The Canadian Museum of Human Rights

The following day we decided to visit the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. What an incredible museum…I have goose bumps just thinking about it.

We began our visit with a one hour guided tour which gave us a sampling of the museums’s exhibits. A man by the name of Israel Asper had a dream of building this museum in Canada….he had taken an interest in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC and wanted to bring something like it to his own country. Unfortunately he passed away before it was completed. The Asper Family was and still is a major benefactor of the museum. “As a proud and grateful Canadian, Asper wanted to create a place where Canadians, and especially young Canadians, could learn about human rights and the importance of protecting these rights. The Museum can be seen as the culmination of his life’s achievements. Asper thought Canada should have a place where students could learn about a broad spectrum of human rights issues from a Canadian perspective. In 2008, the Government of Canada established the Canadian Museum for Human Rights to explore the subject of human rights, with special but not exclusive reference to Canada.” On our tour we visited exhibits dealing with “What are Human Rights”, “Indigenous Perspectives”, “Canadian Journeys”, “Protecting Rights in Canada”, “Examining the Holocaust”, “Turning Points for Humanity”, “Breaking the Silence”, and “Actions Count”. There was also a Garden of Contemplation which gave people a chance to contemplate this museum experience.

Our experience was just a quick overview of the museum for the little time we had, but it had moved us deeply. We were very fortunate that we visited when we did since their new exhibit on Nelson Mandela had just opened and we were able to see it as well.

The last thing we did was visit the Israel Asper Tower of Hope which was most fitting I think… (the tower is equivalent to a 23 story building and offers a panoramic view of the surrounding area)

What better way to end our experience than with Hope!