Civic Museum
Celebrating Guelph’s stories!
The Guelph Civic Museum showcases Guelph’s history through permanent and changing exhibits, a fun and interactive families gallery, and special events and activities. Located in the recently renovated Loretto Convent, atop the hill at Norfolk Street and beside the landmark Church of Our Lady, the museum is home to a collection of over 30,000 artifacts that bring Guelph’s past to life.
2012
Guelph Civic Museum opens at 52 Norfolk Street, the former Loretto Convent.
2000
The “Growing Up in Guelph Children’s Museum” opens at the Civic Museum. The popular children’s gallery attracts many more visitors and significantly increases the number of family memberships.
1980
Guelph Civic Museum opens at 6 Dublin Street South, a commercial limestone building built c.1855. The building had many uses over the years but was most recently known as the Knights of Columbus Hall.
1967
Canada’s Centennial Year. The Museum opens in its first home in the horse stables, now the Farmer’s Market.
1960’s
Members of the Guelph Historical Society begin to collect artifacts and displays are mounted in store fronts and community centres.
Upcoming Events
October 2019
Truth and Reconciliation: We All Have A Role to Play
Please join us for an evening with Dr. Niigaan Sinclair as he discusses the role we all play in knowing truths about Indigenous peoples, histories and contemporary contexts. Dr. Sinclair has written for international and national print media and is on sabbatical from his job as an Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba. He is Anishinaabe from Treaty One. He is a columnist with the Winnipeg Free Press and a recovering high school teacher. Free admission. Presented by Upper…
Find out more »Military Lecture: The Aftermath of the 1918 Influenza
Kandace Bogaert presents, The Aftermath of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic Among Ontario’s Soldiers’ Families. Offered in partnership with the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies. Admission by donation. Kandace Bogaert, Assistant Professor and Cleghorn Fellow in War and Society, Dept. of History, Laurier University, her research is focused around the long-term family impact of soldier deaths from flu in 1918, and soldier suicides during the Great War.
Find out more »Harvest Tea
Treat yourself to a seasonal afternoon tea at the Civic Museum. There will be two seatings, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Enjoy fresh scones, jam, shortbread cookies, fresh fruit and bottomless pots of McCrae Private Blend and Guelph Town Garden Blend teas. Tickets in advance.
Find out more »Fourth Friday: Kevin Mak Latin Jazz Quintet
Kick off your weekend with a performance by Kevin Mak Latin Jazz Quintet! On the Fourth Friday of the month, Guelph Museums offers free admission to the Guelph Civic Museum after 5 p.m. Performance by Kevin Mak Latin Jazz Quintet at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Cash bar. Sponsored by:
Find out more »History Haunts: Ghost Stories of Guelph
An evening of unusual tales by local storytellers about Guelph’s past. Suitable for teens and adults. 19+ cash bar. Tickets will go on sale Friday, September 13, 10 a.m.
Find out more »Downtown EarlyON Playtime
Weekly program offerings for children from 0 to 6 years old and their families, offered through the EarlyON Child and Family Centre. Free drop-in family programming that promotes early learning and development from 9:30 to 11:30 AM on a weekly basis. The EarlyON Child and Family Centre at the Guelph Community Health Centre has been in existence since 2003. EarlyON has eight off-site Neighbourhood Playtimes and two main locations (Downtown and Stone Rd Mall) each providing a multitude of free drop-in and…
Find out more »History Haunts: Ghost Stories of Guelph
An evening of unusual tales by local storytellers about Guelph’s past. Suitable for teens and adults. 19+ cash bar.
Find out more »November 2019
School’s Out, Museum’s In PD Day – We Are All Treaty People
On this PD Day, we're celebrating Treaty Recognition Week. Learn about the importance of treaties, treaty rights and relationships. Learn more. General Admission.
Find out more »Tea & Bannock: Community Tea
Karonhyakatste is a mixed blooded Haudenosaunee woman, experiential knowledge teacher and storyteller. Join us as we share in a circle learning about our roles and responsibilities to be good stewards of the earth, through our connection to food and the world around us. Tasting menu includes: Bannock Cold cedar tea with cinnamon and lemon Wild rice - cold Mini Indian tacos Salmon crostini Corn soup with chicken (vegetarian option) Strawberry short cake Tickets in advance | $20 +HST GALT 240…
Find out more »Tales from the Hill
Join Guelph Guild of Storytellers and special guests on the first Wednesday of each month. Free admission.
