What Stories Can It Tell?
By: Learning Team
Who did this belong to? Why did they have it? How did they use it? Where has it been? What stories can it tell?
The objects that live in the Royal Alberta Museum’s Learning Collection provide so many opportunities to learn, explore, and discover the rich history and stories that connect our past to present. However, this collection is unique from most other museum collections – not only can you see the objects, you can also touch, smell, try on, dance in, or even play with them.
That’s right: you are welcome – even encouraged! — to get hands-on with the Learning Collection objects. Talk about a different way of experiencing the museum. You can bring history alive as you engage your senses.
Also, unlike our other collections, the history of the objects in the Adjunct Learning Collection often can be a bit of a mystery. We do not always know the whole story behind objects and artifacts – the history of who owned them or made them, when/ where/ and what they used them for, and how they relate to the history of Alberta. It’s up to us to discover what stories may reside in a particular artifact or object.
Slip your feet into a little bit of Western Canadian history by putting on a pair of blue and white Saddle Oxford shoes for example.
Our research tells us they came from the General Store in Radway, Alberta and are 56 years old. We can find them on page 185 in the 1961-1962 Eaton’s of Canada catalogue. However, that is where our research reaches an end, and your memories or imagination fill in the gaps. Who may have tried these on, or bought a pair of these shoes? Where did they wear them? Perhaps you owned a pair of these saddle shoes when you were growing up or saw your mom or grandmother wearing them in a photo? As we imagine the stories that live in these shoes, they might lead us on another step down the path to discovering the many little pieces of Alberta’s history.
