A museum named The Exploration Place seems custom made to feature the famed Franklin Expedition.
Thanks to a partnership with the Gone West Productions and the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa, and direct support from Natural Resources Canada and Parks Canada, one of Canada's great stories of Arctic adventure and tragic mystery gets a special telling in Prince George.
The 19th century was not even half finished when Sir John Franklin commanded two exploratory ships - HMS Erebus and HMS Terror - in search of a Northwest Passage to allow for Europe to have an oceanic highway to Asia. That passage was in fact there but Franklin did not find it, and for more than 150 years nobody could find what happened to the captain and his ships.
Even the search for Franklin became another famed story of Arctic adventure.
Echoes In The Ice - Finding Franklin's Ship is a travelling exhibition that traces a warm line through those cold miles and dark years that finally led to the recent discovery of the sunken Erebus and Terror.
It opens to the local public at Exploration Place today.
"The discoveries of the wrecks of the Franklin Expedition ships in the Canadian north are significant archaeological and historical achievements," said Alex Benay, president and CEO of the Canada Science and Technology Museums Corp.
"We are glad to share Echoes In The Ice across the country to help Canadians learn more about the compelling story, and to help them live history as it unfolds through this exhibition."
"A significant part of our role as a regional museum is to bring national stories and exhibits to northern B.C.," said Tracy Calogheros, CEO of The Exploration Place. "Echoes in the Ice is one such story, forming a significant part of the historical tapestry of Canadian culture and lore. Don't miss the chance to learn about these early explorers and the tragic conclusion to their quest for the Northwest Passage all those years ago."
Using artifacts, images, audiovisual presentations, and art, this exhibition examines Arctic exploration past and present, profiles the explorers involved in the search for the Northwest Passage and decodes the mysteries of the Franklin Expedition of 1845, when an entire crew vanished in the Arctic during the ill-fated search.
These stories are told using artifacts such as instruments and objects dating from the same period as the Franklin Expedition, as well as contemporary scientific objects used by present-day scientists investigating the high Arctic.
The exhibition opens at 9 a.m. today and will be on display until Oct. 9.
