The Green Legacy travelling exhibit

in Canada

Barbara McKean and Laurel McIvor

Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton, Canada

Today’s presentation:

Goals

Virtual Tour of exhibit

Successful partnerships

Key elements to funding

Exhibit development

Travelling logistics

Lessons learned

Primary goals of exhibit:

Promote the importance of native plants and associated research

Engage Canadians across the country

Encourage partnerships between botanical gardens, museums and community organisations

Multi-functional Approach

Exhibit will travel for 4 years and then become a part of a permanent exhibit at new educational centre Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton (anticipated opening in 2006)

A virtual tour….

Series of modular exhibits:

Home and Native Landscape

Plants as symbols of national identity- flags, coins, stamps

Native Canadian Maple Trees

Map of Canadian ecoregions and typical vegetation

Provincial floral emblems

Interactive puzzle

Native Plants Create a Sense of Place

Native Plants Attract Native Animals

Interrelations of plants and animals

Plant communities as habitats

Native Plants at Risk

Species at Risk: status and recovery planning Invasive Species - threats and management “Green Gardening” techniques for naturalised,

wildlife and organic gardens

Economic Importance of Plants Yearly economic value of

Canadian plants Monetary value of wild plants Wood variety, products and

uses Commercial medicines and

products from Canadian plants

Basic Botany & Botanical Trivia

Parts of a plant

Pollination

Adaptation

Seeds & dispersal

Wall of Fame

Botanical Pursuits Canadians working for

plants

Plant research

Botanist of the Future

Careers in Botany

Local Connections

Examples of Native Plants

Plant and seed sources/ suppliers

related organisations

Partners Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton:

Education and Science Departments

Canadian Museum of Nature: Botany, Education and Exhibit Design Departments

Canadian Botanical Conservation Network

Design & Content Contractors

Elements of Successful Partnership

RBG: Access to grant money, botanical and interpretation expertise

CMN: Access to exhibit design expertise & experience with travelling exhibits

CBCN: Regional contribution and reviews

Contractors: exhibit develop expertise and dedicated time available

Key Elements of Financing: Good track record with funding

organisation

Project divided into 3 phases (years) : design and content, construction, travelling component infrastructure

Logical for same funding organisation to continue project for all three phases, but saleable to others as well

Knowledgeable and efficient contractor

Exhibit Development Several planning sessions

Broad expertise from partners

Contractor drafted the text

Complementary community workshops organised by host

Programming component is linked to school curriculum

Text is bilingual, space is limited

More detailed information on web site

Travelling Logistics Site inspections to consider variety of

space available

Considered insurance and travelling logistics

Exhibit is ideal for 1500 ft² - flexible to room shape (only one wall component)

Specially designed to be self-crating

Elements of Success “Very few exhibits about plants: great to

have one available”

Interactive components are very popular

Travelling logistics are working well

Exhibit is creating a demand for local native plant gardening expertise and related contacts

Lessons Learned

Expensive to ship (heavy)

Too large for most botanical gardens

Complementary workshops aren’t happening very often - need for follow-up

Value of web site is questionable, don’t have a dedicated web editor

For more information visit our web site:

www.rbg.ca/greenlegacy

Thank you!