St. Catharines Museum BlogMuseum Chat Live!: Recent Episodes
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On this episode of Museum Chat Live! we’re chatting local food history and baking as we wrap up our (now beloved) Food, Glorious Food Blog Series. The series was a chance for Abbey Stansfield (public programmer) and Kathleen Powell (curator) to explore local food history by baking through historic recipes in our collection. This bake-off was a way to explore food history in a first-hand way and draw attention to our temporary exhibit of the same name, on display at the Museum through the autumn of this year. Listen in for a chat about food history, writing a blog series together, challenges in baking historic recipes, the things we learned, and most importantly: our favourite desserts!
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Listen and subscribe to Museum Chat Live! and the Museum’s other podcast, One Hour in the Past on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts (search for STCM Podcasts).
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On this episode of Museum Chat Live! Sean discusses trends in museum outreach programming. He explores how museum interpretation has evolved over the years, and how history is interpreted out in the community in St. Catharines, across Canada, and around the world. This episode includes an interview with Visitor Services Coordinator Adrian Petry and a peek into what outreach programming the museum has in store for 2025 and beyond.
Take a listen and share your thoughts with us!
Listen
Subscribe
Listen and subscribe to Museum Chat Live! and the Museum’s other podcast, One Hour in the Past on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts (search for STCM Podcasts).
Throughout our 10th season, we will be including several “supercut” episodes which revisit clips from some of favourite episodes, themes, and series over the last ten years! Enjoy this look back on our Season 5 miniseries all about the bridges over the Welland Canal!
Take a listen and share your thoughts with us! The views and opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre and the City of St. Catharines.
Listen and subscribe to Museum Chat Live! and the Museum’s other podcast, One Hour in the Past on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and Spotify (search for STCM Podcasts).
This podcast episode is in our Hearing History series, exploring local history through sound. Today’s sound is the film projector, which has been a constant feature of downtown St. Catharines for nearly 130 year! This episode follows the history of film and traces this medium’s presence in the Garden City, including cinemas, drive-in theatres, and our own home-grown stars of the silver screen! Grab some popcorn and enjoy the show!
Take a listen and share your thoughts with us! The views and opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre and the City of St. Catharines.
Listen and subscribe to Museum Chat Live! and the Museum’s other podcast, One Hour in the Past on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and Spotify (search for STCM Podcasts).
The 10th season of our Museum Chat Live! podcast is here! My, oh my, how time flies. It’s like one day you’re recording an episode about the Welland Canal and the next its… history…
Anyway! Have a listen to this little preview to help set the stage for all the awesome things we have planned for the upcoming year on Museum Chat Live!
November 30th, 1824 is an important day in the history of Niagara. A handful of businessmen who had less than a year before formed the Welland Canal Company met at Allanburg to shovel and turn over the first sod, marking the beginning of construction of one of the most important infrastructure projects in Canadian history.
As those events usually go, speeches were delivered amongst the small group on that cold day. William Hamilton Merritt’s speech has been shared and reshared many times over the years as it reveals not only the hard work the Company was about to endure, but also the vision of the project itself. This vision: a great canal linking the Great Lakes and facilitating trade and settlement, and linking the world to the interior of North America was a practical reality only realized with the third and fourth Welland Canals. But they hard to start somewhere, and so Merritt called on his fellow Niagarans to join the cause and celebrate this new beginning.
Today’s episode of Museum Chat Live! brings a reading of an excerpt of Merritt’s speech from 200 years ago to our ears. Edited and read by museum volunteer Des Corran, you can hear the optimism with which Merritt would cling to over some very challenging years of construction ahead.
Enjoy the episode.
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Promotional graphic for the lecture delivered on December 13, 2022.
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode we’re sharing to provide a lecture presented on December 13, 2022 which provided an update on her work at the Shickluna Shipyard archaeological dig. After two long years away from the site, Dr. Monk will be back on the dig this summer and we’re looking forward to welcoming her back to hear more about this fascinating history.
This lecture was originally recorded on December 13, 2022
Promotional graphic for the lecture presented on November 29, 2022.
