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    Collage, man at an easel, paintings of birds and a goose illustration with comments written on it.

    Between tradition and technology

    What was proposed was a complete about-face from the philosophy behind recent security printing. If photocopiers could easily deal with the colours and designs of the current series, then the next series should be bold and simple.

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    Needs or wants? That is the question!

    Do you need it, or do you want it? That’s an important question to ask before buying anything. This activity is designed to teach kids how to prioritize their needs and wants, and how to make informed choices when shopping.

    Teaching the green economy

    From windmills and solar panels to electric cars, signs of the green economy are all around us. Check out our resources for how to teach about the green economy.

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  • The Museum Blog

Our Grand Opening…

By: Graham Iddon


July 11, 2017

Couldn’t have gone better

After four years of plans, worries, setbacks, successes and sheer hard work, the Bank of Canada Museum opened its doors—on Canada Day, right on schedule. Whew! Our future began with a ribbon cutting. And no, the deed was not done by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The Bank has its own in-house ribbon cutting team, thank you very much, in the form of Governor Stephen S. Poloz with Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn A. Wilkins. They may not be royalty, but it’s nice that our ribbon cutters are both Canadian VIPs and friends.

ribbon cutting ceremony in the rain

We are officially open and really wet. Not as wet as our photographer, though.

Since we were expecting around 2,000 visitors, it was an “all hands on deck” day for the opening event. Nearly the entire Museum staff was there, helping kids at the craft tables, working the door, assisting with the interactives or just strolling around and lending a hand where needed. Fortunately, there was no need to employ another nautical term: “all hands to the pumps.” At no time did our opening day resemble a sinking ship—just a crowded one. In fact, keeping the crowds down to our maximum capacity required a fair amount of management in itself but fortunately we did not require a bouncer. To keep the folks in line happy, our roving entertainer was on the plaza, helping the wait times seem as brief as possible.

people in a rainy line up

People cheerfully stood for half an hour in the rain awaiting entry to the Museum.

smiling man

Our first public visitor! Welcome, Mr. Pat Brophey.

overhead view of crowd

Somewhere near that tent are two clowns making balloon sculptures for the kids.

In fact, a number of things were happening on the plaza where our rather unmissable welcome tent was set up. From under it (a relief for staff no matter what the weather) we distributed our swag: bookmarks, balloons, hand fans, temporary tattoos and cookies—all very popular. The cookie supply actually lasted a surprising amount of time. (about 20 minutes) To be honest, anything longer than fifteen minutes was surprising and it didn’t matter whether the cookie consumers visited the Museum or not. The cookies were simply clever advertising and a whole lot tastier than a brochure or button.

crowd of people at a tent booth

Our swag booth was swarmed for much of the day.

two women holding promotional fans

We gave away thousands of these cheery hand fans. Many got used as impromptu umbrellas.

people applying temporary tattoos

Hundreds of visitors were more than happy to have our logo stuck to their arms—or their faces.

Even though the Museum has a legal capacity of 400 visitors, there are only so many digital label stations or interactive units. We needed a little supplemental labelling of the human variety for this contingency, so our team of guides got a major verbal workout. For the very curious, two of our curators were on hand to explain the significance and history of the artifacts in greater detail. It’s not every day they get to talk to the public about their subject —and they really like their subject. Fortunately, nobody got our Chief Curator going on Japanese Hansatsu paper money or they’d still be there.

museum guide speaking to crowd

Some of the guides were quite hoarse by the end of the day—some by the middle.

kids playing a video game

Keeping inflation stable. Flying the 2 per cent rocket.

kids working on a touch screen

Making your own bank note was one of the most popular stations in the Museum.

The Museum team was joined by a few members of the Bank’s Currency Department. They were promoting the Canada 150 commemorative bank note and along with an information kiosk, had a table where visitors could get a fresh, new commemorative $10 bill. Of course the staff weren’t giving the notes away—visitors had to exchange their old $10 bills for new ones—but it proved a popular feature anyway.

people at a photo booth

Rain or shine, the C150 photo booth was busy all day long.

man and baby with headphones

All of our videos are rated “G.”

