The Canadian War Museum: The Place of Rememberence

The Canadian War Museum is also a nice place to explore. It is Canada’s rich national museum of military history and architecture.  It is filled with artifacts, personal stories, artwork, photos and interactive presentations. The purpose of the Museum is to tell the story of how Canadian soldiers fought to keep our country safe. Remembrance Day is especially an important time where people gather to honour those that have given up their lives for ours.

The Museum was originally founded in 1880, where it was mostly filled with a collection of military artifacts. On May 8, 2005, the opening of the Museum was located at the Le Breton Flats site in downtown Ottawa. It was a way of celebrating the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe (V-E Day) as well as the 125th anniversary of the museum itself. Since the day of the opening, almost 500,000 people have been visiting the Museum every year. Very fascinating, isn’t it

The Canadian War Museum has some great exhibitions. For example, The LeBreton Gallery: The Military Technology Collection. This popular attraction is full of large military weapons, vehicles and equipment used during the war. This exhibition gives people the opportunity to learn about the old technology used by Canadians during times of peace and conflict. Some artifacts are connected to an individual soldier’s backstory, while others educate people about the scale and experience of industrialized warfare.

One of the most memorable artifacts that I have checked out was The Stag hound Armoured Car. The reason it was memorable to me was because I had to write a 600 to 1,000-word essay on it. It was not easy, but still worth it.

Another exhibition that I’d highly recommend checking out is the Moriyama Regeneration Hall. This exhibition is a representation of finding peace and hope in the world. It is named after the C.W.M. architect, Raymond Moriyama. The wide-open space and sharply angled walls are filled with life-sized plaster maquettes for figures originally made by the Canadian sculptor, Walter Allward.

According to C.W.M. .com, the purpose of these figures was to be used as models to create the imposing stone sculptures that adorn the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France. It is a way of honouring those that fought and died to protect this country. These sculptors are also symbolization of charity, knowledge, hope, honour, justice, peace, sacrifice, and truth. It is always nice to honour those that went to battle for us.

From The Cold War to The Present. This exhibition is also an interesting place to check out. 

It tells the story of the cold war between the west and the Soviet Union.  The two sides made strategic plans of attack and prepared to use effective weapons at the right moment. As part of preparation for the war, the Canadian soldiers made a promise; “to protect against threats at home,” “use military alliances to project power overseas,” or to stabilize dangerous conflicts through United Nations peace support operations. They have posters about the war as well as vehicle exhibits and gun exhibits. Thank goodness the weapons are fake.

  For more information on the Canadian War Museum, Click here.

Christopher Mesidor

  Christopher Mesidor (he/him) is a current student in the Professional Writing Program at Algonquin College.He attended O.V.C.A. at age 16 and graduated at age 20. He is taking the P.W. Program at Algonquin College. He was born in Ottawa, Ontario on December 31, 2000.Christopher’s main hobbies are drawing, playing video games, playing basketball, and reading. He enjoys hanging out with his friends and family. He is very kind, creative, fun, smart, and hard-working.  He learns academically at his own pace, which is why he has been struggling with finding the right program for his needs. Switching from different schools was affecting his social life. He decided to take the Professional Writing program because he felt like he was good at it. He is currently in the process of finding his purpose in life career wise. He is aiming to learn everything he needs to know about writing professionally and see where it leads him.