{"id":19414,"date":"2017-06-09T00:00:30","date_gmt":"2017-06-09T04:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=19414"},"modified":"2017-06-09T12:34:56","modified_gmt":"2017-06-09T16:34:56","slug":"ottawa-museum-showcases-canadian-scouting-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2017\/06\/09\/ottawa-museum-showcases-canadian-scouting-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa museum showcases Canadian Scouting history"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The Scouts Canada headquarters, Home to the Scouts Canada National Museum. Photo: James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

Ottawa is home to many national museums, but there\u2019s one that\u2019s lesser known, but just as important.\u00a0 The Scouts Canada National Museum is located at\u00a0the headquarters of Scouts Canada at 1345 Baseline Road in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean. \u00a0Scouts Canada is the country\u2019s largest youth organization and has over 61,000 members.\u00a0 It was established in 1914 as a direct descendant of the Boy Scouts started in Britain by Lord Robert Baden Powell (“BP”) in 1907.\u00a0 Boy Scouts of Canada began allowing girls to join its various divisions nearly 30 years ago and does not discriminate based on religion or sexual orientation.\u00a0 Scouts Canada operates in both English and French, but a partner organization called the Association des Scouts du Canada also serves French-speaking youth.\u00a0 Both organizations are part of the World Scouting Federation which Boy Scouts of America is also part of.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A Canadian Boy Scout Uniform that looks like it’s from the 1950s. Photo: James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

The museum in Ottawa contains thousands of items from Canada\u2019s Scouting past.\u00a0 For anyone who grew up in Scouting in some form or another, it\u2019s a bit of a trip down memory lane.\u00a0 I was a Beaver, a Wolf Cub, and a Venturer at various points in my childhood.\u00a0 Beavers are for ages five to seven, and seeing one of their little brown vests and floppy hats on display took me back to weekly meetings in the elementary school gymnasium or the annual \u201cBeaveree\u201d that was held in a local park.\u00a0 I saw a Wolf Cub uniform that was the same as the one I had, and it was a hand-me-down my grandmother still had stored away from when my uncle used it.\u00a0 The Venturer uniforms and related materials from the 1990s were a more recent memory, but it was difficult to accept that items from the 1990s are now in a museum.<\/p>\n

\"Memorabilia<\/a>

Memorabilia from Scouts Canada’s Cold-War era activities in West Germany. Photo: James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

Leaders in all walks of Canadian life were involved in Scouting at some time.\u00a0 There are amusing photos in the museum of politicians, military officers, and astronauts with toothy childhood smiles wearing their Scouting uniforms.\u00a0 Canadian Scouting has had an international presence too.\u00a0 During the Cold War, Boy Scout Troops for the sons of military personnel on Canadian bases in Europe existed.\u00a0 A Scouts Canada troop also existed in Washington D.C. at the Canadian Embassy.<\/p>\n

\"Harry<\/a>

Harry Jones, a Scout Leader from Ottawa, operates the amateur radio station at the Scouts Canada National Museum. Photo: James Morgan<\/p><\/div>\n

Jamborees are a big part of Scouting.\u00a0 The museum contains memorabilia from local ones, but also the national Canadian Jamborees \u201cCJ\u2019s\u201d that attract thousands of Scouts from across the country.\u00a0 13 of these have been held since 1949.\u00a0 Canada also hosted the 1955 and 1983 World Scout Jamborees.\u00a0 Learning skills are a big part of Scouting too.\u00a0 The museum gives attention to all of the traditional outdoors-related merit badges and skills, but it also shows how Scouting has adapted to the changing lifestyles and skills young people have adopted over the decades.<\/p>\n

The Scouts Canada National Museum is an interesting and nostalgic stop for anyone who grew up in Scouting.\u00a0 It\u2019s also a good way to learn about an institution that has been a big part of Canadian communities and families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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