Free Open House - Oct 24 collections of Museum of Nature

Animal skeletons, dinosaur bones, rare pressed plants, slimy creatures in jars and “visitors” from space are some of the treasures that will be on view Saturday, October 24 as the Canadian Museum of Nature opens the doors of its research and collections facility in Gatineau, Quebec.

This once-a-year event, part of National Science and Technology Week, offers a rare chance for the public to glimpse the museum’s world-class collections of plants, animals, fossils and minerals at its ** Natural Heritage Campus ** ,

1740 Pink Road in Gatineau (Aylmer sector). Special this year are new acquisitions including Tiktaalik the fossil fish, new species (the giant file clam), as well as a real moon rock, meteorites, and an inflatable planetarium from the Canada Science and Technology Museum.

Curators, scientific staff and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions and share their knowledge.

P

revious Open Houses at the Natural Heritage Campus have attracted thousands of visitors.

Among the highlights are for October 24 are:

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 Earth Sciences: sparkling minerals, dinosaur bones, Ice Age animals and other geological treasures. See how dinosaur fossils are prepared for study and display in the prep lab;


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 Visitors from Space: a real moon rock and meteorites


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 Botany: plants of all kinds pressed and preserved. Explore an Arctic field camp and investigate the intricate world of lichens and mosses;


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 Vertebrates: enter the Large Skeleton Room and marvel at the wall of antlers, whale bones and skeletons of all kinds;


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 Invertebrates: tiny insects, colourful shells, marine creatures and other creepy crawlies that account for most of Earth’s biodiversity;


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 Labs: discover how new discoveries are made in our DNA lab (plant and animal diversity at the molecular level), Analytical lab (preserving the valuable collections for future generations), Heavy Wet Lab (identification of fishes, reptiles and amphibians);

Library – selections from our Rare Book collection (including the oldest book in our collection (on fishes, 1588), as well as samples from the Nature Art collection, including duck decoys and ceramic mushrooms

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 and best suited for children ages 5 and up.

For more details, visit nature.ca or call 613-566-4700.