History and city business: Kamloops museum launches pop-up site at city hall

The Kamloops Museum and Archive is leaving behind its building for a more public setting.

Staff at the city hall in Kamloops, B.C., are in the process of installing a new display. It's part of pop-up exhibit that brings museum artifacts out into the community.

"We want people to be able see what we have," said museum supervisor Julia Cyr.

History out into the community

Last year, the museum tried out a pop-up exhibit at the Tournament Capital Centre that focused on the museum's taxidermy collection. The exhibit was met with success and so the museum wanted to try another exhibit, this time to mark Canada's 150th anniversary.

"It's really about thinking about what will we be in the next 150 years from now," Cyr said.

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Curator Matt Macintosh designed the city hall exhibit. He paired text and wall-mounted photos with smaller cabinets filled with artifacts. He's hoping to catch the attention of people who are coming in to pay their bills or engage in other city business.

"Frankly, it's a little strange to come in and see these things that way and I think it opens up an entirely new set of possibilities of how people are going to understand it," he said.

"History is an extremely important tool in making sense of the present and should move along with it in terms of how it's presented," he said.

The museum hope to have more pop-up exhibits installed across Kamloops in future. Cyr hopes to choose high profile locations like the city's arena.

"It's allowing people to step outside daily lives and stop and think," said Cyr.

The exhibit on Kamloops and Canada's 150th anniversary will be displayed at city hall until the end of 2017.