world.
As the ten millionth visitor, Ms. Peddie was presented with a Digital Ultra Hinote laptop computer, donated by Digital Equipment of Canada; a one-year family membership (4 people) to the CMC; dinner for two at Les Muses Restaurant; overnight accommodation for two at the Château Cartier in Aylmer; vouchers for the Hull-Wakefield steam train, donated by the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Steam Train; vouchers for an Ottawa River cruise, donated by the Ottawa Riverboat Company; a camera from the Centre Japonais de la photo at Place du Centre; exceptional Museum publications; vouchers for the CMC and CINÉPLUS; and a VIP visit. The fabulous prize package was topped off with an adorable teddybear from the Children's Boutique.
Information (media):
Media Relations Officer: (819) 776-7169
Senior Media Relations Officer: (819) 776-7167
Fax: (819) 776-7187
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