Children’s Programs at the Fredericton Region Museum!

This summer, the Fredericton Region Museum has lots of fun children’s programs lined up! They will be taking place every Tuesday and Thursday (2:00-4:00) throughout July and August, with a different exciting theme each week! Each program has a cost of $5.00 per child. 

Canadian Secret Agents
Age: 5+
Dates: July 2nd & 4th, 2013
Sign up to become a Canadian spy from World War II. Learn about Camp X, Canada’s secret spy school, and real Canadian secret agents. Undergo some spy training and partake in a mission!

Queen Victoria’s Underpants
Age: 5+
Dates: July 9th & 11th, 2013
Hear the story of Queen Victoria and her role in making underwear so popular. Learn about the history of underwear and make some paper dolls to take home!

Hop into History
Age: 5+
Dates: July 16th & 18th, 2013
Visit our most popular frog at the museum! Listen to stories about the Coleman Frog, play games, and make some fun crafts.

Chocolate Bar Wars
Age: 5+
Dates: July 23rd & 25th, 2013
All based around the history of the Fredericton chocolate bar wars of 1945! Children will learn about the chocolate bar boycotting done by Fredericton’s youngest generation, and will even get to make their own chocolate bars to take home!

History of Toys
Age: 5+
Dates: July 30th & August 1st, 2013
Come and see our collection of toys at the museum and make some old-fashioned toys to take home!

War of 1812
Age: 5+
Dates: August 6th & 8th, 2013
Learn about New Brunswick’s role in the War of 1812 and make a cool craft to take home!

A Fashionable History of Make-Up and Body Decoration
Age: 5+
Dates: August 13th & 15th, 2013
Discover what people have considered beautiful throughout history. Also learn about how people have used war paint, face painting, and tattoos.

A History of Fashionable Hairstyles
Age: 5+
Dates: August 20th & 22nd, 2013
Hairstyles of men and women have changed over the years. Come explore the history of hairstyles and of course moustaches and wigs!

Become a Curator
Age: 12+
Dates: August 27th & 29th, 2013
Hands-on cataloguing program for children – Learn what it means to be a museum curator and how to handle artefacts!

Follow this link to register your kids for any of these awesome programs! http://www.frederictonregionmuseum.com/content/218155

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us by phone at (506)455-6041 or by e-mail at yorksunbury@nb.aibn.com

2013 Summer Student Employment Opportunities

Agricultural Exhibit at the Fredericton Region Museum (2010).

It is that time of year again.  The summer student grant application deadlines have come and gone and the Fredericton Region Museum has submitted applications to three organizations.  There is no guarantee that we will receive funding but if you are a university student and interested in working at the museum then you should be registered with SEED and Young Canada Works, as well, check out the Canada Summer Jobs website.  If any of the grants are approved then we will be updating the museum website and posting it to Facebook so check back on a regular basis!

We will not be approved for all grants so if you are interested in working at the Fredericton Region Museum during the summer then please apply for more than one position.  Interviews will be scheduled once funding commitments are received.

The Fredericton Region Museum has submitted student grant applications for the following positions (click the job title for details):

Young Canada Works
- Artefact Cataloguing Officer
- Manager of Education and Interpretation
- Museum Operations Coordinator

Canada Summer Jobs
- Development Assistant

SEED/PEP
-Collections Assistant
- Exhibits Officer and/or
- Public Program Officer

Application Process
Apply by May 1, 2013 in person to the Executive Director at 571 Queen Street or by mail / email if you are not in Fredericton (PO Box 1312, Stn A, Fredericton, NB E3B 5C8) during regular business hours.  Resumes received after a stipulated competition end date will not be considered.

It is preferred that applications are dropped off in person since we sometimes do a pre-interviews on the spot if time permits.

Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.

Application should include a current resume, cover letter and 500 word writing sample.  Indicate in your cover letter how you meet the granting agencies qualifications.

If you are applying for a Young Canada Works position, fill out the on-line profile.

March 2013 Newsletter

New Exhibit Coming Soon!!; Upcoming Programs; Do you have a passion for history?; From Our Collection: Virginia Morrison; AGM & By-Law Amendments

Click here to download the PDF (9826 kb)

200th Anniversary of the March of the 104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot

Fredericton Schedule of Events Bilingual, February 16th

The St. John River Society is having an event this Saturday, February 16th in Officers’ Square to commemorate the War of 1812 and the epic winter march of 600 soldiers who left Officers’ Square and marched to Kingston Ontario to fight in the war. They left on February 16th, 1813, so it will be exactly 200 years ago.

