On behalf of the Board and Staff at MOA, I hope everyone enjoyed the best of the holiday season. We’re looking forward to an exciting year at the Museum and I wanted to take this opportunity to share what’s happening over the coming months.

The Board of Directors is looking forward to re-affirming our partnership with Western University. Since the days of Wilfrid and Amos Jury, MOA has had close ties with Western and the MOA Board is committed to maintaining a positive and productive partnership with the university. As we transition from our previous agreement (which has recently expired) to a new agreement, we are excited about the positive role the museum can play, not only at Western, but throughout Ontario.

Building on our vision to inspire the archaeologist in everyone, we are also working hard to create a welcoming and engaging environment at the museum. Deciding how we will share Ontario’s rich archaeological heritage through new exhibit development will be a major focus over the coming year. In the short term, our Curatorial staff and volunteers are continuing to refresh our exhibit spaces by incorporating rotating exhibits within the permanent gallery, updating exhibit text, partnering with students from Western University and Huron College on a number of exhibit projects, and painting various parts of the gallery. The Lawson Site is also getting some much needed attention as developing a site management plan is one of our priorities for 2016.

We are also looking forward to continuing to provide a variety of programs and workshops for students, families, and people interested in archaeology and First Nations heritage. Working with local artists, we want to provide more workshops for people interested in First Nations arts and crafts. The moccasin and drum making workshops were well received and the workshops offered during the Annual Harvest Festival and Pow Wow are always popular. We will also be offering flintknapping workshops and hope to provide opportunities for the public to participate in an archaeological excavation.

With winter weather being so unpredictable, we have changed the program for our Family Fun Day event being held on February 15th this year. While we will be keeping outdoor activities like snowshoeing and snow-snake in our back pocket in case the weather cooperates, our focus will be on indoor activities that everyone can enjoy. We are also looking forward to celebrating our 8th Harvest Festival and Pow Wow on September 17th and 18th.

Our educational programs continue to be a key focus throughout the school year and we hope to expand the programming we can offer by recruiting and training volunteers interested in being a part of outreach programs.

These are just a few of the things we are working on in our ongoing efforts to better serve our community. Our continued success is a result of the dedication and hard work not only by the museum’s staff, but as a result of the many volunteers who share their time and talents helping us inspire the archaeologist in everyone.

We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead and look forward to sharing Ontario’s archaeological heritage with you.