Audio Excerpt

Believe it or not, there ARE things to do in Canmore that don’t involve mountains.  The Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre is a prime example! The museum’s roots can be traced back to 1936 when school teacher Edna Appleby gave the students an assignment.  Ms Appleby asked the students to write a letter to a foreign country requesting they send a doll dressed like the people of that country. Because of the assignment, one of the students began collecting dolls from all over the world.  Eventually she started adding other historical pieces to the collection.. Fast forward 50 years aaaand the Canmore Museum is born! The Museum has a collection of local artifacts, displays showcasing the 1988 Winter Olympics, an exhibit featuring coal mining artifacts from the Canmore mining industry and much more!  The Canmore coal mines opened in 1887 with the last shift occurring on July 13th, 1979. Time to test your math skills! How long was the mine in operation for?

So the mine was open from 1887 to 1979, how many years was it open for?

Was it, A - 92, B - 94 or C - 82?

If you answered A, 92.. That’s pretty impressive! Unless you used a calculator, then that’s just….. pure GENIUS!!! Miner’s Day is an annual event held on the Saturday closest to July 13th, the last of 33,580 days the mine was in operation… and I definitely used a calculator to figure that one out!  Miner’s Day consists of a parade featuring surviving miners and a BBQ organized by the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre!