Pickering Museum Village Receives Funding for Virtual Exhibit
A new project is underway at Pickering Museum Village.
The museum received $100,400.00 from the Digital Museum of Canada and $33,000.00 from Young Canada Works to create a free virtual exhibit and educational resource. The website invites users to explore the evolution of blacksmithing in Ontario and includes curriculum links and lesson plans for grades 7-12.
Available in both English and French, the website will feature an interactive timeline that takes users on a journey from the 1860s to today to discover how blacksmiths adapted their trade to meet the changing needs of their communities. The website will launch December 2022.
“It is fascinating to see the change from small rural smithy to blacksmithing as an art form”, says Ellen Tayles-Armstrong of the Pickering Museum Village. “The Greenwood Blacksmith Shop at the museum, for example, was used as an art studio by artist Bill Lishman after the last village blacksmith retired in 1959. This website will give new life to stories such as these in a fun and exciting new way.”
"I am very honoured to be a part of this project” says Andrew Mullins, the project coordinator. “It's an innovative teacher resource highlighting an important part of Ontario's history. It also helps celebrate the renovation of our 175-year-old blacksmith shop at Pickering Museum Village. The Pickering Museum Village is passionate about bringing Pickering’s past to life by utilizing the latest in media technology to resonate with emerging generations in Pickering and beyond."
The museum village has partnered with 5 partner sites, including Fanshawe Pioneer Village, Westfield Heritage Village, Lang Pioneer Village, Grey Roots Museum and Archives, and Fleming College to individually represent an era of blacksmithing in the timeline.
The website includes dynamic videos of blacksmiths solving design and technological challenges using the tools and methods of their assigned time period.
Accompanying teacher resources include lesson plans that link to history, science, and art curriculum. Various activities are included, such as an archival scavenger hunt, a blacksmithing-inspired sculptural art project, and a text-based adventure game.
A “Blacksmith’s Toolbox” will serve as an interactive virtual archive for users, exhibiting various artifacts and tools that illustrate the changing technology of the trade.
The website will also be available in the new permanent on-site exhibit in the Greenwood Blacksmith Shop at the museum. This will add an innovative use of technology in the space and provide additional historical background on blacksmithing.
The new exhibit, opening June 1, 2022, will explore wagon making at the turn of the century. Families and kids will be able to learn about three trades- metalworking, woodworking and painting through exhibit activities such as forging a horseshoe, shoeing a horse, assembling a wagon, and adding to a community paint-by-number.
“The Pickering Museum Village is excited to launch both the website and the on-site exhibit during the year that we celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Greenwood Blacksmith Shop,” says Ms. Tayles-Armstrong. “Museum staff have developed an amazing line up of new programs and workshops for children and adults in the blacksmith shop for summer 2022.”
For tickets and information about museum programs visit pickeringmuseumvillage.ca .
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