It's in your gift cards and maybe even your transit pass. It's starting to appear on your phone. How far is it going to go?

Decoding E-Money is a travelling exhibition from the Bank of Canada Museum that explores the past, present and future of electronic money and electronic payment systems. While raising awareness of e-money, this exhibition also helps visitors understand the possible effects of the widespread use of one form of e-money: digital currency.

“We have brought this travelling exhibit to Lethbridge with the hope to broaden the understanding of digital currencies,” says Galt Museum & Archives’ Curator Aimee Benoit, “by inviting users to experience this exhibition through a fun and compelling hands-on context.”

Decoding E-money explores the voyage of your dollars from purchase to deposit through various traditional and e-payment systems. Learn about a whole new kind of money as cutting-edge graphics and fun, interactive displays introduce you to the high-tech intricacies of Bitcoin and other web-based currencies. Explore more than 60 artifacts covering the way Canadians have spent their money over the course of 200 years. From trading tokens to the most recent precursors of today’s e-money, these artifacts at one time challenged our notions of acceptance much the way that Bitcoin challenges us today.

The exhibit includes games that help players experiment with and understand more deeply the philosophies and principles behind various e-money transaction tools from credit and debit cards, to cryptocurrencies and blockchain. One of the aspects that games will underline is the intense competition involved in verifying and completing digital transactions so they become permanent and unchangeably embedded in a public transaction record. The technology that enables this form of decentralized currency has the potential to bring fundamental change to existing financial systems and is of great interest to the Bank of Canada and other central banks.

“Decoding E-Money is a timely exhibition that explores a function of modern society that is becoming ever more prevalent in our everyday lives.” Says Benoit “We’re excited to explore this topic with our community.”

Guest curated by Tyler Stewart

This exhibition looks at how music has helped to bring our community together over the past century. Guest curator Tyler Stewart has knowledge, passion and a network which he has brought together with rich artifacts and stories from the Galt collections. “From Pianos to Power Chords” shines a spotlight on some of the individuals from southwestern Alberta who have influenced our music history.

Visitors will learn more about people such as Anne Campbell, who created an all-girls choir that toured across Canada and overseas; her grand piano will be on exhibit. Visitors will also get to appreciate more contemporary award-winning musical figures like Corb Lund and Leeroy Stagger.

Development of this exhibit involved over 100 community members who contributed to the content through surveys, interviews and social media engagement. Those memories also helped create the one-of-a-kind, “band map” hand-lettered by local artist Eric Dyck that illustrates the diverse interpersonal connections in Lethbridge’s local music scene.

The content of this exhibit creates a diverse story of the history of music in southwestern Alberta. “This is an important exhibit for the Galt Museum, as this community has a very long, vibrant, and diverse musical history”, says Galt Museum & Archives Curator, Aimee Benoit.

There are also several interactive components at listening stations that visitors of all ages will enjoy. People will really connect with and have fun with this exhibit, From Pianos to Power Chords.

A travelling exhibit from the Canadian Museum of History

The exhibit invites children ages 5 to 12 to learn about the many celebrations that are practiced in their own communities. Although unique to a particular country, culture or religion, celebrations bring families and communities together. From large groups of people gathering for a day of festivities to a special moment in a child’s everyday life, it is through these joyous and important occasions that children and families discover and appreciate the traditions of diverse cultures.

Everyone loves a special occasion — be it Thanksgiving, the Chinese New Year, the Jewish celebration Hanukkah, Toonik Tyme in Iqaluit or Canada Day — what better way to appreciate the diversity of celebrations in Canada than through Kids Celebrate!. The exhibition is divided into four zones, each evoking a different season, family and community setting. Children can learn more about the many celebrations that Canadians enjoy throughout the year – from food, music, decorations and games, to the values of giving, sharing and hope for the future.

Thanks in part to financial support for Canadian Heritage, Lethbridge children and their families will feel a sense of connection to other Canadian families and communities as they identify differences and similarities among traditions, and will come to understand the global nature of celebrating. Young visitors will engage in hands-on activities, discover new games, make crafts, and take on new roles that will stimulate their curiosity and motivate them to explore the many aspects of celebrations in Canada.

Welcome to the new and interactive exhibit developed in collaboration with community partners at the Galt Museum & Archives “Annora Brown: Daughter of the Prairies”. With the knowledge and skill of guest curator Mary-Beth Laviolette, the Galt Museum & Archives presents the first-ever retrospective of one of Alberta’s most significant early artists, Annora Brown (1899-1987) of Fort Macleod. The exhibition will feature some of her most well-known artworks as well as rarely seen paintings treasured by friends and admirers of this remarkable artist.

