MLA Ron Casey presented members of the Canmore Museum Society with a $50,000 Community Facility Enhancement Program Grant at the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre, on Feb. 13.
The grant will be used to build a new permanent exhibit entitled, From Coal to Community, and help in revitalizing the gallery.
“A year ago our permanent exhibit in the museum gallery was badly damaged in the Civic Centre flood. Our plan since then has been to build a new permanent exhibit so we can tell the stories of our mountains and communities in a different and exciting manner,” said Andrew Holder, president of the board of the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre.
Holder added the project will require a total of $150,000, but he feels confident the project will find further funding through potential donors and sponsors. The society says it will have the permanent exhibit concept document plans available for the public in the next week to help “ignite” donors and get sponsors to get involved.
“We have our concept drawings and plans and now we can start putting money into getting the exhibits done and research done and pulling it all together,” museum director Debbie Carrico said. “Now we have $100,000 we need to raise to keep building the permanent exhibits.”
Carrico added the newly planned From Coal to Community permanent exhibit will be very inclusive for all aspects of the Canmore community. “Not just mining, not just geology, but linking everything together to tell the whole story … we have 10 to 11 sub-themes that we’re going to develop,” Carrico said.
“Of course, a lot of their displays were damaged when the building flooded here a year ago and there was a great deal of damage done to the museum. To be honest, the museum and exhibits needed to be upgraded and this money will be going towards that upgrade,” Casey said.
“Keeping the museum current is of ever growing importance because as new people move here a lot of them really don’t realize the history of Canmore and our roots.”
Carrico says the museum is working towards having a small portion of the new exhibit up by summer.
