Museum partnership brings Arctic Medal to the Canadian Museum of History

The Canadian Museum of History is proud to present to its visitors one of the treasures of The Manitoba Museum’s collection, as part of an exchange of artifacts between the two Canadian institutions.

The Arctic Medal 1818-1855, created to commemorate Arctic exploration, will be on display at the Museum of History until

January 4, 2015

, while a treasure from the Museum of History’s National Collection, a scale replica of the Champlain Astrolabe that travelled to Space onboard the space shuttle Endeavour with Canadian astronaut Julie Payette, will be on display in Winnipeg.

“This is precisely the type of exchange we were hoping for when we partnered with The Manitoba Museum, as part of our Museums Network,” said Jean-Marc Blais, Director-General of the Canadian Museum of History. “We’re proud and delighted to receive the loan of an artifact that has such significance in the history of our country.”

“The Manitoba Museum is pleased to participate in the History Museums Network,” said Claudette Leclerc, Chief Executive Officer for The Manitoba Museum. “The Museum is immensely proud to be the trusted repository for the Hudson’s Bay Company Museum Collection and has benefitted from a strong partnership with the Hudson’s Bay Company for over 40 years. We believe that visits to the Museum of History will be enhanced by the significance and unique story associated with this special Arctic Medal.”

Queen Victoria authorized the creation of the Arctic Medal 1818-1855 in 1857. Less than 1,500 were awarded to officers and men engaged in Arctic expeditions from 1818 to 1855, including the expeditions that had set out to search for Sir John Franklin. The medal was not only awarded to British citizens participating in naval or private expeditions. The Admiralty also sent some 187 medals to the Hudson’s Bay Company to be issued to employees — of both European and First Nations descent.

“The exploration and mapping of Western and Northern Canada, particularly the Arctic coastline, was regarded as leading-edge science in its day,” said Blais. “The medals were given to Hudson’s Bay Company employees in recognition of their contribution to our knowledge and understanding of the North.”

This medal came to The Manitoba Museum as one of the most important objects in its Hudson’s Bay Company Collection. The obverse shows the profile of a young Queen Victoria, while the reverse is a representation of sailors pulling a sledge before a ship in dangerous ice.

When he traveled to the International Space Station in 2009, Canadian astronaut Dr. Robert Thirsk brought the medal with him as a symbol of the pioneering exploration that is such an integral part of Canada’s rich history.

This is not the first time these two treasures have travelled. Interestingly, the medal and the replica of the astrolabe “met” in space when Payette and Thirsk were at the International Space Station at the same time in 2009.

The Arctic Discoveries Medal will be presented as part of the ** Extreme Explorers – Sea to Space ** display ** ** at the Canadian Museum of History from October 22, 2014, to

January 4, 2015

. From November to January 2015, the Canadian Museum of History’s replica Champlain Astrolabe will be on loan to The Manitoba Museum. _ Located on the shores of the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec, the Canadian Museum of History is  Canada’s largest and most popular cultural institution, attracting over 1.2 million visitors each year. The Museum’s principal role is to enhance Canadians’ knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the events, experiences, people and objects that have shaped Canada’s history and identity, as well as to enhance Canadians’ awareness of world history and culture. _