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode we’re sharing “Ponderous Fraus, Mynheers, and Jaded Farm Horses, or Early St. Catharines Before the First Welland Canal” with special guest Brian Narhi. Special guest, local historian, and Chair of the City’s Heritage Advisory Committee Brian Narhi joins the lecture series once again to deliver an exciting look at the earliest settlement activity in St. Catharines.
This lecture was originally recorded on November 29, 2022.
Promotional graphic for the lecture presented on November 15, 2022
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode we’re sharing “In the Public Interest: Public Works in St. Catharines” presented by Kathleen Powell. Museum Curator Kathleen Powell will deliver a talk about public works and early city services during the inter-war period, with special focus on the explosion of infrastructure projects taken on by municipalities at that time.
This lecture was originally recorded on November 15, 2022.
Promotional graphic for the lecture presented on November 1, 2022.
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode we’re sharing “Our Gallant Employees: Corporate Commemoration in Post-War Canada,” with special guest Jonathan Vance. Special Guest Dr. Jonathan Vance, military historian and professor of history at Western University, will discuss his current research into corporate war memorials and their legacy in our communities.
This lecture was originally recorded on November 1, 2022.
Promotional graphic from the lecture series, October 18, 2022.
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode we’re sharing “Queenston: A Working Neighbourhood” presented by special guest Paul Miller, minister of Westminster United Church.
This lecture was originally recorded on October 18, 2022.
Promotional graphic for the lecture originally presented on October 4, 2022.
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode we’re sharing “Discovering Niagara’s Freedom Trail” with special guest Rochelle Bush. Special Guest Rochelle Bush, trustee and historian of Salem Chapel, British Methodist Episcopal Church National Historic Site and proprietor of Tubman Tours Canada, will speak about Niagara’s Freedom Trail – the loosely connected network of important heritage sites, museums, and other historical places connected to the story of freedom and the Underground Railroad throughout Niagara.
This lecture was originally recorded on October 4, 2022.
Promotional graphic for the lecture originally presented on September 20, 2022.
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode we’re sharing One Dish, One History: There Were People Here Before 1876 with special guest Karl Dockstader. Radio host, and of the Oneida bear clan Centre Karl Dockstader will walk us through a part of Niagara history that is underexplored. We’ll talk about the friendships and agreements that formed to make settler people living here in Niagara possible and how that friendship may need to be rekindled to keep Niagara viable.
This lecture was originally recorded on September 20, 2022
Enjoy the lecture.
This episode is in our Hearing History series, taking full advantage of the podcast format by exploring local history through sound. Today’s sound is the internal combustion engine, which has powered vehicles and industrial machinery in this city for over a century – and we build them here too! This episode follows the history of internal combustion engines in and around St. Catharines and considers the memories, associations, and future considerations that come up along the way. Start your engines and come along for the ride!
Take a listen and share your thoughts with us! The views and opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre and the City of St. Catharines.
Listen and subscribe to Museum Chat Live! and the Museum’s other podcast, One Hour in the Past on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and Spotify (search for STCM Podcasts).
Promotional graphic for the lecture originally presented on May 24.
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode we’re sharing a very special lecture presented by Dr. Natasha Henry-Dixon, president of the Ontario Black History Society, and the topic expert on Emancipation Day.
This lecture was originally recorded on May 24, 2022.
Enjoy the lecture.
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This episode is another journey in our Hearing History series, taking full advantage of the podcast format by exploring local history through sound. Today’s sound is the slap shot, a powerful hockey shot heard for a century on the streets, frozen ponds, and in the arenas of St. Catharines. This episode tracks the history of the slap shot, but also explores the story hockey in St. Catharines. From early community play, to the Garden City Arena, to Stan Mikita and the St. Catharines Teepees, this city has been on the power play for generations!
Take a listen and share your thoughts with us! The views and opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre and the City of St. Catharines.
Listen and subscribe to Museum Chat Live! and the Museum’s other podcast, One Hour in the Past on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and Spotify (search for STCM Podcasts).
Promotional graphic for the lecture which aired May, 2022.
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast we’re sharing a lecture presented by our own Kathleen Powell titled “Election 1917: Wartime Canada Goes to the Polls.”’”
This lecture was originally recorded on May 10, 2022.
Enjoy the lecture.
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Promotional image for the lecture in 2022.
