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The Canadian Museum of Nature

Reflecting two significantly different architectural styles and periods, this image was taken inside the Canadian Museum of Nature, looking through the original building, which dates back to 1912, whose Beaux-Arts style stresses symmetrical and axial plans, into the contemporary addition comprised of glass and cool modern lines. The dichotomy between the two architectural styles - with almost a century of time between them - is evident in this image.

The Queens’ Lantern

The light-filled area of the Canadian Museum of Nature known as The Queens’ Lantern and Pelagia noctiluca, or the mauve stinger, the giant inflatable jellyfish currently on display.

“The Victoria Memorial Museum Building’s new glass “lantern” is sure to catch your eye. This luminous structure above the main entrance was unveiled in 2010 and presents a strikingly visible addition to the 100-year- old museum. It fills a decades-old void left by the removal of the museum’s original four-storey stone tower in 1915–16.

On June 30, 2010, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II toured the newly renovated museum and unveiled a plaque officially naming the new Queens’ Lantern. The title honours both Queen Elizabeth and her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, after whom the Victoria Memorial Museum Building is named.

The Queens’ Lantern is more than an aesthetic addition: it serves an important function. It houses a much-needed staircase, allowing visitors to move easily from the second to the fourth floor. This resolves a long-standing limitation for the historic building. The original design of David Ewart, Dominion Chief Architect, only provided easy public access to the second floor, via the grand staircase in the Atrium.”