The Redpath Museum in Montreal is Canada's shrine to natural history
The Redpath Museum is one of the oldest museums in Canada, dating back to 1882. The historic building on the campus of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, was built as a gift from the sugar tycoon Peter Redpath.
It originally housed the collections of Sir William Dawson, the principle of McGill University at the time and noted Canadian natural scientist.
The museum is now dedicated to natural history and houses collections of interest to ethnology, biology, geology, and mineralogy. Stepping foot in this time capsule is like taking a step back in time to an old Victorian museum, full of stuffed animal heads and dinosaur bones.
This old and beautiful museum is so fascinating, it belongs in a museum.
Close to three million objects make up the eclectic collection found in this quaint three-storey museum. The most interesting include unique examples of extinct animals, fossils of the oldest known vertebrates and the second largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in Canada, including Ancient Egyptian mummies.
Another one of the most prized possessions of the museum continues to be a handwritten letter from Charles Darwin, famously known for his scientific theory of evolution.
The highlight for a lot of visitors however would easily have to be the Gorgosaurus dinosaur, which stands tall in the centre of the main gallery.
The museum is home to researchers and faculty who continue to grow the collection. The adjoining faculty offices are sometimes even open throughout the week for visitors who would like to ask questions to academics with expertise in the given field.
The striking Victorian architecture of the grey-stoned building makes the museum one of the most prominent buildings of the University and a true architectural jewel.
The architecture alone, as well as the carefully preserved relics found inside, certainly make the Redpath Museum worth a stop in for anyone visiting Montreal.
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