To remember this, we’re having an event in Officers’ Square. There are lots of family fun activities, starting at 11am-3pm that day, including:

-Outdoor skating
-Hot apple cider and try the biscuits the soldiers ate on their march
-Demonstrations of stuff from 1812 including a replica of the snow hut soldiers built and the guns or muskets they fired in the war
-The Fredericton Region Museum is free admission all day.

12:15pm: Come and snowshoe with the Lieutenant Governor. We have snowshoes to borrow if you don’t have any.

AND

2:00pm- Dignitaries ceremony: The Premier will be there along with Keith Ashfield and the Mayor to honour the soldiers and this amazing story.

For more information, visit http://www.stjohnriver.org/.   Thanks to our partners the Provincial War of 1812 Committee and the City of Fredericton!!

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 15,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 3 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

Please join us for the announcement of a unique New Brunswick 1812 commemorative activity!

Please join New Brunswick MLA Brian MacDonald, Chair of the New Brunswick 1812 Commemorative Provincial Committee, the Friends of New Brunswick 104th and other guests for the announcement and unveiling of a unique New Brunswick 1812 Commemorative Activity.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

@ 2pm

Fredericton Region Museum, 517 Queen Street, Fredericton, NB.

For more information contact Randall Haslett at (506) 458-9930.

Go Beyond the Exhibits: Fredericton Region Museum offers behind the scenes look at working with artefacts

Sunday August 19^th is a special day for the Fredericton Region Museum. Not only is it our Open House, it is our second time giving the public a glimpse into our world – the world of artefacts.

At last years Open House the Fredericton Region Museum decided to try something new.  We wanted to give people the chance to explore our world, a world that lets us connect with the past. We decided to offer an accessioning exercise in our upstairs workrooms. These rooms, normally off limit to the public, were filled with staff and keen learners, eager to develop a relationship with local artefacts.

The exercise, headed by staff, led guests through a categorizing activity. This form of categorization, known as accessioning, not only creates a sort of inventory of the artefacts, but it also gives one a chance to explore and examine the artefact itself.

Armed with blue gloves, a paper, and a pen, guests categorized dozens of objects. The beauty behind these types of exercises is that you get to touch little pieces of history. You build a sort of relationship with the objects, and in turn those objects tell you a story. Kate Dixon, Fredericton Region Museum Staff, recalls that “people were surprised by how much work is involved in behind the scenes work in a museum.” The positive feedback from the exercise was astounding, and the Museum is excited to make this an annual Open House event.

If you have ever wanted to become a part of a museum team, have a love of artifacts, or want to get involved in your community, come check us out! We are excited to work with groups on our special, behind the scenes, events.

This activity is only being offered at our Open House, so come out August 19^th between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Make sure that you don’t miss it!

Postcards from the Past!

Earlier this year, the Fredericton Region Museum was lucky enough to get donation that shows the personal life of a New Brunswick family almost 100 years ago!

Miss Amelia Sara Ward (1896-1987) was born in Burton, New Brunswick, and lived most of her life in nearby Oromocto. Her family owned ‘Stocker’s Hotel’ in Oromocto, and it was there that she met her husband, Mr. William Blair de Lacolle, a resident of Québec. De Lacolle worked as a railroad engineer, and travelled frequently between Québec, Halifax, and rural New Brunswick for his work.

Amelia’s cards were graciously donated to the museum by her granddaughter, Sylvie Duquette of Lacolle, Québec. They were sent our way because of their historical link of Oromocto.

The postcards in this collection date between 1910 and 1918, from several correspondences. Amelia was one of the younger children in a large household (around twenty siblings), and postcards were one of the few ways such a large and far-flung family could stay in contact.

…And of course, there are some ‘steamier’ romantic messages between Amelia and her husband – 1914 style, of course.

Click on any of the above photos to view the entire album on our Facebook page! Some of the hundred-year-old handwriting was a bit tough to decipher, so if any of our readers have suggestions for changes, please leave them below! As always, we appreciate any help!

