An annual fall tradition continues on Saturday, October 19 as the Canadian Museum of Nature opens the doors to its national research and collections facility in Gatineau.
This free event allows the public to go behind-the-scenes and glimpse some of the museum’s collections of 14.6 million-specimen of plants, animals, fossils and minerals at its Natural Heritage Campus, 1740 Pink Road in Gatineau (Aylmer sector). Visitors can get close to scientific treasures ranging from dinosaur bones, rare pressed plants, animal skeletons, slimy creatures in jars and more. Curators, scientific staff and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions and share their knowledge.
This year, in addition to popular areas such as the fossil prep lab and the large skeleton room, staff will put a special focus on the micro-world of nature from tiny insects to the intricate makeup of mosses and lichens, to small mammals. There will also be some displays from the Bank of Canada Museum, the Students on Ice Foundation and the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition.
Previous Open Houses at the Natural Heritage Campus have attracted thousands of visitors, who get to tour an area equivalent to about 5 NHL hockey rinks.
Highlights include:
- Earth Sciences: dinosaur bones, Ice Age animals, minerals and other geological treasures. See how dinosaur fossils are prepared for study and display in the prep lab;
- Botany: plants of all kinds pressed and preserved. Investigate the intricate world of lichens, seaweed and mosses;
- Vertebrates: enter the Large Skeleton Room and marvel at the wall of antlers, whale bones and skeletons of all kinds; visit the Wet lab featuring select reptiles, amphibians and fishes, including a coelacanth, dubbed a “living fossil”;
- Invertebrates: tiny insects, colourful shells, marine creatures and other creepy crawlies that account for most of Earth’s biodiversity;
- Labs: see the National Biodiversity Cryobank of Canada, which preserves plant and animal tissue samples and genetic material; the X-Ray lab (investigating the chemical makeup of minerals); the Conservation Lab (protecting specimens from pests) and the Molluscs Lab where researchers are studying the endangered Hickorynut Mussel in the Ottawa River
- Library – selections from our Rare Book collection as well as samples from the Nature Art collection.
No reservations required. Free parking available on-site. Photos permitted. For conservation reasons, visitors are encouraged to leave backpacks, food and beverages in their cars or to check them. Tours are self-guided. The event runs from 10am to 4pm. For more details, visit nature.ca.
