Curating the Story Museum: A Resource for EducatorsMain MenuIntroduction to Curating the Story MuseumBy Naomi Hamer and Ann Marie MurnaghanProject DescriptionProject DescriptionCurating the Story MuseumSummary Video of the ProjectUndergraduate and Graduate Research Assistants Research OutputsResearch Assistant CollaborationsUrban Children's BooksBy Quentin StuckeyMuseums during COVID-19: Opportunities for engagementResearched and written by Dana MitchellChildren's Museum and Story Sites in the Greater Toronto Area, Past and PresentBy Sabrina Pavelic, with Helena Wright and Elizabeth TherouxReviewing Dr. SeussBy Sabrina PavelicThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage CentreBy C. GunnExhibit reviews from our undergraduate collaboratorsReviews from Dr. Hamer's English 910: English Capstone SeminarResearch OutputsBook Chapter and Journal Articles produced over the course of the project.The hybrid exhibits of the story museum: The child as creative artist and the limits to hands-on participationBy Naomi Hamer (2019) Museum and Society, 17(3), 390-403.Exploring the Museum at Night: Young people’s Agency and Citizenship in Museum-Related Children’s Literature and ProgrammingBy Naomi Hamer and Ann Marie Murnaghan. In The Role of the Child as Citizen: Agency and Activism in Children’s Literature and Culture, edited by Giuliana Fenech. University of Mississippi Press.Global Children's MuseumsArt, Story and PlayAcknowledgementsSpecial thanks to all our CollaboratorsResources for ResearchCollection of Documents in this EbookAnn Marie Murnaghan and Naomi Hamer081b9a890206e558011a8c3bc15a99df3910cbdf
Ontario Place
12024-02-24T11:09:30-05:00Ann Marie Murnaghan and Naomi Hamer081b9a890206e558011a8c3bc15a99df3910cbdf1274Toronto, Ontariogoogle_maps2024-03-07T10:25:54-05:0043.62833849889776, -79.4154907309187643.628354030617, -79.41544781557351Ann Marie Murnaghan and Naomi Hamer081b9a890206e558011a8c3bc15a99df3910cbdf
Children’s Village (1972–2002)
The Children’s Village at Ontario Place opened in 1972, a year after the exhibition had already opened its doors. Reportedly, Ontario Place director, James Ramsay, turned to the eventual Children’s Village designer Eric McMillan and asked him what he thought about the exhibition. McMillan bluntly stated that it was “boring” (Hune-Brown The Guardian “From ball pits to water slides”). With the mission in mind to bring to life an area for kids, McMillan set about his task at designing one of the most popular children’s play sites in Canada. A former attendee of the Children’s Village in the 1980s, Edward Keenan remembers that the idealized dreams and goals for making this unique space fun and engaging have “at least sometimes been made into reality” (Keenan Toronto Star “Ontario Place planners could learn something from the Children’s Village of the 1970s and ’80s”). The Children’s Village’s now infamous designer, Eric McMillan, is credited with inventing the world’s first ever ball pit where it was implemented for the first time at Ontario Place’s Children’s Village. If that doesn’t say something about the innovation and success of the former Children’s Village, then I’m not sure what does.
Eric McMillan, Children’s Village Designer, INVENTED the first ever ball pit
Ontario Place is known as a place of the past. Its glory days feel far away from children and adults since the 2000s. The theme-park/exhibition waterfront property closed its doors for revitalization in 2012, with initial projections to reopen in 2017. In 2021, the park is still in revitalization proceedings as the Ontario government looks to bring it back to its glory days from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. In order to bring the grounds back to its innovative and captivating entertainment from the past, it appears that today’s designers should look to the past. The Children’s Village (1972–2002) was one of the most popular attractions at Ontario Place during its operation. If the 2021 grounds had plans to bring a kid-friendly playground area and space integrated closely with the park’s current events and attractions, perhaps it could bring to light some of the excitement from the past. Today, Ontario Place hosts a drive-in theatre, segway tours, sea doo and jet ski tours, as well as a music festival. The Budweiser Stage has continued to act as an event for live music and entertainment, but what can we expect now from this past oasis of fun and entertainment?
Themes/Histories/Interesting Elements:
Their dining hall/events venue where they host weddings and proms is beautiful! It overlooks the water and you can see the CN tower in the background so it makes for a really picturesque location for formal events
12024-02-24T11:19:22-05:00Ann Marie Murnaghan and Naomi Hamer081b9a890206e558011a8c3bc15a99df3910cbdfChildren's Museum and Story Sites in the Greater Toronto Area, Past and PresentAnn Marie Murnaghan and Naomi Hamer5By Sabrina Pavelic, with Helena Wright and Elizabeth Therouxgoogle_maps2024-03-07T10:31:15-05:00Ann Marie Murnaghan and Naomi Hamer081b9a890206e558011a8c3bc15a99df3910cbdf