Construction of the Mactaquac Dam

Today, the Mactaquac  Dam is a prominent part of the central New Brunswick landscape. Owned and operated by NB Power, the dam has the capacity to generate 653 megawatts of electricity – nearly twenty percent of New Brunswick’s total power demand! It’s a pretty impressive feat of structural engineering (or is it…), and a local point of pride in that we can get clean, efficient energy using only our surroundings.

Late-stage construction of the Mactaquac Dam. Note the incomplete causeway.

While New Brunswick residents now take the dam for granted, it wasn’t always this way – in the late 1960s, the idea damming up the mighty Saint John River seemed highly invasive and almost unthinkable. There was also the issue of flooding: the construction of the dam displaced several thousand residents in the communities of Bear Island, Jewett’s Mill, and the surrounding farmlands.

Farmland near Jewett’s Mill, the town that was displaced by Dam Construction. Harry Grant, who took these photos, has a excellent book on the town’s history!

Here at the Fredericton Region Museum, we’ve been lucky enough to receive fifty -five photos that detail the dam’s construction between 1964 and 1968. Looking at them is a bit surreal, but they provide an important reminder that beneath the dam’s headpond are the remnants of an entire community of people who were literally forced to pack up and move elsewhere.

A photo from a Daily Gleaner article publicizing the plans for the dam’s construction.

These photos were generously donated to the museum by Richard Grant, and were taken by his uncle, Harry Grant: a local historian whose family owned property in the former village of Jewett’s Mill. The photos show the dam in all stages of its developments, and also provide a rare insight into what it would look like to witness your own town – the place you grew up in – being torn out of the valley.

A view of an early stage in the dam’s construction.

To view the full album, please check out the museum’s Facebook Page!

Children’s Afternoons at the Fredericton Region Museum!

This summer at the Fredericton Region Museum, we will be having children’s programs every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, beginning at the end of June! There will be a different fun theme each week! Keep reading to see all our different themes, and register using the form at the bottom of the page!

All About Trains! Age: 5-12. Dates: June 26th & 28th, 2012. Time: 2:00-4:00. Admission: $5.00 per child. You can learn all about trains and their New Brunswick history! We’ll even make our own trains to take home!

Hop into History with the Coleman Frog! Age: 5-12. Dates: July 3rd & 5th, 2012. Time: 2:00-4:00. Admission: $5.00 per child. Come in and learn the story of the gigantic Coleman Frog! There will also be frog-related activities and crafts!

The War of 1812 Age: 5-12. Dates: July 10th & 12th, 2012. Time: 2:00-4:00. Admission: $5.00 per child. Come see our newest exhibit, about the War of 1812! The United States declared war on Britain and its colonies, which included Canada. We’ll learn all about how the war related to Bew Brunswick and Fredericton, and we’ll do a War of 1812 craft!

Sports & Games! Age: 5-12. Dates: July 17th & 19th, 2012. Time: 2:00-4:00. Admission: $5.00 per child. Come play at the Fredericton Region Museum! We’ll learn and play old-fashioned games and sports.

The American Civil War Age: 5-12. Dates: July 24th & 26th, 2012. Time: 2:00-4:00. Admission: $5.00 per child. Learn the fascinating story of Sarah Edmonds – a Canadian woman who disguised herself as a man to fight in the American Civil War. Sarah might even be here to tell you about it herself!

Aboriginal Traditions Age: 5-12. Dates: July 31st & August 2nd, 2012. Time: 2:00-4:00. Admission: $5.00 per child. We’ll show you all of our interesting Aboriginal artefacts and teach you about their traditions in New Brunswick. You can even make an Aboriginal craft to take home!

Life in the Trenches Age: 5-12. Dates: August 7th & 9th, 2012. Time: 2:00-4:00. Admission: $5.00 per child. Discover the difficulties of living and fighting in trenches during World War I, and learn the history of Canada’s famous victory at Vimy Ridge. 

La vie acadienne Age: 5-12. Dates: August 14th & 16th, 2012. Time: 2:00-4:00. Admission: $5.00 per child. Dress up as Acadians as you learn all about their history in New Brunswick. We’ll also do an Acadian craft!

A History of Art! Age: 5-12. Dates: August 21st & 23rd, 2012. Time: 2:00-4:00. Admission: $5.00 per child. Discover historic forms of art, and see how different they are from the art we see today! You can also show your creative side by making your own painting!

Pre-registration is recommended, as space is very limited! To pre-register, fill out the form at http://www.frederictonregionmuseum.com/content/218155.