UPDATED AUGUST 11: The Museum is soft re-opening starting Thursday, August 13 with new visitor guidelines and hours.
We've missed you and are excited to share the news that Museum London will be soft reopening on Thursday, August 13!
Please click the Visitor Guidelines button above for the full information you need to know before your visit. We will keep this full page of activities here so you can keep using these resources and engaging with #MuseumLDN from home. We hope to see you soon!
NEW Public Hours for Museum and The Shop at Museum London
Thursday to Sunday
11:00 am to 12:00 pm for seniors (65+)
12:00 pm to 5:00 pm for general public
- There is no timed ticketing so just come when it suits you during our open hours.
- Museum admission, as always, is by donation.
- Please remember to wear your face mask when you enter Museum London and keep it on while you visit. Mandatory mask wearing is a City of London bylaw for all visitors in indoor public spaces with the exception of children under the age of twelve and those with medical exemptions.
- For your safety, Museum London would like to retain a record of your visit. Please voluntarily supply your name and email address at the information desk, or online. Museum London will only share your personal information if requested by the Middlesex-London Health Unit, in order to assist with COVID-19 contact tracing.
- We also recommend using Health Canada’s COVID Alert app.
- Questions? Concerns? Please call visitor services at 519-661-0333 or email ebainbridge@museumlondon.ca
Summer Art Kits
We’re bringing the magic of our summer camps to your home this year! Our weekly Art Kits are like a camp-in-a-box loaded with a variety of educational, fun, and inspirational activities. Enjoy the activities at your own pace, on your own time, with the added option to meet our experienced arts educators online for live discussions, games, and art-making.
Virtual Tours
Take a look around the Museum using your phone or computer!
Taking the Long View: The Museum London Art Collection, from its Beginning to Today
Join us for a four-minute virtual exhibition tour with an introduction by Cassandra Getty, our Curator of Art. We'll be taking you on a guided walkthrough of our permanent collection exhibition Taking the Long View and highlighting key works.
Watch on Facebook.
Read about the exhibition here.
Dean Carson
We're taking you upstairs to look at our solo exhibition by Windsor, Ontario-based artist Dean Carson.
Watch on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Read about the exhibition here.
100 Years of Nursing Education in London
Go on a guided tour of our Nursing exhibition with our Curator of Regional History, Amber Lloydlangston. This exhibition celebrates Western University's 100 years of nursing education and London's almost 140 years as a centre of nursing education.
Watch on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Read about the exhibition here.
Museum Stories: James Kirkpatrick
Take a look at our first “Museum Stories” video about London artist and musician James Kirkpatrick. Tour through his studio, learn about his process, see the art on his walls, and check out his surfboard collection! Watch on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Museum Stories: Ron Benner
Enjoy our new video about local artist Ron Benner and his fifteen-year-old garden installation at the Museum, As the Crow Flies. As we get later into the season, you'll find tomatoes, squash, corn, jalapeños, and amaranth all growing among the flowers, fish, frogs, and toads populating the pond with the water lilies and other water plants. Watch on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube.
View our Art Collection Online
Our art collection is more than 5,000 works strong, many of which you can view in our online collection by clicking here.
Online Programming
Museum Puzzles
We're sharing works from our collection as online jigsaw puzzles! They're great for a quick break or to get your brain going in the morning. Click HERE for all our puzzles.
Art and History @ Home
This new series of programming is focused on art, history, and relaxation activities for all ages! For children's programming, see below for our Imagination Station @ Home series.
Art and History @ Home: Owls With the return of warmer weather we are looking at the art of Kenojuak Ashevak and her cheery “Sun Owl With Foliage”. Listen to Ashevak talk about her art, learn how Inuit stone cut prints are made, and watch a soothing time lapse video of a never-setting arctic sun.
Art and History @ Home: Flowers We're feeling floral this week and our activities include a calming flower memory game, films about tulips and Georgia O'Keefe, our #BetweenArtandQuarantine social media challenge, and more!
Art and History @ Home: Birds and Words This week we are inspired by spring, and in particular the happy warble of birds you can hear through the window. We have a painting of birds, free tutorials, plus art and bird-inspired ways to calm down with.
Imagination Station @ Home
While we're temporarily closed, we've created a new series of children's programming so families can continue doing arts an crafts with us!
