Canada's National Natural History Museum Convenes in St. John's for Annual Public Meeting

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 26, 2013) - The Canadian Museum of Nature, Canada's national museum of natural history and natural sciences, will host its Annual Public Meeting in St. John's, Newfoundland on Thursday, November 28 at The Rooms.

St. John's is home to Stephen Henley, who was appointed in June 2013 as Chair of the museum's Board of Trustees. Henley will host the event with Meg Beckel, the museum's President and CEO. The meeting, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., is open to the public at 9 Bonaventure Avenue, St John's and no advance registration is required.

"I am delighted to invite those interested to learn more about the museum's activities, its national mandate, and efforts to expand awareness and appreciation of Canada's natural heritage," says Henley, Managing Director of Subsea7. "This event is also an opportunity for us to meet with potential ambassadors in Newfoundland who can help the museum expand its national and international research and educational programs."

The Canadian Museum of Nature is a federal Crown corporation, and one of Canada's six national museums. Its roots date back more than 150 years to the early years of the Geological Survey of Canada. The museum today is a multi-faceted scientific and educational institution that provides evidence-based insights, inspiring experiences and meaningful engagement with nature's past, present and future. It achieves this through laboratory and field research, a 10.5 million specimen collection, curriculum-based educational programs, travelling exhibitions and a dynamic Web site, nature.ca. The museum is also a founding member of the Alliance of Natural History of Canada, which has included The Rooms among its network.

The museum's home base in Ottawa at the century-old Victoria Memorial Museum Building receives approximately 400,000 visitors a year. Among the highlights is a rare chance to see the largest animal on the planet-one of only two complete blue whale skeletons in Canada, a specimen that was salvaged after it beached near Codroy, Newfoundland in 1975.

As a national research institution, the museum curates Canada's collections of fossils, plants, animals and minerals at its Natural Heritage Campus in Gatineau, Quebec. These provide an authoritative record of the flora, fauna and geological history of Canada, and provide essential benchmarks used for environmental monitoring, biodiversity studies, and conservation efforts. The Campus also serves as the base for the museum's Centres of Excellence in Arctic Research and Species Discovery and Change.

For information about the Canadian Museum of Nature, visit nature.ca.