Find out more »John Galt and the Instant City
A new musical by acclaimed Canadian musicians Mike Ford and Murray Foster that explores John Galt and the founding of Guelph in a new light. Two performances: Friday, November 8, 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 9, 2 p.m. Tickets in advance | $20 + HST Meet the creators, cast and crew Mike Ford Mike Ford is a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal-awarded singer-songwriter, whose bilingual Canada Needs You, Flames Across the Border and le retour d’étienne brûlé concerts have been performed in schools across Ontario. …
Find out more »John Galt and the Instant City
A new musical by acclaimed Canadian musicians Mike Ford and Murray Foster that explores John Galt and the founding of Guelph in a new light. Two performances: Friday, November 8, 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 9, 2 p.m. Tickets in advance | $20 + HST Meet the creators, cast and crew Mike Ford Mike Ford is a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal-awarded singer-songwriter, whose bilingual Canada Needs You, Flames Across the Border and le retour d’étienne brûlé concerts have been performed in schools across Ontario. …
Find out more »Downtown EarlyON Playtime
Weekly program offerings for children from 0 to 6 years old and their families, offered through the EarlyON Child and Family Centre. Free drop-in family programming that promotes early learning and development from 9:30 to 11:30 AM on a weekly basis. The EarlyON Child and Family Centre at the Guelph Community Health Centre has been in existence since 2003. EarlyON has eight off-site Neighbourhood Playtimes and two main locations (Downtown and Stone Rd Mall) each providing a multitude of free drop-in and…
Find out more »Military Lecture: Crerar’s Lieutenants
Geoff Hayes presents, Crerar’s Lieutenants. At the height of the war in 1943, the future head of the First Canadian Army, General Harry Crerar, penned a long memorandum in which he noted that there was still much confusion as to "what constitutes an 'Officer.'" His words reflected the army's preoccupation with creating an ideal officer who would not only satisfy the immediate demands of war but also conform to pervasive, little-discussed notions of social class and masculinity. Geoff Hayes' talk…
Find out more »Fourth Friday: Callisto
Kick off your weekend with a performance by Callisto! On the Fourth Friday of the month, Guelph Museums offers free admission to the Guelph Civic Museum after 5 p.m. Performance by Callisto at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Cash bar. Sponsored by: Callisto is a trio that indulges in three part harmony and other musical whimsy. We love to play Canadiana, old standards, and original tunes. Callisto is made up of Tricia Brubacher, Peter Balka, and Julie Corey. Past performances include:…
Find out more »Fifth Friday: Fizz-ics Pub Night
19+ Event | No cover charge. Ever wonder why the bubbles in your beer fizz, or why bottles have different colours? What does the widget in Guinness do? Why does the head on your pint vary and what would it be like to brew beer in space? Join faculty and students from the Department of Physics, University of Guelph as they lead you through a fun and interactive evening about the science behind beer! This event is the final night of STEM…
Find out more »December 2019
Downtown EarlyON Playtime
Weekly program offerings for children from 0 to 6 years old and their families, offered through the EarlyON Child and Family Centre. Free drop-in family programming that promotes early learning and development from 9:30 to 11:30 AM on a weekly basis. The EarlyON Child and Family Centre at the Guelph Community Health Centre has been in existence since 2003. EarlyON has eight off-site Neighbourhood Playtimes and two main locations (Downtown and Stone Rd Mall) each providing a multitude of free drop-in and…
Find out more »Tales from the Hill
Join Guelph Guild of Storytellers and special guests on the first Wednesday of each month. Free admission.
Find out more »Fourth Friday: Tragedy Ann
Kick off your weekend with a performance by Tragedy Ann! On the Fourth Friday of the month, Guelph Museums offers free admission to the Guelph Civic Museum after 5 p.m. Performance by Callisto at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Cash bar. Sponsored by: Tragedy Ann is a forward-looking folk duo from Guelph, Ontario. Liv Cazzola and Braden Phelan find warmth in questions and daring in answers, making space for the tear that lies behind laughter. With intimacy and care, the duo favours…
Find out more »January 2020
Military Lecture: Eagles over Husky
Alexander Fitzgerald Black presents, Eagles over Husky. In the summer of 1943, the United Nations began Operation HUSKY, the invasion of Sicily. The Eagles over HUSKY – the airmen of the Allied air forces – played a crucial role in the assault. The Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica provided a significant part of the Axis force meant to defend the island and throw the Allies back into the sea. The Allied air forces foiled this effort and inflicted losses on a…
Find out more »February 2020
Military Lecture: Bison brigades and battle tactics during the Northwest Resistance
Jesse Thistle presents, Bison brigades and battle tactics during the Northwest Resistance. Métis life on the plains was extremely perilous. From century-long fights with the Sioux, to the massive and dangerous logistics of the bison hunt, Métis hunting tactics took on a battle-like precision run by a general known as the Captain of the Hunt. The Métis took their bison-hardened skills into battle during the Northwest Resistance, winning two battles against Canadian troops at Duck Lake and Fish Creek, and…
Find out more »March 2020
Military Lecture: The Delisle Affair
Dr. Wesley Wark presents, The Delisle Affair. A contemporary talk on a major Canadian spy case--the Delisle affair (2011)--involving a Canadian military officer who supplied secrets to the Russians for a four year period. Offered in partnership with the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies. Admission by donation. Professor Wesley Wark is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa and an instructor at the Centre on Public Management and Policy, where he teaches courses to government officials.…
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