Wednesday, April 17, 2019

High Arctic

A reminder to members of City Daily Photo that the theme day for May is Purple.

The Arctic Gallery at the Canadian Museum of Nature was added into the permanent collection in 2017, occupying the other gallery on the top floor of the museum. One of the first things the visitor sees is a set of slabs of ice, with images of the far north projected onto them. The setup for this is designed so that the melt water during the day is refrozen on the slabs at night, thus recycling the ice.


Inside, the gallery examines both the animal and plant life of the far north, as well as human interaction with the land. This space has been developed in collaboration with First Nations people, which reflects itself in some of the artifacts and display panels.

Here we see birds and information on insects one might find during the brief warm season in the north.


Animals such as the musk oxen are displayed.


And other icons of the far north, such as the caribou, the narwhal, or the beluga whale. The latter two, suspended from the ceiling, would be replicas as opposed to preserved specimens.


The Arctic hare, depending on which part of the Arctic it is in, might shift its colours during the year to blend in. We'll pick up here tomorrow.

40 comments:

  1. Though I´m not a fan of winter I do like the ice cubes very much.
    Interesting displays of the animals, too.

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  2. Interesting exhibits. I would love to visit.

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  3. ...it's amazing that animals can adapt to living in such cold climates!

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  4. A very ingenious idea to recirculate the water!
    The displays are really amazing!
    I don't understand how the animals can live in such harsh conditions!

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  5. I love the "close up" factor to today's post. That is so interesting how they refreeze the same water.

    janis
    gdp

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  6. Amazing! A must see for sure!

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  7. Surely well organized. Love the animals and their descriptions...

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  8. Hello, neat exhibit on the Arctic. Wishing you a happy day!

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  9. I love that first display, great to hear that ice is being recycled.

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  10. What a great exhibit, in the comfort of normal room temperature too!

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  11. @Iris: I agree.

    @Nancy: it's a wonderful museum.

    @Tom: and adapt they do.

    @Ella: they manage, but the question posed here is can they continue in the face of climate change.

    @Marianne: it was well put together.

    @Janis: it was a good concept.

    @Laurie: that it is.

    @Italiafinlandia: so do I.

    @Eileen: thank you.

    @Jan: thanks!

    @Barbara: yes, you only feel a chill touching the ice, which you're allowed to do.

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  12. Very interesting ice display. I guess these animals are all stuffed and not alive.

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  13. Love what they do with the ice and images!

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  14. what an interesting piece of art. those slabs present a good backdrop for projections.

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  15. You write: "they manage, but the question posed here is can they continue in the face of climate change"
    My answer is: -I wanted to give you an answer ... but unfortunately I can't!
    Country governments increase environmental taxes but do nothing to stop global warming ...
    I live consciously, I can't do more than that! You?

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  16. It is hard to imagine insects surviving the winter up there!

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  17. For me , this would be very interesting to see.

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  18. @DJan: yes, taxidermy is widely used in the specimens. Aside from the live ones in the temporary exhibit I've shown, there is an area that has some live creepy crawlies in terrariums, and a turtle habitation space.

    @Marie: it is quite creative.

    @Klara: that they do.

    @Ella: it's true that governments can only raise a carbon tax to a certain point before they risk getting tossed out of office. That's one issue. There needs to be even tighter regulation of industry- a problem with current day conservative parties that live by the 'deregulate everything' mantra. There are countries around the world that are heavier polluters and aren't doing their share, but that doesn't mean the rest of us shouldn't make the effort. And there's still too much pandering to oil and gas, as opposed to investing in renewable energies.

    @RedPat: and yet they do.

    @Red: having had lived there, it would.

    @Marleen: it really is.

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  19. There are a lot more animals living in the far north than one might have originally thought. Apparently they have adapted well to the cold.

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  20. You do get to so many museums, William, and I really enjoy seeing the photo posts you share with us. I liked the "slabs" of ice showing the colors.

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  21. Beautiful creations and lovely photography!

    Happy Days to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  22. what cool critters. my hubby had a pet duck as a kid ... named Killer Bill. we saved a duck once at the park, these geese were picking on the poor little guy. i know probably now he is on into the heavenly lands ...but i like to think we saved him for a long life. ( ;

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  23. Amazing exhibit! The musk oxen is pretty impressive.

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  24. Are these animals frozen ? Impossible, they must been stuffed ! I have a problem with Blogger, the comments don't arrive in my emails so I have to look on my blog who commented. I wonder what I can do to settle that !

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  25. This looks an amazing exhibit.

    All the best Jan

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  26. The exhibits look extremely well done and portray a good cross section of Arctic wildlife. Global warming is almost certain to upset the balance there and it would be interesting to see what a similar exhibit might feature twenty-five years from now.

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  27. @Sharon: indeed.

    @Beatrice: I love museum visits. And they're good for this time of year in between big events we have here.

    @Carol: thank you.

    @Beth: thanks.

    @Bill: they are.

    @Gattina: stuffed. Most of the animals present here are, with the exceptions of the live animals in the temporary exhibit and a few critters in the odd special area.

    @Jan: it is!

    @Happyone: I think so.

    @David: that would be, yes.

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  28. Interesting, hearty creatures - even the ones that migrate in and out.

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  29. That ice cube trick is a good one. Do the musk oxen still live or have they gone extinct?

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  30. That purple installation is really gorgeous but all of it looks fascinating.

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  31. Those blues are striking! What a fun museum to explore!

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  32. I'm so glad we are listening and hearing from First Nations.

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  33. The arctic hare is beautiful, it's wonderful how birds and mammals adapt to the weather and temperatures:)

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  34. @Kay: indeed.

    @Padre: thanks.

    @Catalyst: still around.

    @Anvilcloud: it's a good addition.

    @Jeanie: I think so.

    @Sharon: it is indeed.

    @Jennifer: me too.

    @Rosie: true.

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