Celebrate Museum Month in Markham
By David Yin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
The Ontario Museum Association is celebrating Museum Month’s 25th anniversary this May, coinciding with International Museum Day on May 18.
This year’s Museum Month theme is “Discover Ontario’s Museums.” As well, this year’s International Museum Day theme is “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities.”
For Rebekah Mitchell, curator at the Heritage Schoolhouse Museum & Archives, museums are important sites to build connections, gather insights, and reclaim identities within a community.
“That’s a big thing for modern museums now,” Mitchell said. “To be a space that can be trusted by all members of the community, where they see themselves in that story, no matter how they engage with the museum.”
Residents throughout Markham can participate in Museum Month by discovering the Markham Museum and the Heritage Schoolhouse Museum & Archives.
Encompassing over 30 historic buildings across 25 acres of land, Markham Museum features a range of family-friendly displays to educate visitors on Markham’s history and society.
The Markham Museum is hosting the following exhibitions and events for visitors to attend: “Everyday Superheroes” is a collection that aims to highlight several of Markham’s community members who make a positive impact on society. Those featured include firefighters, healthcare workers, educators, volunteers, and others; “Markham Community Makers” features several people’s works within Maker Culture, a movement coined almost 20 years ago that incorporates modern technology into traditional handiwork crafts; The Emergency Preparedness Week Kick-Off Celebration on May 4 is a free event that aims to teach residents how to combat emergencies. Featured organizations include the TRCA, Markham Fire, York University, the Red Cross, and Emergency Management Ontario; and Barkham 2025–York Region’s largest dog festival–will occur on May 31 and June 1, in cooperation with the Markham Dog Alliance.
Owned and operated by the York Region District School Board, the Heritage Schoolhouse Museum & Archives aims to preserve the history of public education across York Region in a one-room schoolhouse built in 1872. It is located at Woodbine Ave. and Valleywood Dr., and is accessible via reservation only.
The museum runs many educational field trips and programs for students across the York Region District School Board. According to educational programmer Christina Blake, over 3,000 children visit the museum and approximately 1,500 students participate in its outreach programs yearly.
The Heritage Schoolhouse Museum & Archives collaborated with Markham Museum, students at the University of Toronto’s Museum Studies program, and other community partners to release “Standing in the Doorway: Lived Histories and Experiences of the Chinese Community” in 2023. This exhibition explores the history of York Region’s Chinese community and is currently on display at the Richmond Hill Heritage Centre until August 16.
Both Mitchell and Blake described the exhibition as valuable not only for themselves but also for the greater York Region community.
“One of the amazing things that came out of it [“Standing in the Doorway”] was the fact that for so many members of the Chinese community, it was their first time learning about this history,” Mitchell said. “They were participants in the project, but at the same time, they were learning about the education and the history of their own community.”
“Bringing out those stories and voices, and bringing them to our diverse communities in York Region is really important to us,” Blake added. “And ensuring that our students are seen in our programming… [is important] because inquiry-based learning is where we always start.”
Mitchell stated that the museum will continue to deliver outreach programs to select schools throughout York Region this May.
To learn more about each museum, residents can head to the following links:
- Markham Museum: https://www.markham.ca/arts-culture-library/markham-museum
- Heritage Schoolhouse: https://www2.yrdsb.ca/community/museum-board-archives
Photo: This year’s Museum Month theme is “Discover Ontario’s Museums.” As well, this year’s International Museum Day theme is “The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities.” (David Yin photo)