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast we’re sharing a lecture titled “The Indigenous Underground Railroad” with special guest Dr. Roy Finkenbine, professor of history and Director of the Black Abolitionist Archive at the University of Detroit Mercy.
This lecture was originally recorded on April 26, 2022.
Enjoy the lecture.
In this 3-episode series, host Sean Dineley lets a sampling of long-time St. Catharines residents do most of the talking. The people whose stories you will hear have all been participants in the museum’s StoryLab program. This ongoing oral history project is all about getting the diverse experiences and perspectives of real St. Catharinites into the museum’s collection. By conducting, recording, and transcribing interviews with local residents, we hope to learn more about the wide array of people and communities who call this city home as well as how it has evolved in their lifetimes. Ultimately, the project supports our mission to collect and present a more complete story of St. Catharines.
This episode is the third and final part of this series. Parts one and two provided a glimpse into the significant waves of emigration caused by the totalitarian regimes, famines, genocides, and World Wars that ravaged Europe in the first half of the 20th century. Even before this period of turmoil the ethnic makeup of immigrants in Canada had been overwhelmingly European, but beginning in the 1960s, the trend started to change. Race-based selection criteria was removed from Canada’s Immigration Policy in 1962, and new schemes like the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the Canadian Multiculturalism Policy helped sow the seeds for new cultural communities.
Take a listen and share your thoughts with us! The views and opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre and the City of St. Catharines.
Listen and subscribe to Museum Chat Live! and the Museum’s other podcast, One Hour in the Past on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and Spotify (search for STCM Podcasts).
Promotional image for the lecture in 2022.
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast we’re sharing a lecture titled Return to “Civvy” Street: Postwar St. Catharines originally presented in March, 2022 by Sara Nixon.
Enjoy the lecture.
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Promotional image for the lectue in 2022.We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast we’re sharing a lecture titled From Anatevka to St. Catharines: the Early Years of the Spiritual Home of the Jewish Community, presented by special guest Howard Slepkov. This lecture was originally recorded on March 1, 2022.
Enjoy the lecture.
Listen
In this 3-episode series, host Sean Dineley lets a sampling of long-time St. Catharines residents do most of the talking. The people whose stories you will hear have all been participants in the museum’s StoryLab program. This ongoing oral history project is all about getting the diverse experiences and perspectives of real St. Catharinites into the museum’s collection. By conducting, recording, and transcribing interviews with local residents, we hope to learn more about the wide array of people and communities who call this city home as well as how it has evolved in their lifetimes. Ultimately, the project supports our mission to collect and present a more complete story of St. Catharines.
For this series the theme is all about the immigrant experience in St. Catharines. Most of the 23 people so far interviewed for StoryLab are only a generation or two removed from “the old country”, but seven participants took the trip across the Atlantic, or Pacific, themselves. It is their stories you will hear throughout this series. In Part 1, we heard from two women who moved to Canada from Europe in the wake of the Second World War. This week’s interviewees were also affected by devastation in Europe, but all took an interesting stopover in Paraguay before finding their way to St. Catharines.
Take a listen and share your thoughts with us! The views and opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre and the City of St. Catharines.
Listen and subscribe to Museum Chat Live! and the Museum’s other podcast, One Hour in the Past on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and Spotify (search for STCM Podcasts).
Promotional Graphic for the lecture which was presented on February 1, 2022.We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast we’re sharing the history of early black residents of St. Catharines with a lecture titled: ‘The Daily Grind: The Records of Freedom Seekers in St. Catharines’ presented by Abbey Stansfield. This lecture was originally recorded on February 1, 2022.
Listen
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast we’re sharing about the Coloured Corps and the construction of the Second Welland Canal with a lecture presented by yours truly titled “Upper Canada’s Black Defenders take on Niagara’s Wild West.” This lecture was originally presented on February 15, 2022.
Listen
In this 3-episode series, host Sean Dineley lets a sampling of long-time St. Catharines residents do most of the talking. The people whose stories you will hear have all been participants in the museum’s StoryLab program. This ongoing oral history project is all about getting the diverse experiences and perspectives of real St. Catharinites into the museum’s collection. By conducting, recording, and transcribing interviews with local residents, we hope to learn more about the wide array of people and communities who call this city home as well as how it has evolved in their lifetimes. Ultimately, the project supports our mission to collect and present a more complete story of St. Catharines.
