Covid-19 Update
The Chatham-Kent Museum team offers each visitor an enjoyable, and most importantly, safe, experience. We have introduced enhanced safety measures in line with COVID-19 public health guidelines. These include, but are not limited to, regular cleaning and disinfection, passive screening of patrons, and promoting and facilitating patron hand hygiene.
Please be advised:
- The use of hand sanitizer is required prior to entering the exhibit space and exiting.
- By entering, you acknowledge and agree on behalf of yourself and those for whom you are a parent or guardian, that as an indoor facility the use of this building may include possible exposure to and illness from infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and you freely assume all such risks.
Before you visit, we ask that each member of your party complete the Ontario Ministry of Health self-assessment for COVID-19. If you are not feeling well, please visit another day.
Welcome
The Chatham-Kent Museum is part of the Arts + Culture division of the Municipality of Chatham-Kent. Located at the
Chatham Cultural Centre, 75 William Street North, Chatham, Ontario
.
The CK Museum and Imagination Station is open Wednesday to Sunday 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. Open to 7:00 pm on Thursdays! Admission by donation.
Event
After Hours at the CK Museum - All Hallows Eve
Friday, October 27, 2023 | 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm | Cost: $30 | Ages: 19 and up
Studio One, Chatham Cultural Centre, CK Museum, Milner Heritage House
Celebrate Halloween with a little scare and a lot of fun at the After Hours at the CK Museum – Adults Only All Hallows' Eve party. Join us for an evening of drinks, dancing and treats and a little history lesson as we explore the Milner Heritage House at night and learn how death, dying and the disturbing shaped the lives of Victorians.
Register for After Hours - All Hallows Eve
Exhibition
80 in 80: 1943-2023
Celebrating 8 Decades of Collecting Chatham-Kent History
Opens September 27, 2023
The Chatham-Kent Museum is pleased to announce the opening of 80 in 80: 1943-2023, an exhibition to mark 80 years of building and preserving our local history collection.
Explore a display of eighty artifacts highlighting the breadth and depth of history to be found in the Chatham-Kent Museum collection. See the Gray-Dort motor car – certified as Canadian Cultural Property – an authentic Titanic menu card, the fossilized remains of a prehistoric creature, a baseball signed by a member of Chatham Coloured All-Stars team, and so much more!
Discover more about our local history on the shelves of Out in the Open, a visible artifact storage area in the exhibition galleries of the museum. Visitors can grab a flashlight and peruse almost five thousand artifacts from the museum's three-dimensional artifact collection. To complement these exhibits, the professional staff of the Chatham-Kent Museum offers a variety of curriculum-based school programs, public programs, and special events.
Imagination Station is a hands-on interactive space found on the second floor of the museum. Something fun for everyone, including adults! New and fun interactives have been added to the Imagination Station, such as light cubes, a LEGO wall and so much more.
The museum also maintains an archival collection that includes several extensive local photograph collections, which is popular with genealogists, authors, researchers and students.
Come and explore Chatham-Kent's rich history with us!
Programs
We provide a variety of engaging programs, tours and special events throughout the year for people of all ages that pertain to the museum's mandate, collection, as well as its exhibits for CK Museum, Ridge House Museum and Milner Heritage House.
Museum Programs
Lectures
Kent Historical Society (KHS)
October 17, 2023 | 7:30 pm Studio One, Chatham Cultural Centre
You may remember Paul Allen from the presentation he did a few years ago, on his book When Tobacco Was King. Paul certainly lets no moss grow under his feet, and he's making the trek from Ottawa this time to tell us about his new book. Here is the summary he gave us:
Paul Allen - a former two-time London Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) All Star and past Chatham resident, will speak about his book, Bright Lights Black Stars October 17, for the Kent Historical Society. Attendees will learn the history of Canada's oldest baseball league, the IBL, founded in 1919, and the story of London's Labatt Memorial Park, the world's oldest baseball field which is featured on the cover of the book.
