For History and War Buffs: Museum of the Regiments
If you love the "art" of war or history, the Museum of the Regiments is the place to go. Here they teach the realities of war to people of all ages in the hopes of preventing future wars and the ignorant judgmental beliefs that brew them. The museum offers a variety of educational and interpretive programs. I have been there several times myself and absolutely love it. There are tanks, uniforms, soldier mannequins, weapons, photos, audio recordings, paintings, and all sorts of things to see and do. You can find information on all of Canada's conflict history and the United Nations.
The Remembrance Outreach Program involves veterans sharing their war experiences to those in school followed by an optional power point presentation. Or, school classes may come to the museum for a half-hour tour, a half-hour presentation, and a half-hour drama segment for $2 per student. Classes include the meaning of remembrance, Canada's tie to the Netherlands, keeping the peace, and from Flanders' fields. The program is run from October 22 to November 17 and is available weekdays, evenings, and weekends.
The other program available is the educational segment, which may be interpretive or curriculum based. These programs are offered throughout the school year from September to June and some are bilingual. There are seven interpretive programs including name that symbol, heroes among us, more peach, what does it mean, real Canadian heroes, keeping the peace, and the Grade 9 self study option. Curriculum based programs involve teacher's activity booklets that are used to teach students about war and how it affects them. Approximately 100 bookings are made each year educating 22,000 people. In 2000 the program received the award of merit for best program.
The Military Museums Lectures & Cultural Events offers visitors an opportunity to hear dynamic speakers on military-related topics from the past and present. The 6th season of the lecture series explores topics that relate to the navy, army and air force. All lectures follow the following format, unless otherwise noted:
Cocktail Reception: 6:30 pm
Talk begins: 7:30 pm
Light Snacks
Beer & Wine: $5.00
Admission: $10.00
Please RSVP: cdunit@telus.net or call 403-240-9723
Upcoming lectures include Thursday, April 5, 2007 (The Rwanda Genocide 1994/1995), Thursday, April 19, 2007 (2500 Years of Secret Writing with Derrick Harrison), Thursday, May 10, 2007 (Fleeting Glory, The Tragedy of WWII's most successful bomber aircraft), and Thursday, May 31, 2007 (The Evolution of the Canadian Corps: Battles of 1917).
Located at 4520 Crowchild Trail S.W. in Calgary.
Museum Admission: Adults $6, Seniors $4, Youth 7-17 $3, children 6 and under free. Serving personnel (past and present) and their families are free. Legion members are free. Serving military members and their families are free.
The museum is open seven days per week from 9:30 to 4:00.
For more information phone (403) 974-2850, email the museum at moradmin@telusplanet.net, or visit their website at http://www.museumoftheregiments.ca/. For group tours call 974-2869.