For this series the theme is all about the immigrant experience in St. Catharines. Most of the 23 people so far interviewed for StoryLab are only a generation or two removed from “the old country”, but seven participants took the trip across the Atlantic, or Pacific, themselves. It is their stories you will hear throughout this series, starting with two women whose lives were upturned by the Second World War and its aftermath.
Take a listen and share your thoughts with us! The views and opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre and the City of St. Catharines.
Listen and subscribe to Museum Chat Live! and the Museum’s other podcast, One Hour in the Past on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and Spotify (search for STCM Podcasts).
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast we’re sharing a lecture about urban development in St. Catharines – a long and storied tale. This lecture was originally presented on November 16, 2021 by Sara Nixon.
In this episode of Museum Chat Live! Sean discusses the history of museums since the late 1700s. He delves into some of the more controversial historical museum practices and offers a perspective on how and why histories presented seem to keep changing. In the second half of the episode, Sean discusses the evolution of the […]
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast our Visitor Services Coordinator Adrian Petry gives a lecture about the rich and exciting history of hockey in our city. Hear stories from the early days of pick-up on a frozen Welland Canal to Stan Mikita and the big-league games here at the Garden City Arena.
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast special guest Andy Panko explores the Welland Canal Construction Railway, a railway built specifically to service the construction of the Welland Ship Canal. His lecture is titled “The busiest piece of railway in Canada” and was originally presented on October 5, 2021.
Promotional graphic for the lecture presented on September 21, 2021.We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. With over 40 lectures on Youtube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast we have a lecture presented by Curator Kathleen Powell titled: Adventures in Housekeeping: Edwardian Canadian Domestic Life
As the 20th century dawned with new excitement and a look forward to the next century, St. Catharines was in a period of growth and prosperity. Did that rosy picture translate into the home and domestic life? Look behind closed doors and catch a glimpse of the domestic sphere and how it was changing with the new century.
This lecture was originally presented on September 21, 2021
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This episode is the first in the Hearing History series, which explores the history of St. Catharines through sound. Close your eyes, open your ears, and join host Sean Dineley in his sonic exploration of the foghorn. This episode explores the history of this nautical warning system as well as its unique connections to St. Catharines and Canada more broadly. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on the memories and associations the foghorn evokes for them and to take a moment to let themselves be fully immersed in this sound of St. Catharines.
Take a listen and share your thoughts with us!
The views and opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre and the City of St. Catharines.
ListenListen and subscribe to Museum Chat Live! and the Museum’s other podcast, One Hour in the Past on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, and Spotify (search for STCM Podcasts).
Promotional Graphic for the lecture on May 11, 20121
We are thrilled to bring our hit Virtual Museum Lecture Series to the podcast. Now, with over 40 lectures on YouTube, we’re so happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more of you can enjoy these fascinating stories and join in on the historical adventures.
Coming up this winter, we’ll release the audio for lectures on topics such as the history of the largest cemetery here in Niagara, Ontario’s racially segregated schools, the Third Welland Canal, and much more.
More lectures are headed your way this winter over on YouTube. You can join in Live! or catch the lectures our playlist afterwards. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel – you’ll find us at St. Catharines Museum – so you don’t miss any of the fun. For more information on the lecture series, the impressive guest list, and lecture topics please visit stcatharinesmuseum.ca.
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast we’ll hear a presentation from our own Sara Nixon with her lecture titled ‘A Model City: the 1913 St. Catharines Board of Trade Yearbook’. The lecture was originally recorded on May 11, 2021.
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On this episode of Museum Chat Live!, we discuss what heritage advocacy looks like on the local level, on the ground and at the grassroots. To help us navigate the many layers to identifying, protecting, and enhancing community heritage, we’ve invite Andrew Humeniuk onto the podcast. Andrew is a member of the the St. Catharines Heritage Advisory Committee and Executive Director of The Brown Homestead here in St. Catharines.
On today’s episode of VMLS via Podcast we’ll hear from war historian and author Dr. Tim Cook. Tim’s book ‘The Fight for History’ looks at the significance of remembering the Second World War. This lecture was originally presented on April 27, 2021.