Brown is best known for her paintings and drawings of wildflowers and native plants of southern Alberta and as the author of the western Canadian classic “Old Man’s Garden”, published in 1955. As a modern artist, she was engaged with the character of the wildflower and its place in the natural environment. Brown also explored southwestern Alberta and captured the land in colourful and often dramatic landscapes. Her fascination with First Nations people is expressed through many engaging paintings.

Lethbridge has had an active firefighting service since a volunteer fire brigade started in 1886.  A full time fire department was established in 1909 and it has grown into a fully modern force. Emergency medical care, in the early years of the city, was provided by available doctors and nurses and the Galt Hospital ambulance.  In 1912, Lethbridge fire department took over the operation of the ambulance, provided trained personnel, and this was the beginning of the city’s integrated fire and emergency medical service.

The exhibit will tell the history of the Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Service from its earliest days to today through stories, photographs, and artifacts.

When people emigrate from one country to another they physically change places. This also means that their new home will change because of their presence.

The Galt exhibition will gather personal stories from immigrants who left their home country between the end of the Second World War up to very recently to discover why they chose or were forced to leave their home country. Interviewers will also talk to long time residents of Lethbridge who are involved with immigrant communities. We will explore how they have seen Lethbridge change due to the influx of people from other coun­tries around the world.

The Galt will borrow objects and photographs from both immigrants and locals to learn from their experiences. As we explore the challenges, fears and hopes of new immigrants we gain an appreciation of the support and services offered by Lethbridge and southwestern Alberta to help new people settle and become successful in this area.

It started with a treasure box and a personal connection to a fellow artist, and now the result of more than six years of research and sleuthing by Galt Museum & Archives Curator Wendy Aitkens comes to life when the exhibition “A Legacy of Adventure & Art: The Life of Miss Edith Fanny Kirk” opens at the Galt on Saturday, June 6.

“Miss Edith Fanny Kirk, who was born in England in 1858 and lived in Lethbridge for the last 35 years of her life, painted watercolours of Lethbridge, the prairies and western National Parks, and taught many people how to create their own art,” says Aitkens. “After all, Miss Kirk had been trained in several of the most prestigious art schools in her home country.”

Miss Edith Fanny Kirk was a woman of adventure and courage who, at an early age, decided to become an artist and art teacher. For years she studied at prestigious art schools in England and France. Her need to create watercolour art encouraged Miss Kirk to attend artists’ colonies where she painted watercolour landscape and village scenes as she sat outdoors. Then, in 1905, Miss Kirk immigrated to Canada where she continued her travels and her art.

“Prior to coming to this city,” explains Aitkens, “Miss Kirk experienced travel and adventures in many intriguing places in British Columbia and along the eastern seaboard of North America. She worked mainly as an artist and art teacher during her long life, but also as a nurse’s helper in a gold mining hospital, and as a public school teacher in B.C.’s ranching country. Once she settled in Lethbridge, she continued her adventures by joining the Alpine Club of Canada at the age of 60.”

The exhibition explores the adventurous life of Miss Edith Kirk through treasures she received from her mother and those she gathered throughout her own life. Examples of her watercolour paintings, art created by one of her English teachers and a fellow student, and paintings by some of her local students are also featured. An audio tour of the Curator’s adventures in tracking Miss Kirk’s life is an integral part of the exhibition, offering an intimate glimpse into the personal connections Aitkens made with Miss Edith Kirk.

A travelling exhibit from the Bank of Canada Museum

From concept to final product, experience the creative process, the technical skill and the sheer artistry that underlies every series of Canadian stamps and bank notes in Voices from the Engraver— a traveling bilingual exhibit produced by the Bank of Canada Museum in partnership with the Canadian Museum of History. The exhibit makes its Canadian debut at the Galt Museum & Archives on February 7, with a grand opening planned for Sunday, February 8 at 2:00 pm.

Original art, printing plates, videos, interactives, rare stamps, and money - lots of money – await in this fun, informative and enriching look into the beauty and intricacy of Canadian stamps and bank notes.

“Bank note and stamp engraving is considered to be one of the most beautiful and the most difficult of the engraving and printing arts,” explains Galt Museum Curator Wendy Aitkens, “as the challenge is to outwit counterfeiters by developing very intricate designs difficult to copy and reproduce.”

The talents of Yves Baril of Quebec and Jorge Peral of Mexico are featured in the exhibition, among several others, as they both became masters of their art. Watercolours, photos and drawings, along with engraver's tool and printing plates used in the production of bank notes and stamps will be on display, and visitors can take a peek behind the scenes at bank notes and stamp designs that were not produced.

