P.E.I. Needs a Natural History Museum

LETTER: P.E.I. needs a natural history museum
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As published in The Guardian
Published: Jan 19 at 10:32 a.m.

EDITOR:

How exciting about the find of a 300-million-year-old fossil (Guardian, Jan. 11) in Cumberland! But how sad that Matthew McRae, curator of history for the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation, is reported as saying his priority is to find a way to share it with the public, to put it on display.

The obvious home for this fossil is in the P.E.I. Museum of Natural History – alas, still a gleam in the eyes of many Islanders who have advocated for years for such a museum. What a big gap in our Island institutional assets! Such a museum would serve the causes of public interest, education, tourism, and above all conservation of our rich, natural environment.

This is not the first, nor the last, fossil to surface, and there are many more fascinating nature artifacts tucked away around the province. There are also other finds from P.E.I. housed in museums in other provinces, and even in the U.S. They ought to be housed at home where Islanders and visitors alike can enjoy them.

I add my voice strongly to those advocating to the provincial government for the establishment of a P.E.I. Museum of Natural History.

Sooner rather than later, please.

Daphne Davey,

Crapaud