Today’s lecture, is a bit different. We were happy to host the students of the Brock University Historical Society in symposium on the series on April 13, 2021. You’ll hear lots of different voices and stories on this episode. For more information on the work of the Brock University Historical Society, please visit their Facebook page: facebook.com/brockhistoricalsociety.
Today’s lecture, originally presented on March 30, 2021, was presented by special guest Colleen Beard, map librarian emeritus at Brock University. Colleen’s Historic Welland Canals Mapping Project has mapped the routes of the three early Welland Canals and her presentation takes us through her website.
On this episode of Museum Chat Live!, consider the role of oral history in collecting community stories, and building community legacy.
We discuss the Museum's oral history collection project, STC StoryLab, and sit down with Reverend Dr. Paul Miller, pastor of Westminster United Church located on Queenston Street in St. Catharines, and a leader in the Queenston Neighbourhood.
On this episode of VMLS via Podcast: A lecture originally presented in March 16, 2021, examines the experiences of soldiers from St. Catharines who fought in the Boer War.
On this episode of Museum Chat Live!, co-hosts Abbey and Sara look at the development and evolution of the museum's Guided Spirit walks over the past 11 years. To help us understand the Museum's Spirit Walk journey, we speak to Adrian Petry, Visitor Services Coordinator at the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre. We also sit down with Guided Spirit Walk actors Ian Ashman and Kathie Leblanc to discover what is like to portray local historical figures and the impact Guided Spirit Walks has on the community.
Today on VMLS via Podcast: the history of urban development in the city be exploring the city's dead-end streets.
Today's lecture, originally presented in February 2021, features public programmer Sara Nixon with a lecture about the most prevalent and persistent myths about the Underground Railroad.
Today’s lecture features very special guest, local historian, and trustee of the Salem Chapel, BME Church Rochelle Bush. Rochelle discusses how St. Catharines became a hub of abolitionist activity in the 1850s and 60s, and the famous names to visited St. Catharines to do their important work.
On this episode of Museum Chat Live!, co-hosts Abbey and Sara look at the ways social media platforms like Facebook are changing the way we access, understand and learn about history. We consider the relationship between social media, history-telling, and museums. To help us understand the role social media has played in shaping how we consume history, we speak to Chris Barany – founder and administrator of the Vintage St. Catharines Facebook group. We'll chat with Chris about the intricacies of running a community-driven, history-focused Facebook.
Today’s lecture features Supervisor of Historical Services and Curator Kathleen Powell with a discussion of 'Marking Time' an exhibit that was on display here at the Museum, which featured textiles and fashion from the Museum's collection which help to mark life's significant milestones. It’s a bit more visual than our some of the other lectures, so visit our YouTube Play list to watch the lecture in-full.
Today’s lecture, presented by Adrian Petry and Sara Nixon, explores the lives of Freedom Seekers as they settled in St. Catharines from their journeys on the Underground Railroad as recorded by Samuel Gridley Howe on behalf of the United States Congress Freedman’s Inquiry Commission in 1863. This lecture was originally presented on November 24, 2020.
Today’s lecture explores the hidden history of the Third Welland Canal. As one of the first major infrastructure projects following Confederation, the canal was a huge success but today is mostly forgotten. Please enjoy “Lost and Forgotten: the Third Welland Canal” originally presented on October 27, 2020.
On this episode of Museum Chat Live!, your hosts Sara and Abbey explore how stories that are not based in historical evidence make their way into collective historical narratives, why fiction sometimes spurs from historical fact, and how folklore, myths, and legends can be addressed and interpreted to museum audiences.
Today’s lecture features a very special guest. We were thrilled to welcome Natasha Henry, PhD candidate at York University and President of the Ontario Black History Society. Natasha’s lecture on racially segregated schools in Ontario was fascinating and we think you’ll really enjoy it. This lecture was originally produced on October 13, 2020.
Today’s lecture features Adrian Petry, visitor services coordinator here at the Museum. In this presentation, he looks at the research that goes into creating our annual Guided Spirit Walks at Victoria Lawn Cemetery, and how dark tourism like ghost walks have influenced the practice public history and the public’s imagination of historical personalities.