In all, 2,823 people walked through our doors this Canada Day. That’s a major crowd and they sure seemed to have a good time—especially the kids. I doubt that even half our visitors got a chance to fly the 2 per cent rocket and the digital labels proved a bit too popular for most visitors to get a close-up of their favourite artifact, but that was never the point. The point was for people to wander around, learn what we’re about and want to come back and explore the Museum at their leisure. It was really just a big “Hello” to Canadians and there couldn’t have been a better time than when so many thousands of them were in the neighbourhood and in a mood to celebrate.

cheerful cartoon character

Bye-bye! Thanks for making our day.

And now we’d like to thank you for visiting us. It was our pleasure and we hope to see you again, soon. Just not all at once, please.

We want to hear from you! Do you have an idea for a blog post you’d like to see?
Content type(s): Blog posts

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The Museum Blog

May 5, 2022

Between tradition and technology

By: Graham Iddon


Collage, man at an easel, paintings of birds and a goose illustration with comments written on it.
What was proposed was a complete about-face from the philosophy behind recent security printing. If photocopiers could easily deal with the colours and designs of the current series, then the next series should be bold and simple.
Content type(s): Blog posts
April 21, 2022

Teaching the green economy

By: Adam Young


From windmills and solar panels to electric cars, signs of the green economy are all around us. Check out our resources for how to teach about the green economy.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Business and careers, Economy, Geography, Science, Social studies Grade level(s): Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
April 4, 2022

Talk to your kids about money

By: Heather Montgomery


Collage, ceramic pig on background of a bank book and a stamp folder with kids on it.
Introduce important financial skills to your children, and help them plan for their futures with free resources from the Bank of Canada Museum and others.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Financial literacy Grade level(s): Early childhood / Kindergarten, Grade 01, Grade 02, Grade 03, Grade 04, Grade 05, Grade 06, Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
March 3, 2022

Teaching inflation during the COVID-19 pandemic

By: Heather Montgomery


COVID-19 has had an unprecedented effect on the economy: closing businesses, driving down demand and interrupting supplies. With news stories and popular culture addressing inflation and supply chain issues, now is the perfect time to explain this key economic concept to your high school students.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy Grade level(s): Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
February 3, 2022

Queen of the bank notes

By: Graham Iddon


Few of us have ever met her, and it’s likely none of us are even remotely related to her. Yet, Canadians have carried her picture in their wallets for generations now. She’s Queen Elizabeth II and has been our monarch for over 70 years.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): History
December 22, 2021

New acquisitions–2021 edition

By: David Bergeron


The Bank of Canada Museum is responsible for the National Currency Collection, and part of its mandate is to foster and develop that collection. Despite the challenges of collecting during a pandemic, curators at the Bank of Canada Museum have acquired some unique artifacts—including some that document the pandemic itself.
Content type(s): Blog posts
December 2, 2021

The true value of money

By: Graham Iddon


Photo collage, old bank notes and coins, gold nuggets and a computer component.
What is money—when you really stop to think about it? To understand how money works, and what it ultimately represents, we need to strip it down to its very basic function.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy Grade level(s): Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
November 16, 2021

The 1911 silver dollar

By: David Bergeron


In front of a set of coins in a case, two coins, one lead, one silver, each with identical wreaths of maple leaves.
The 1911 silver dollar has a history to match its prestige, and it now has a permanent home in the National Currency Collection of the Bank of Canada Museum.
Content type(s): Blog posts
October 21, 2021

Moving mountains

By: Graham Iddon


Collage, bank note details, green, face of middle-aged woman, mountains and large number 20.
The $20 bill of 1969 was the prototype of the Scenes of Canada note series. Yet, as more notes were designed, the theme—and the $20 note itself—would change.
Content type(s): Blog posts
September 16, 2021

A mythic metal: Some stories of gold coins

By: Krista Broeckx


In 1896, three enterprising men struck gold in the Klondike region of the Yukon. Their story is just one of many that illustrates the allure of gold through the ages.
Content type(s): Blog posts
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