NLIS 2
May 3, 2004
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

 

Provincial museums open for summer season

Tourism, Culture and Recreation Minister Paul Shelley today announced the official opening of the Provincial Seamen�s Museum in Grand Bank and the Mary March Provincial Museum in Grand Falls-Windsor for the summer season. A Logger�s Life Provincial Museum in Grand Falls-Windsor is scheduled to open on May 24.

"Newfoundland and Labrador has its own distinct culture and heritage. Provincial museums are one venue in which residents within the province and visitors from around the world can explore a piece of what makes this province so distinct," said Minister Shelley. "Last year over 13,000 people visited the Provincial Seamen�s Museum and the Mary March Provincial Museum, verifying the growing interest in cultural tourism in this province."

The Provincial Seamen�s Museum in Grand Bank represents a striking landmark on the approach to a 300-year old fishing town and a memorial to the many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who lost their lives at sea. Inside the museum visitors can survey the era of the banking schooner through photographs, documents and an extensive collection of model ships and other artifacts. They can also view exhibits that chronicle the technological changes in the fishery on the world-famous Grand Banks - from hand-held fishing lines to modern trawlers.

The Mary March Provincial Museum in Grand Falls-Windsor represents the 5,000 year heritage of Central Newfoundland. The museum derives its name from Mary March, one of the last Beothuk Indians. Visitors to the museum can explore the natural history of the area, focusing on its geological formation over the last 500 million years; relive the complex history and traditions of native people who lived in central Newfoundland and retell the story of European exploration and settlement, and the subsequent development of the region�s fishing, mining and forestry resources.

A Logger�s Life Provincial Museum in Grand Falls-Windsor is a replica of a small scale logging camp in the 1920s. The camp consists of five buildings, including an information centre, filing shack, main camp, barn and a forge. A small walking trail around the camp is an attraction for birders. Visitors to the museum can view examples of clothing, utensils and tools that were typically used during this period.

The museums are open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. from May 3 until mid-June and from 9:30 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. from mid-June until October 24. The museums are closed to the public on statutory holidays and officially close on October 24, 2004.

Media contact: Tansy Mundon, Communications, (709) 729-0928.

For more information, call (709) 832-1484 (Provincial Seamen�s Museum) or (709) 292-4523 (Mary March Provincial Museum).

2004 05 03                                     11:10 a.m.


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