Anouncements !

We have some great news to share ! 

Firstly, congratulations go to Manager Maya on being a recipient of the 2013 London Community Foundation Vital People grant.  The grant provides $2000 to SoRM so that Maya can study Project Management at Western.  

Secondly, if you happen to be attending the OMA conference this week, Maya will be participating in a tech talk round-table tomorrow, and on Friday she will be presenting an Ignite session on museum engagement. 

Thirdly, on Friday, November 29th, the Physics & Astronomy building at Western will be celebrating its grand re-opening and we'll be there.  SoRM has been collaborating with the department to create some dynamic new wall content for the newly renovated building, and the first phase of the project will be unveiled at the event.  If you want to attend, please RSVP. 

An interesting idea..?

Today, while checking the museum's email, I came across a message quite unlike those I'm used to receiving.  It started out well, not unlike some of the more formal tour requests we get.

My name is _________.  I am contacting you from England.  I want to  make reservation for 4 people in December 2013.  Hope you can accommodate us on that date?

I thought, "Hey, sure, we don't have any tours booked in December, we're wide open.  And then I read on.  It turned out to be an email requesting a room booking for a holiday stay at an inn or hotel.  At first I considered not answering, but then I thought, "What if they really think we're an inn?  I don't want to be rude?"  And I wondered, what if it's a strange form of spam?  And I decided it was too well written for spam.  So this is what I wrote back in response:

Dear Mr. _________, 
You seem to have mistaken us for an inn !   We're a museum, in London, Ontario, Canada, not currently renting out cot space in our galleries, but as we are a small museum and constantly looking for new fundraising initiatives, we'll take the idea under advisement.   However, if you wish to book a tour while you're here, we would be delighted to host you.
Best wishes, 

I mean, some museums do sleep-overs, right?  Anyway, I hope the prospective guest finds it as amusing as we, here, did, and accepts my response with the humour it was intended.  The letter provided us a bit of a laugh amongst all the other, more serious things we slog through every day.

 

 

Doors Open and more

YES, we are part of Doors Open London, but we'll be up at the RCR Museum with a nifty pop-up display.  And 'radar popcorn', too.

Doors Open London is a little bit different this year than it has been in the past.  We'll be open at our own site on the Saturday as usual, but we'll also be running a special Doors Open display out of the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) Museum, on both Saturday and Sunday starting at 10AM.  The RCR Museum is located at 701 Oxford Street East.  You can learn more about this weekend's venues and events at the Doors Open London website.

Speaking of shows, two weeks ago we participated in the 'Wings Over Gatineau en vol' Air Show for the first time.  What a wonderful event that was!  Lots of history for the history loving aviation and military aficionados and newbies alike.  Vintage Wings put on a fantastic show and we're already looking forward to next year's event.

We also had our Annual General Meeting just this past weekend, which was well-attended by a diverse audience of interested people.  We're certain this is a sign of good things to come!  

 

 

Summer Wrap-up

The crickets are chirping, the Perseids are shooting, the back-to-school specials are in the flyers; it must be mid-August.  Where did the time go?   

We at the Museum regularly talk about how lucky we are to be situated in the Westminster Ponds as we are, even though it means we struggle for walk-in traffic.  We regularly see the herd of deer (well, everyone but Norman, who always seems to miss them), and the comical flock of wild turkeys.  There are coyotes and rabbits and so many species of birds even a bird book can't help with the warbler varieties.  People come to the area to canoe and fish at the ponds, to hike in the woods, to watch birds, walk their dogs (on leash, please !) , and for picnics, and softball, and any number of outdoorsy pursuits. 

Just a portion of the view from our porch. 

In fact, just the other day, on the Simcoe day long weekend, there was the first Emancipation Day picnic held since 1987.  Volunteer Bethany and manager Maya (me) decided to check it out.  A little history: Emancipation Day was (and is again) celebrated by the Ontario Black population in honour of John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, who made the province the first in the British Empire to abolish slavery.  It's kind of a big deal.  At any rate, the picnic included games and pot-luck, but also a walk down to the Meeting Tree and ceremony.  The Meeting Tree, local folklore holds, was an oak tree that served as a terminus point to the Underground Railroad, here in London (or back then, just south of London).  The tree is still standing and indeed, it is enormous and very beautiful, towering over the surrounding woods.  It has been well cared for, which probably accounts for why it still stands.  According to the City forester, it is likely 200 years old, or more.  It could certainly be a relic from that time, and even if it isn't the original Meeting Tree, it makes for an age-appropriate stand-in. 

Getting back to Radar, now, this week marks our final week with wonderful summer student, Brent.  Having him at the Museum has been a great experience.  Not only has he quickly become an able and enjoyable tour guide, he has created an exceptional draft of what we hope will become a travelling exhibit.  His research skills are outstanding and his love of language both entertaining and refreshing.  We will be very sorry to see him go, but we are deeply grateful to him for his hard work and diligence, as well as to the Young Canada Works in Heritage program for giving us the opportunity to hire him.  His last day is Friday the 16th, so why not come out and wish him good luck and make him give you the tour!  Thanks, Brent, we're going to miss you.

 

Hot times, summer in the (Forest) city

Summer conjures images of long evening walks with the kids or the dog, or both, picnics, sunbathing, fishing, baseball, but what about history?  Maybe not so much.  But it could!  We're open Thursdays as well as Fridays and Saturdays through Labour Day weekend.  And, in the mind-boggling, sidewalk-egg-frying heat, why not come in and cool off a little.  We've got air conditioning.  And history.  And there are baseball diamonds just up the hill, and a fishing hole just down the hill, and plenty of picnicking spots and walking trails.  What are you waiting for? 

