May 18 is international museum day

International Museum Day in Jasper will celebrate adventures such as trips back in time to the early days of the fabled warden service and glimpses of Jasper’s first tourist at the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives.

May 18 is International Museum Day, a thematic celebration of the caretakers of history. The theme for this year’s day is museums and tourism, a fitting encapsulation of Jasper. 

“I think we embrace it in this town,” said Karen Byers, museum manager, of the theme for this year’s celebration. “I think we’ve got three excellent exhibits that fit that theme of tourism,” she said. “From the Earl of Southesk, the warden service, which is what we’re all about and Stan Carr. It’s just a really good fit.” 

James Carnegie, the Earl of Southesk, was Jasper’s first tourist in 1859. Although the museum didn’t know the theme for international museum day when organizing the Earl of Southesk exhibit, Byers called the coincidence “serendipitous.” 

The “two big summer exhibits” that will be open this weekend are on the warden service, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and the Stan Carr exhibit was a cowboy artist, said Byers. The Earl of Southesk exhibit, celebrating the 150th anniversary of his trip through Jasper, begins June 5, runs into September and features artifacts lent by the Royal Alberta Museum. 

The Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives was a long time in the making before it opened its doors in the early 1990s. “An amazing amount of work went into it,” said Byers. The Jasper-Yellowhead Historical Society was the driving force behind the establishment of a local museum with Jasper residents and members of the society holding artifacts in their basements until the museum was built, said Byers. 

As in the earlier days of the museum, grants and fundraising are important to the museum’s success. Most recently, the Community Spirit Grant has been an economic boon for the museum, with the province matching any private donations, which is a “real shot in the arm for us,” said Byers. To make a donation, contact the museum at 780-852-3013. 

There will be half-price admission on International Museum Day with the doors open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.