Imagination Station @ Home: Owls It’s getting warm this week so we thought we’d look at a sunny owl from the arctic made by Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak. She is one of Canada’s most beloved artists and is especially known for her drawings of owls.
Imagination Station @ Home: Spring Flowers This week we are inspired by the arrival of spring and the big, bright flowers opening all over London. Click HERE for fun and flowery children's activities and a reading of the story “My Name is Georgia” by Jeanette Winter about the artist Georgia O’Keefe.
Imagination Station @ Home: Sudsy Soap This week we are inspired by our exhibition about Nurses: 100 Years of Nursing Education in London. From hand-washing songs to bubble blowing we explore the fun side of playing with soap. While we are all at home keeping safe and healthy, nurses and health care workers around the world are going to work every day to help people during the pandemic. We are all so grateful! Click HERE
Imagination Station @ Home: Birds This week is all about birds! Take a break, try birdwatching, draw birds, and make bird crafts! Click HERE
Imagination Station @ Home: Florence Nightingale This year is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing! Learn about her history HERE (via National Geographic Kids) and then do this fun crossword HERE to apply what you've just learned. Florence's contributions shaped our healthcare system today and London's own nursing history that is on display in our exhibition 100 Years of Nursing Education in London.
Imagination Station @ Home: Easter Get ideas from these arts-inspired eggs HERE (via My Modern Met). Colour or create your own Zendoodle egg with these colouring pages (via WorkingMom.com) and try this Easter puzzle online (via Jigsaw Planet).
Interactive Resources
Discover London Art: Digital Stories
Watch three short videos about London artists and their art: trailblazing London female artists, Paul Peel, and Greg Curnoe. After each video, you can test your knowledge with an online quiz, view an online exhibition, learn about the elements and principles discussed, and create your own artwork.
cARTography
This interactive map plots out works from our permanent collection onto the location depicted in each work. It's a great way to see the breadth of the Museum's collection on a local, national, and international scale.
Visible Storage
Originally created to accompany a previous exhibition, this project gives you greater access to our permanent collection with beautiful images of the artwork alongside in-depth artist biographies.
Online Lectures
Culture Club "Adventures with Ephemera"
Jonathan Vance, Historian
February 2017
“Ephemera” refers to documents and artifacts, often produced in great numbers—menus, advertisements, brochures, product premiums, greeting cards, handbills—that were not intended to be permanent. Join Professor Jonathan Vance to learn more about the ephemera that was produced in Canada during the two world wars, what we can learn from it, and how it can be preserved.
Culture Club "From Test Tubes to Paint Tubes: The Art of Sir Frederick Banting"
Grant Maltman, Curator, Banting House
January 2017
Frederick Banting’s name is synonymous with the cure for diabetes, but rarely is it associated with art-making. During the summer of 1920, Banting was in desperate need of a distraction, and a renewed interest in painting freed him from the worries of his personal and professional life. Curator Grant Maltman’s talk From Test Tubes to Paint Tubes traces the integral role art played in Banting’s life, from his period in London, Ontario (1920-21) until his death in Newfoundland (1941). Brought to you by the Seniors Community Grant Program.
Culture Club "Well Preserved: The Legends of London's Preservation Movement"
Mike Baker, Historian
September 2016
Meet the legends of London’s preservation movement with former Museum London Curator of Regional History, Mike Baker. London’s museums started in the barns, basements, and attics of some very dedicated collectors. Who were they and where are their collections today? Brought to you by the Seniors Community Grant Program.
Resources and Fun Links
Arts-specific resources (emergency funding, collaboration, digital learning) via The Canadian Network for Arts & Learning
Daily online pen and paper drawing tutorials on Instagram Live via Wendy MacNaughton
Collection of free and downloadable colouring books via The New York Academy of Medicine
List of London virtual experiences and open businesses via Tourism London
List of open downtown London businesses via Downtown London
Free independent and classic arthouse films (three month trial) via Hyland Cinema
10 Binge-Worthy Art Podcasts in the Age of Coronavirus via The New York Times
List of virtual tours of Canadian museums via CTV News
Supplementary resources for elementary and secondary students via Government of Ontario
Municipal news, financial relief, and city services via City of London