Allen's presentation is a wonderful baseball journey which follows Negro League players, other selected players, and teams who played in competitive games in the IBL's Glory Years, 1949-1958, when the best of the best played in front of large crowds. Chatham Barnstormers will enter this historic League in the 2024 season.
November 21, 2023 | 7:30 pm Studio One, Chatham Cultural Centre
A relatively new member of the KHS, but a long-time historian and collector, Steve Bellinger is going to select a few items from his collection of postcards, and bring them in to tell us about them, and perhaps about how he came to possess the card. And if you say to yourself, "It's just postcards", think again. You will definitely see some postcards you have never seen before.
Virtual Exhibition
Let Us March on Till Victory Is Won: The Struggle for Racial Equity in CK and Ontario is now live! This virtual exhibit traces the courageous story of the National Unity Association's crusade for justice and their determination to end practices of segregation within Chatham-Kent and Ontario, and the ongoing fight for equality in Canada.
This exhibition was produced by the Chatham-Kent Museum in partnership with the following organizations:
- Buxton Museum
- Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site, Ontario Heritage Trust
- Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society & Black Mecca Museum
- Buxton's Next Generation
The original artwork in this exhibition was created by Mariah Alexander.
View Let Us March On till Victory is Won Virtual Exhibit
Information & Services
The Chatham-Kent Museum looks forward to seeing you. Here is further information to help you plan your visit.
Hours:
Wednesday to Sunday 11:00 am - 4:00 pm; Open to 7:00 pm on Thursdays
Contact Information:
Admission:
Tour Groups:
- The Chatham-Kent Museum welcomes bus tours, church, school, and special interest groups year-round by appointment. Please call or email at least 3 weeks in advance to book your tour. Cost: $5.00/person (minimum $50/tour).
Parking:
- Parking is provided free of charge. There are two parking lots; the largest one is located on William Street North and the other is on Murray Street.
Accessibility:
- All exhibits are wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair-accessible washrooms are located in the museum itself as well as in the main lobby of the Chatham Cultural Centre. Access to the use of a wheelchair during your visit is available.
Amenities:
The Chatham-Kent Museum is equipped with many amenities to make your visit with us enjoyable:
- The museum is climate controlled for your comfort and for the protection of our artifacts.
- Enjoy the many picnic areas, located across the street in beautiful Tecumseh Park.
- There is a bus stop located near the Chatham Cultural Centre parking lot on Murray Street. The main downtown bus terminal is located within walking distance from the Chatham Cultural Centre.
- Washrooms are located in the museum.
Advisory Committee
This committee's primary responsibilities are to ensure that the collection entrusted to the museum's care is adequately housed, conserved and documented. Visit Committees of Council for meeting schedule, agendas and minutes.
Collections
A collection of artifacts or archival materials is the foundation for every museum. The Chatham-Kent Museum collection includes approximately 12,000 three-dimensional objects, over 1,000 natural science specimens, and over 100,000 photographic images, documents, and correspondence as well as a substantial art collection. These artifacts and archival materials are the basis of museum exhibitions, research, and programming.
Over 10,000 images from the Chatham-Kent Museum photograph and postcard archive and over 1,500 artifacts from the collection can be viewed online in the image database www.vitacollections.ca/ckmuseums.
Research
The Chatham-Kent Museum collection of artifacts and archival materials, as well as research and reference items, may include valuable information for your research. Please contact the museum with your research enquiry. Reproductions of archival materials may be acquired by following How to Obtain Reproductions.
Researchers can access the Kent Regiment IODE Books of Remembrance from the Chatham-Kent Museum collection on the online CK veteran database www.gatheringourheroes.ca.
Volunteers
The museum is committed to providing meaningful volunteer opportunities including advisory committee member, curatorial assistant, museum attendant or program assistant. To learn more about these positions or the recruitment process, please contact the museum.
