MacMillan Gallery to open on GSC’s 150th anniversary

The Pinch mineral collection will settle into its permanent home here in the Viola MacMillan Gallery at the Canadian Museum of Nature in March.

The opening will be the culmination of eight years’ effort led by museum director Dr. Alan Emery, who had the support of more than 400 corporate and individual contributors.

The opening corresponds with the 150th anniversary of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) and with the 50th anniversary of MacMillan’s discussions with the GSC that led to the founding of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

The gallery will combine displays of choice examples from the Pinch mineral collection and the National mineral collection with enticing hands-on learning exhibits.

Visitors will be able to stroll along a re-creation of the Bay of Fundy, walk through stopes duplicating those in the Sigma gold mine in northwestern Quebec, and experience the environment of the seafloor. A “time machine” will whisk the curious back 4.5 billion years to the beginnings of the Earth and forward 150 million years.

“We’ve aimed to create a real appreciation of what the Earth is about,” Emery told CIM Ottawa branch members at a recent sneak preview. “For young people, maybe we can have some influence in that they will consider making a career out of minerals.”