“Postal stamps from 1908 to 2013 recognize women such as poet E. Pauline Johnson, baker Rose-Anna Vachon, and social activist Nellie McClung, men like Métis leader Louis Riel, explorers Cartier and Champlain, and hockey heroes Paul Henderson and Yvan Cournoyer” says Aitkens. “Other stamps reflect birds and animals, villages and mountains, the territory of Nunavut and the initial Klondike Gold Strike.”

Four interactive modules are also in the exhibition, including a photo booth where visitors can make their own stamp or bank note featuring their face, design elements and choice of colours, which they can email home as a souvenir.

A cap, a chair, some figurines... a sickle and teletype machine... 33s, old currency, a player piano too? Uniforms, dresses, and more, just for you will be on display in “Treasures & Curiosities: The Sequel” — a new special exhibition opening at the Galt Museum & Archives on Friday, September 26 and running through January 11, 2015.

“It is not just movies that prove so popular a sequel must follow,” muses Wendy Aitkens, Curator at the Galt Museum & Archives. “In 2010, people from the community were invited into the collections vault to choose an artifact or two with some significance to them. They found exploring the collections intriguing, and the exhibit was so well liked that we decided to repeat the fun in recognition of the museum's 50th Anniversary year.”

“Fifty years ago, the community felt the need to preserve its objects, stories and memories,” recounts Aitkens, who has been at the Galt since 2006. “The vision, support and work of City staff and the Lethbridge Historical Society [LHS] built a foundation for the Galt and its artifact and archival collections. With enthusiasm and dedication LHS volunteers catalogued thousands of artifacts, documents, maps and photographs which reflected the history of the city and the surrounding areas. Galt staff and volunteers continue this work today as new generations offer their treasures and curiosities for donation.”

In 2014, more people had fun exploring the vaults and storage shelves housing these donations. Treasures & Curiosities: The Sequel includes the selected artifacts, alongside the surprising and touching stories of why participants chose them.

One of the participants shared that “This entire process of artifact selection was phenomenal! The initial interview was almost therapeutic as we discussed my background, in order to find items that would trigger “something of meaning” to me.”

“When people visit the Collections areas they often find the experience overwhelming,” Aitkens says, “there are so many artifacts to see! The area is secured with a swipe card and key, the air is cool and everything is well organized on shelves, in drawers or on racks. I enjoy watching people to see what catches their eye—something familiar, something colourful, something large or tiny, something that surprises them. The experience is unique and visitors feel the need to explore down the aisles. The curatorial staff at the Galt take real pleasure in showing visitors through the Collections which we care for and work with each day.”

From warp to weft, thread to tartan, follow along the lives of local women and their drive to preserve the art and craft of weaving everything from household goods to official municipal fabrics in “Woven in Time: Celebrating 65 Years with Lethbridge Weavers”—a new special exhibition showing at the Galt Museum & Archives from June 7 to September 1, 2014.

In 1935, a Lethbridge Branch of the Canadian Handicraft Guild was formed. They operated until the Second World War began when Red Cross work became a priority. In May 1949, eleven women met to re-organize a local Handicraft Guild which involved many different types of crafts. By 1951, the Guild focused its skills, teaching and shows on weaving.

“Woven in Time celebrates 65 years of weaving in southwestern Alberta with examples of weavings from current and previous members of the Guild,” says Galt Museum Curator Wendy Aitkens, “along with historic weavings from the Galt collections, weaving demonstrations by Guild members and video of the weaving process.

According to Judy Hasinoff, a spokesperson for the Guild, “The Lethbridge Handicraft Guild of Weavers is delighted that the Galt Museum is hosting an exhibit of our work of over 65 years. We are proud of what we have accomplished, but the fact that the Galt has mounted such a major exhibit featuring our guild makes us feel that all those years of cooperative weaving, exhibiting, selling, and working hard to be a part of the weaving scene provincially, nationally and internationally are being acknowledged.”

Aitkens says the Galt enjoys partnerships with local organizations “where we can play a part in the celebration of their history, accomplishments and contributions to the broader community. Working with the Lethbridge Handicraft Guild of Weavers has resulted in an exciting exhibition of the works by local weavers who are current and past members of the Guild. The story of this organization and the art of weaving is an important part of the history of this area and the telling of this story is richer because of the involvement of many members of the Guild.”

“Well over 250 members of the Lethbridge and area community have been dedicated members of our guild over the last 65 years,” says Hasinoff, “and both the Galt and the LHG feel they deserve to be acknowledged for their contributions to the local art scene. However, while the exhibit is in part focusing on past works, there is also a strong component inviting visitors to experience weaving and observe and talk to our members as they create on-site, and it is our hope that this will encourage people to consider becoming a part of our guild or at least take away a stronger appreciation for the craft of weaving.”