Virtual Museum of Sudbury

The City of Greater Sudbury Heritage Museum and Virtual Museum Web Site

The Greater Sudbury Heritage Museum evolved from four existing museums during the process which created the City of Greater Sudbury. 
 
The museums, Anderson Farm Museum, Copper Cliff Museum, Flour Mill Museum and the Rayside-Balfour Heritage Site represented the histories of the communities which created them, the Town of Walden, the Town of Copper Cliff, the City of Sudbury and the Town of Rayside-Balfour. These sites, each with their own unique story are the building blocks in preserving and presenting our community's heritage.  While there is much more to the history of Sudbury than mining, the role of the mineral industry in the development of the Sudbury Region is a prominent component of the Greater Sudbury Heritage Museum.   

The new museum functions as a single entity, governed by a Citizen's Advisory Board appointed by City Council and exists as section of the City of Greater Sudbury Public Library.

The City of Greater Sudbury is a vast entity sprawling across 3,300 square kilometers of northern Ontario. The history of the area and the city encompasses some of the most significant themes in the history of the province and the country.

Our challenge was, and is, to deliver educational and interesting information about the history of the community across this area. It was recognized very early on that a physical presence that would be easily accessible across such an area would be impossible.  Assisted by FedNor Canada, the Province of Ontario, the City of Greater Sudbury, and E-Sudbury.com, we have been able to develop an interactive website detailing the unique histories of each of the communities which make up our great city.

Using text, images and audio/visual components, citizens are taken back into the collective memory of the community.

Each of the ten sections of the website offer valuable information about specific parts of the museum. Beginning with our mission statement, and policies, visitors will learn about why we exist, and what our values are. Descriptions and images of our physical museum sites, introduce visitors to how we exhibit the history of the community and provide educational programming across the city. Our digital collection section showcases not only our three-dimensional artifacts, but also allows the visitor to view thousands of images in our digital photographic collection.   

The site offers a valuable resource for the examination of the history of the development of each of the seven former Regional Municipalities of Sudbury. Sections within each of these histories offer a wide range of topics depicting the development of the community. These topics are supplemented with recommended resources for further study.

Special feature sections allow our children to enjoy local history and keep the site fresh with "Today in History" and "Featured Artifacts." A vital feature allows the site user to contact the curator with specific requests and comments.

Give us a try:  
www.sudburymuseums.ca