Today’s lecture features special guest Dr. Adam Montgomery, one of the most recognized historians on cemetery history today. Dr. Montgomery shared the history of Victoria Lawn Cemetery in a lecture titled ‘Stones and Symbols of Victoria Lawn Cemetery’. This lecture was originally presented on September 15, 2020. Enjoy the lecture.
This next lecture will wrap up our VMLS podcast for 2021 just as the lecture itself wrapped up our first lecture series in the spring of 2020. ‘Lost and Historic Architectures’ was presented by yours truly on June 23, 2020. After this, we’ll be taking a little break but we’ll back with more lectures in January 2022, so stay tuned, and as always, enjoy the lecture.
Promotional Image for the lecture presented on June 17, 2020
Virtual Museum Lecture Series via Podcast
In the spring of 2020, we began to offer history lectures through our Virtual Museum Lecture Series live on Youtube. Now, with over 20 lectures, we’re happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more people can enjoy these fascinating stories. If you want to catch the lectures in-full, take a gander at our YouTube channel – you’ll find us under St. Catharines Museum. We will release most of the 20 lectures over the next few weeks, and as we add more lectures to Youtube, so too will they eventually appear here on the podcast. We hope these lectures provide a bit of historical joy and also spark imagination and exploration into our City’s rich history.
More lectures are headed your way this fall. For details, please visit our website, stcatharinesmuseum.ca.
Another guest joins us for the lecture today. Dr. Keri Cronin is a historian of visual culture and faculty at Brock University with a special focus on the history of animals. Her lecture titled ‘Racetracks and Runaway Carriages’ Dr. Cronin looks at the history of horses in St. Catharines. This lecture was originally presented on Jun 17, 2020. Enjoy the lecture.
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Promotional Image for the lecture presented on June 9, 2020
Virtual Museum Lecture Series via Podcast
In the spring of 2020, we began to offer history lectures through our Virtual Museum Lecture Series live on Youtube. Now, with over 20 lectures, we’re happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more people can enjoy these fascinating stories. If you want to catch the lectures in-full, take a gander at our YouTube channel – you’ll find us under St. Catharines Museum. We will release most of the 20 lectures over the next few weeks, and as we add more lectures to Youtube, so too will they eventually appear here on the podcast. We hope these lectures provide a bit of historical joy and also spark imagination and exploration into our City’s rich history.
More lectures are headed your way this fall. For details, please visit our website, stcatharinesmuseum.ca.
Today’s lecture is pretty special as it features the first guests we had join us on the lecture series. Teacher Rassika Risko and her dramatic arts students from Governor Simcoe Secondary School appear in my discussion of the Shipyard Strikes from 1861 and how we turned some dramatic history into a play. And Dr. Kimberly Monk joins us to talk about the history of the Shickluna Shipyard, along with the thrilling story of the archaeological dig she is leading at the yard. This lecture was originally presented on June 9, 2020.
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Promotional Image for the lecture presented on June 2, 2020
Virtual Museum Lecture Series via Podcast
In the spring of 2020, we began to offer history lectures through our Virtual Museum Lecture Series live on Youtube. Now, with over 20 lectures, we’re happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more people can enjoy these fascinating stories. If you want to catch the lectures in-full, take a gander at our YouTube channel – you’ll find us under St. Catharines Museum. We will release most of the 20 lectures over the next few weeks, and as we add more lectures to Youtube, so too will they eventually appear here on the podcast. We hope these lectures provide a bit of historical joy and also spark imagination and exploration into our City’s rich history.
More lectures are headed your way this fall. For details, please visit our website, stcatharinesmuseum.ca.
On today’s lecture, we join Curator and Supervisor of Historical Services Kathleen Powell as she talks about the history of Packard Electric and the early manufacturing of Oldsmobile and REO cars here in St. Catharines. The lecture was originally presented on June 2, 2020.
Listen
Promotional Image for the lecture presented on May 26, 2020. Virtual Museum Lecture Series via Podcast
In the spring of 2020, we began to offer history lectures through our Virtual Museum Lecture Series live on Youtube. Now, with over 20 lectures, we’re happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more people can enjoy these fascinating stories. If you want to catch the lectures in-full, take a gander at our YouTube channel – you’ll find us under St. Catharines Museum. We will release most of the 20 lectures over the next few weeks, and as we add more lectures to Youtube, so too will they eventually appear here on the podcast. We hope these lectures provide a bit of historical joy and also spark imagination and exploration into our City’s rich history.