And, if you happen to be in Toronto, in the neighbourhood of Queen's Park, why not go in and check out our Community Exhibits display?  We're in the company of many other fine groups and museums, such as Port Colborne and the Museum of Ontario Archaeology.  It runs right through until November. 

A snap of the CEP display at Queen's Park, Toronto.  We're thrilled to be participating. 

Happy Birthday to Us !

On this day, ten years ago, The Secrets of Radar opened its doors to the public for the first time.  Opened with the intention of sharing the almost forgotten legacy of Canadian radar ​involvement in World War II.  With a collection largely derived from the generosity of veterans and their families, made up of artefacts, photographs, documents and books, we offer a quiet place for visitors and academics to conduct research. 

The museum made it a mission to assemble and record the stories of veterans and now holds a substantial collection of oral history interviews which have formed part of the foundation for the museum's exhibitions.  The story now stretches into the height of the Cold War, gathering the stories of veterans of the early warning radar lines and NORAD. From the technology of radar to the people behind it, its military and civilian history are covered in three large exhibition spaces.  We offer outreach, tours and programs for adults and children all year long and are happy to co-operate and collaborate with other institutions and organisations.

Now, as we move toward the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, this small-but-mighty museum is poised to ​begin a renewal process that will include a travelling exhibition and a refresh and redesign of our permanent exhibits.  You can expect to hear more about these exciting endeavours in the upcoming months.

If you'd like to know more about how you can help us grow over the next decade, please visit our "Get Involved" page.

Thanks for being part of our first 10 years.  We wouldn't be here without you.​

Dr. Elizabeth Rebecca Laird

Today is International Women's Day, so in honour of the day, let's take a moment to recognise Dr. Elizabeth Laird, one of the first women working in physics and pioneer in Canadian Radar research. She was already retired from a 40-year academic career when she volunteered to assist in the University of Western Ontario's war-time Radar work in 1940. This began a further multi-year career with Western and long association with the department, finally ending with her death in 1969 at 94 years of age.

​From our People and Places exhibit:

Elizabeth Laird was born in Owen Sound, Ontario, and spent much of her youth here in London.  She graduated from the University of Toronto in 1896, but despite having been at the top of her class for three years, her graduate school scholarship applications were rejected solely because she was female.

While undertaking PhD studies at Pennsylvania's Bryn Mawr College, Laird was awarded a fellowship to study under the famous physicist Max Planck at the University of Berlin in Germany.  Although women were not formally admitted to the university at the time, Laird later recalled that, “there was no crowding in mathematics and physics, and I had no difficulty in getting permission form the different professors to attend their lectures."  Laird received her PhD from Bryn Mawr in 1901 for her work on magnetism and spectroscopy, and was hired as an assistant in the Science Department at Mount Holyoke College.  By 1904, she was promoted to Professor and made Head of the department. Over the next four decades, Laird undertook research at such distinguished schools as Cambridge, Yale, and the Universities of Chicago and Berlin.

By the time Laird retired from Mount Holyoke and returned to London in 1940, the world was at war.  Hoping to help the war effort, she walked into the Physics Department at the University of Western Ontario and asked if she could be of use. Laird's offer was gratefully accepted, and she was made part of a new team of researchers doing intensive research on radar development.  Throughout the course of the war, she played a key role in studies on antennae radiation patterns and the radiation and detection of centimetre-wavelength waves.  Laird presented several top secret reports on her findings to the National Research Council, taught army and navy personnel, and took her turn monitoring the unheated observation station on the university's campus – and refused pay for any of it.

Laird was made an Honorary Professor at UWO in 1945.  Post-war, she investigated the effects of microwave radiation on biological materials, work supported by the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation.  By the time she retired for the second  time in 1953, she was not only one of Canada's most distinguished physicists, but also the oldest.

Dr. Elizabeth Rebecca Laird died in 1969, at the age of 94.

Radar Resolutions

Image borrowed from this site, which has nothing at all to do with radar.

Image borrowed from this site, which has nothing at all to do with radar.

The year is drawing to a close and, as is traditional in Canadian society, we look to the future with an eye for betterment, improvement, enjoyment, hopes, and wishes.  Museums tend more toward vision statements, strategic planning documents, and exhibition plans rather than New Year Resolutions, but there's a nice informality to resolutions, and if you fail in achieving them, you don't lose your funding.

So, for the sake of the season, here are our Resolutions for the betterment of the museum.  In 2013:

  1. We resolve to be a more engaging museum, be it through our exhibits, our research amenities, or through social media.
  2. We resolve to make sure we give all facets of our Mandate equal weight.
  3. We resolve to become the best known "secret" in London so that we're secret in name only!
  4. We resolve to build excitement through new approaches to our subject matter.

Do you think we can do it?  It may not be easy, but we're confident.  With plans in the works to refurbish old displays and to create new content, and with ideas for building both partnerships and audiences, we think this is going to be a pretty exciting year.  As 2012 wraps up, we're anticipating that the energy and interest we've been building through the fall will take us to some fantastic new places. 

As a final thought, we'd like to take a moment to thank our volunteers for their hard work.  Norman Warnick and Roy Taylor are two of our wonderful volunteer tour guides.  Norman loves history and telling stories, bringing enthusiasm to all his tours.  Roy has been with the museum since the very beginning and is a WW2 Radar veteran able to share his own real life experiences.  Lawrence Petch has recently retired from volunteering, but his love of history and research have helped make our story that much stronger.  Thanks, Lawrence!  New volunteers Liz Myers (with her huge personality and love of organisation) and Bill Hilton (he's the guy who 'makes things go' for live demos) are happy additions to the Radar family.  Welcome!

We wish you a very safe and happy New Year's Eve and all the best for the coming year.  See you in the future!