You'll soon be able to see these hidden gems at Ingenium's new storage space
Only a small fraction of artifacts at a museum are ever on display, leaving a vast trove hidden from public view. Now, the newly built Ingenium Centre is gearing up to unlock Canada's stories of science and innovation through public access to its one-of-a-kind national collection.
You might have seen the massive building next to the Science and Technology Museum – but only from the outside.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
"Inside, there are stories of Canada's innovation in science and technology history brought to life," says Christina Tessier, Ingenium President and CEO.
Ingenium oversees three national museums in Ottawa -- the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, and the Canada Science and Technology Museum. The lngenium Centre houses an exceptional collection of artifacts, a research institute, and a digital innovation lab.
It looks like a warehouse, but this is where items not normally seen by the public are stored. Museums typically can only show a fraction of their collections at any one time.
"When we think about the idea that museums generally have less than 10 per cent of their collections on display, we want to make sure that this collection is more accessible to Canadians," says Tessier.
The brand new facility will be accessible by guided tours or on special days, such as Doors Open Ottawa in June, according to Tessier.
Inside, there are cars, like a Thunderbird that was owned by Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings; a sample of the oldest water on earth, the last built steam locomotive, and the oldest book in the collection, published in 1561.
Emily Gann, Ingenium curation division director, holds a sample of billion year old water. (Peter Szperling/CTV News Ottawa)
"So this building ensures that we can preserve the collection for generations. It's purpose built. There's temperature, humidity, control," Emily Gann, director of Ingenium's curatorial division, told CTV News Ottawa during a recent media preview.
"Every artifact number has a location. So when we look up in our database, say we're looking for that locomotive that's downstairs, we can see exactly where it is in the building or if it's in the museum or if it's out on loan," says Gann. "So it's kind of broken down by weight and size. And then some of our artifact rooms are much more specialized where it's broken down by subject area so that everything that belongs in the dentistry collection, for example, can all be found in one area."
Details about how you can tour the facility will be announced by Ingenium at a later date, "It's really exciting to be able to open the doors and welcome people in like we've never been able to do," said Gann.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.’s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease’s progression.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Canucks' Soucy suspended 1 game, Zadorov fined $5,000 for post-game crosschecks on McDavid
A Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been suspended for a game and another was handed a hefty fine after a scrum broke out at the end of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.