More lectures are headed your way this fall. For details, please visit our website, stcatharinesmuseum.ca.
On today’s lecture, we join our public programmer Sara Nixon as she traces the tracks of the Underground Railroad and examines the legacy of Freedom Seekers arriving in St. Catharines in the 1850s. This lecture was originally presented on May 26, 2020.
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Promotional Graphic for the lecture presented on May 19, 2020.
Virtual Museum Lecture Series via Podcast
In the spring of 2020, we began to offer history lectures through our Virtual Museum Lecture Series live on Youtube. Now, with over 20 lectures, we’re happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more people can enjoy these fascinating stories. If you want to catch the lectures in-full, take a gander at our YouTube channel – you’ll find us under St. Catharines Museum. We will release most of the 20 lectures over the next few weeks, and as we add more lectures to Youtube, so too will they eventually appear here on the podcast. We hope these lectures provide a bit of historical joy and also spark imagination and exploration into our City’s rich history.
More lectures are headed your way this fall. For details, please visit our website, stcatharinesmuseum.ca.
The story of the first full operating season of the Welland Canal in 1830 is interesting because it challenges the dominant narrative of a well organized, well financed, well run, and generally successful endeavour, when in actuality, it was plagued with problems and failures.
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Promotional Graphic for the lecture presented on May 12, 2020. Virtual Museum Lecture Series via Podcast
In the spring of 2020, we began to offer history lectures through our Virtual Museum Lecture Series live on Youtube. Now, with over 20 lectures, we’re happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more people can enjoy these fascinating stories. If you want to catch the lectures in-full, take a gander at our YouTube channel – you’ll find us under St. Catharines Museum. We will release most of the 20 lectures over the next few weeks, and as we add more lectures to Youtube, so too will they eventually appear here on the podcast. We hope these lectures provide a bit of historical joy and also spark imagination and exploration into our City’s rich history.
More lectures are headed your way this fall. For details, please visit our website, stcatharinesmuseum.ca.
Today’s lecture on the Spanish Flu Pandemic in 1918 was presented by Curator/Supervisor of Historical Services Kathleen Powell on May 12, 2020.
Listen
Promotional graphic for the May 5, 2020 lecture. Virtual Museum Lecture Series via Podcast
In the spring of 2020, we began to offer history lectures through our Virtual Museum Lecture Series live on Youtube. Now, with over 20 lectures, we’re happy to bring the lecture audio to the podcast format so that more people can enjoy these fascinating stories. If you want to catch the lectures in-full, take a gander at our YouTube channel – you’ll find us under St. Catharines Museum. We will release most of the 20 lectures over the next few weeks, and as we add more lectures to Youtube, so too will they eventually appear here on the podcast. We hope these lectures provide a bit of historical joy and also spark imagination and exploration into our City’s rich history.
More lectures are headed your way this fall. For details, please visit our website, stcatharinesmuseum.ca.
Today’s lecture was the very first to be presented way back in May of 2020. Next Stop: The NS&T was presented by me, Adrian, and looks at the early history of the St. Catharines streetcar network.
Listen – Next Stop: The NS&T
Museums have come a long way from our stuffy tradition of cases filled with objects and their accompanying labels in overbearingly cold rooms. When it comes to museum interpretation today, museums are emphasizing meaningful engagement, connection, sharing, and creating opportunities for participation and dialogue, as we interpret history to our visitors – whether in-person or online. And over the last few years, increasing literature has emerged around the values and opportunities of a play-based approach to learning. Museums can be places of both play and learning – for both children and adults.
On this episode of Museum Chat Live!, we chat with St. Catharines Museum Visitor Services Coordinator Adrian Petry to talk about the role and interpretive value of play in museums, and to take a closer-look at the inspiration and thinking behind some of St. Catharines Museum’s play-based programs.
Listen
Listen to Museum Chat Live E610 – Play & Museum Interpretation
BONUS: Lego Challenge Blooper Reel
A conversation about play in museums is as good an excuse as any to give you a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the fun we have when putting our programs together for our audiences!
Watch this special blooper reel from filming our most recent Lego Challenge: Bridge Edition series.