Canadian Museums Association

Award of Outstanding Achievement in Research

Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation is thrilled to be the recipient of the Canadian Museums Association’s Award of Outstanding Achievement in Research, for research activities carried out in museums or applied to museum practice that contributes to the development of new knowledge and understanding.

Recipients:

• David Pantalony, Curator of Physical Sciences and Medicine, Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation
• Hasan Umut, Ingenium-McGill Fellow for the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, PhD Candidate
• Assia Kaab, Head Researcher, Guild of St. Stephen & St. George, UK

The Petrovic Collection at the Canada Science and Technology Museum is a collection of over 130 mathematical instruments from the twelfth to nineteenth centuries. These instruments came to the museum in 1980 from Dr. George Petrovic, a Serbian-born architect who collected them in order to document the connections between mathematical practice and architecture in the eastern Mediterranean regions, as well as countries that were once part of the Ottoman Empire.

The collection is now at the centre of an ongoing research project by Hasan Umut, Assia Kaab, and David Pantalony. These researchers found the collection provided surprising connections to a diverse community of scholars – from countries such as Turkey, Serbia, and Iraq – revealing a shared mathematical heritage and potential for further collaborations. Later this year, Umut and Pantalony will share their findings in a research publication via an international edited volume on the history of scientific instruments, and Kaab will publish an online report through Ingenium’s Open Heritage.

Award of Outstanding Achievement in Conservation

Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation is thrilled to be the recipient of the Canadian Museums Association’s Award of Outstanding Achievement in Conservation, for excellence in preservation and conservation practices.

Recipients:

• Tony Missio, Conservator, Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation 
• David Elliott, Volunteer and former Conservator, Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation

Through the course of a project spanning nine years, two conservators had the chance to work on the complete restoration and preservation of the 6” Cooke & Sons refracting telescope, bought by the Meteorological Service of Canada in 1882. The telescope was in service for over 100 years; it was donated to the museum by its last owner, the University of Toronto, in 1984. 

The telescope was dismantled and brought to the national collection storage. On occasion, the optical tube was brought out for special events or programming, but for many years, it remained in pieces in storage. Over 300 hours of work went into the restoration of the artifact. In November 2017, the conservators reached their goal of having the telescope ready for installation in the renewed Canada Science and Technology Museum; it is now on display for museum visitors. A highlight for the team who worked on the project was the opportunity to look at the moon through the telescope, the day before it was put on permanent display.

Award of Outstanding Achievement in Exhibitions

Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation is thrilled to be the recipient of the Canadian Museums Association’s Award of Outstanding Achievement in Exhibitions, for temporary, permanent, or traveling exhibitions that effectively and distinctively contribute to increase public understanding.

The museum, which celebrated its 50th anniversary when it reopened in November 2017, is setting the stage for the next 50 years with an all-new heritage experience. Through stories, artifacts, and interactive exhibitions, visitors are invited to discover, play, and experience how people – through curiosity, observation, and creativity – have made Canada and continue to shape its future. When visitors walk through our 11 exhibitions, visit the demonstration stage, or tinker in Exploratek, they will become a part of Canada’s story of science, technology, and innovation. The Canada Science and Technology Museum’s renewed 80,000 square foot exhibition hall explores Canada’s stories of science, technology and innovation past and present with an eye to the future.

For more on the all-new museum, visit: IngeniumCanada.org