There are tons of great museums in Canada. If you live in Canada
or ever get the chance to visit, you should definitely check some
out. Here are a few featured museums that I have visited and have
truly enjoyed. It should give you a good idea of what there is to
see!
National
Gallery of Canada
Musée des beaux arts du Canada
Ottawa, ON
This museum is walking distance from Parliament Hill. It has a vast
collection of different paintings, drawings, sculpture and
photographs, all from various time periods. In 2005, a giant
sculpture of a spider, a piece of art by Louise Bourgeois called
Maman, stands right in front of the Gallery. There are
also many works by the famous "Group of Seven" Canadian painters.
It has a strong contemporary art collection with some of Andy
Warhol's most famous works, as well as a room filled with Marcel
Duchamp reproductions. There is even a secret room in the mixed
media section! One of my favourite experiences at the National
Gallery was a short film called Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, by
Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno. A dark room with two large
theatre screens plays this film.
Other notable art in the gallery includes Hope I by Gustav
Klimt, Memories of My Youth by Marc Chagall, and
Still-life: Flowers by Vincent Van Gogh.
Royal
Ontario Museum (ROM)
Toronto, ON
This is one of the most popular museums - I would always go here on
school trips! The ROM is a major museum
for world culture and natural history, with over 6 million items
and 40 galleries. First opened in 1914, its most popular
collections include dinosaurs, Eastern and African art, East Asian
art, European history, and Canadian history. I personally love the
dinosaur exhibit and the "bat cave". This is the fifth largest
museum in North America and recently have made an addition to the
museum called the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal (seen on the right).
Ontario Science Centre (OSC)
Toronto, ON
This is another favourite class trip destination growing up in Toronto. This science museum features an amazing variety of exhibits on everything in science and nature. Its featured exhibits include geology, nature, astronomy, music and music technology, the human anatomy, and communication. The Toronto architect Raymond Moriyama was hired to design this centre, which consists of three main buildings connected by a series of bridges and escalators, follows the natural contours of the Don River ravine. The Don River is a body of water located right by the centre. It was opened in 1969 and is still famous for its hands-on, interactive approach to exhibits. This centre is great because of its innovative design, and it welcomes visitors to use their imagination and creativity. In 1996, it opened up the province's first OMNIMAX/IMAX DOME theatre, which is a giant film projection angled at the ceiling of a dome. This is definitely a must see, because everything on the dome screen looks so large and real. The OSC also houses Toronto's only operating planetarium, a theatre built to present educational and entertaining shows on astronomy. Several of my friends in high school actually spent a semester at the Ontario Science Centre Science School there, earning Grade 12 University Preparation science and math credits.
Art Gallery of Ontario
Toronto, ON
The AGO is closed to the public right now, but that's because they're getting ready for a huge re-opening of their renovated gallery on November 14th, 2008. The architect who has developed this new gallery space is the famous Frank Gehry. There's a great collection of photos on their AGO website documenting the construction and architectural plans. They have 4,000 pieces of artwork in 110 galleries. You can actually view their art collections online on a website called Collection X, which allows you to not only view their art galleries, but also post and share your works of art with other users.
References/Images:
Royal Ontario Museum
Ontario Science Centre
National Gallery of Canada
Art Gallery of Ontario
OJ Byrne
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