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    Man in a superhero costume crouching in an aisle of a home renovation warehouse.

    Economic Opportunity Costs

    With his superpowers, Peter Parker would no doubt do a fabulous job of tiling his kitchen backsplash. But as Spider-Man, he has more valuable things to do with his time.

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    Lesson Plan: Trading Planets

    Take a trade mission to planet Plutopia to discover why trading without a common currency is hard.

    Understanding Money: Common Questions

    Ever wondered who decides what goes on Canadian coins or bank notes? Or why our coins have certain names and our notes are different colours? Use this guide to help answer some of your money-related questions!

Notice of Temporary Closure

The Bank of Canada Museum remains closed due to COVID-19. Our museum experience is highly interactive, and our top priority is the safety of our staff and visitors. We look forward to welcoming you again once it is safe for us to reopen.

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Not Your Run-of-the-Mill School Visit

By: Graham Iddon


May 16, 2018

Carleton University curatorial students take a critical look at the Museum

Naturally, we host visits from students every week. A major component of our mission is to educate young people about the functions of the Bank, the economy and the history of money. At the end of February, a selection of our staff each gave a presentation to an unusually attentive group of students.

a group and presenter in front of Yap Stone

Most tours start at the Yap Stone, a great conversation piece for all things economic.

Our visitors were students from the Curatorial Studies Graduate Diploma Program at Ottawa’s Carleton University. This program seeks to provide emerging curators with a clearer understanding of how exhibition development and museum design proceed in real-world scenarios. Actually, one or two of the students were already curators, but most were graduate students of history, archeology or art history.

people in Museum reception area

No need to explain public debt to these students; some of them may already have mortgages.

The students had already visited, among other museums, the Canadian Museum of History and Ingenium (the Canada Science and Technology Museum), both of which have recently undergone enormous re-development projects, providing prime opportunities for students to hear directly from the foot soldiers of exhibition and museum development. So we were flattered when our rebuild was included in this initiative. These visits were organized by guest lecturer Trina Cooper-Bolam, a PHD candidate in the Cultural Mediations Program at Carleton.

big computer monitor

We were able to get a presentation from Ken Ross live on our big monitor.

A cold circulating at the office had just laid low our Director Ken Ross, so his presentation came live from his home via Skype. Ken spoke about the entire process of developing the new Museum from the perspective of the Bank’s communications strategists and the content developers. This led to an overview of the Museum’s extensive use of digital and physical interactives. Students were very interested in the Museum’s choice of using such an interpretive approach to explain the Bank’s functions and the economy. Because it seeks to make very difficult concepts simple, the Museum is akin both to a science centre and a traditional museum. It’s an interesting specimen to study.

people attending a presentation

Chief Curator Paul Berry gets enthusiastic about numismatics—as usual.

woman holding a plastic item

Our Conservator shows a tiny plastic coin holder with an embedded magnet that safely affixes a coin to a showcase wall.

Paul Berry, our Chief Curator, talked about the difficult choices his team had to make about what artifacts to include in our limited exhibition space. With the Museum’s new mandate, many highly informed choices had to be made that split the difference between items critical to the history of money and those that support the economic storyline of each zone. The very practical issues of artifact conservation and display were then dealt with by our dedicated Conservator, Patricia Measures.

people attending a presentation

Designer Thu Phan speaks about “Design Thinking” as a major interpretation motivator in modern museums.

However, the most critical points were made by our Graphic Designer Thu Phan when she took the stage to talk about the interpretive and exhibit development process of the whole Museum. It was from Thu that visitors heard how content could be driven as much by design as it was by curation, underlining the paramount importance of involving the full exhibit team in all stages of development. Every component, from design, to writing, to ergonomics, has a powerful effect on all other aspects of exhibition development—it’s a process every participant must understand is a negotiation.

The visit ended with a tour of the Museum and a chance to get personal with the interactive features. Already there has been talk of a greater partnership with this innovative curatorial program and we find that very exciting.

people in front of monitors

Curatorial students are the only ones likely to take building a cartoon avatar really seriously.

people in Museum

We encourage all our visitors to share with us ideas and the experience of visiting the way these students did.

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

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The Museum Blog

January 4, 2021

Economic Opportunity Costs

By: Graham Iddon


Man in a superhero costume crouching in an aisle of a home renovation warehouse.
With his superpowers, Peter Parker would no doubt do a fabulous job of tiling his kitchen backsplash. But as Spider-Man, he has more valuable things to do with his time.
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Education
November 30, 2020

How Many Groats Are in a Noble?

By: Graham Iddon


For daily users of modern money, getting an understanding of the old British system of currency can be an act of confusion and wonder. But it’s also a peep into 13 centuries of European numismatic history.
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Collection, History
November 27, 2020

Understanding Money: Common Questions

By: Nathan Sells


Ever wondered who decides what goes on Canadian coins or bank notes? Or why our coins have certain names and our notes are different colours? Use this guide to help answer some of your money-related questions!
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Education
November 2, 2020

Teaching Economics During the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: Adam Young


Authentic, teachable moments show students how the Bank of Canada is helping the economy navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Education
October 21, 2020

The Story Behind the Engraving

By: Graham Iddon


The men on the back of this bill were part of a small community of families, a summer hunting camp called Aulatsiivik on Baffin Island.
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Collection, History
October 5, 2020

If I Had a Million Dollars…I’d Be Reasonably Well Off

By: Graham Iddon


When the Barenaked Ladies released “If I Had a $1,000,000,” they could have considered themselves reasonably rich. And today? Well, there’s this inflation thing…
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Education, History
July 16, 2020

Johnson’s Counterfeits

By: David Bergeron


Johnson’s entire family, two girls and five boys, was involved in the counterfeiting operation: dad made the plates, the daughters forged the signatures and the boys were learning to be engravers.
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Collection, History
June 29, 2020

The Reluctant Bank Note

By: Graham Iddon


Among 1975 $50 bill’s various design proposals were three images, three thematic colours and even three printing methods.
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Collection, History
June 11, 2020

Nominating an Icon for the Next $5 Bank Note

By: Graham Iddon


Using a Bank of Canada Museum lesson plan, nearly 200 students told us who they thought should be the bank NOTE-able Canadian on our new $5 bill.
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Education
May 5, 2020

The “Streak of Rust” and the King of Newfoundland

By: David Bergeron


Reid was on the verge of ruin, yet insisted on continuing railway construction. Suffering huge losses, and with no credit or cash resources, Reid issued wage notes to pay his employees.
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Collection, History
April 22, 2020

Retired Cash

By: Graham Iddon


In January 2021, 17 of our old bank notes will lose their legal tender status—what does that mean?
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Collection
March 30, 2020

The Fisher, the Photographer and the Five

By: Graham Iddon


There’s little doubt that the BCP45 is lovingly preserved today partly thanks to being immortalized on this beautiful blue five-dollar bill.
Content type(s): Blog Subject(s): Collection, History
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30 Bank Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0G9, CANADA
613-782-8914

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