Ingrid Birker has done many guided tours of the Redpath Museum, but one recent group stands out.
In October 2019 the Museum welcomed a group consisting of 33 individuals living in Montreal without papers or status. After a brief introduction, Birker asked if anyone in attendance had been to a museum before. No one raised their hand.
Assisted by social workers who provided translation into French, Spanish and Arabic, the question was repeated. Still no one raised their hand.
“That's when it became clear to me that this was a whole new kind of audience that I'd never had before,” says Birker, who has overseen the Museum's Public Program and Education for over 30 years. That day was their first time seeing skeletons and taxidermy, and “it was truly an eye-opening experience for everyone.”
Completed in 1882 and located in the heart of McGill’s downtown campus, the Redpath Museum is the oldest building in Canada built as a museum. It functions as an academic unit of McGill, but the University does not finance its public initiatives. “All our academic activities, such as courses and research, are completely covered. But if we want to do something for the general public, that is not.”
Examples of these initiatives range from installing coat racks and baby-changing tables to providing meaningful visits for those who would otherwise be unable to participate. Highlights from 2019 included hosting interactive workshops for young adults on the autism spectrum, giving presentations to those with mental disabilities at Montreal’s C.A.R.E Centre, and staging family workshops for new Canadians. The Museum served over 500 such participants this past year, but “we get a lot of requests – from under-served communities and those with special needs – and we can't accommodate them all,” says Birker. “We simply don’t have the funds.”
The Museum’s charter dictates that it remains free and open to all, so the Museum relies on donations to subsidize its community programming. Support comes in many forms – Redpath’s Geological garden was funded by an adopt-a-rock campaign in 2005, gifts to The McGill Fund can be directed to the Museum, and a recent Seeds of Change crowdfunding project will fund over 200 children from Sun Youth and the Welcome Collective to participate in Redpath events over the 2019-2020 academic year.
Birker is deeply appreciative of the Museum’s donors. “They believe in the place and what it can offer.” Supporters help make awe-inspiring moments happen every day, and “it has been so satisfying to be able to accommodate such a large variety of visitors.”
The Redpath Museum is open daily. Learn more.