This is the inaugural weekend of the “New Bruce.” Sunday is when the public is invited to tour the results of their $67 million expansion. Some are using the occasion to say, “the Bruce is back.” However, that is not accurate. What we saw this week had no semblance to what was there before. From the moment you walk through the door (which now faces the Bruce Park playground) the experience is unlike any you have had before; it is a completely reimagined and reinvented Bruce Museum. It is all new.
Robert Wolterstorff, the executive director and CEO of the museum, told the media on Tuesday about the four components of their mission: art, science, education and community. He talked about how art and science are two different ways of looking at the world. Both require empirical observation, and both are the result of creative disciplines. “They are both human constructs (and) a human organization of the observed world.” The New Bruce has significantly increased the space dedicated to both.
The third part of the museum’s mission is education, not just the passive education all visitors get by viewing the exhibits, but active educational programming. Before the pandemic the museum had 26,000 school children visiting. With the creation of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen education wing, they will be able to double the number of visits. This will have a meaningful impact on area school children.
Already blown away by what we had seen and heard, when Wolterstorff began speaking about how museums actually create community, we felt they were lining up for a possible home run. Nothing about experiencing the New Bruce is reminiscent of its previous iteration. You do not walk up a hill to a dark entrance facing the highway. Now, a bright glassy entrance beckons you to an open lobby, café, and gift shop. The experience is encouraging and builds excitement for what is inside.
Wolterstorff talked about how museums provide a shared common space and how that is important for community. “In this present fractured and fractious world, it’s more important than ever to gather together… And I want to say that’s good for body politic. It’s good for civic discourse. It helps to build a respectful civic community. And we do that here in this museum…” Bravo!
How refreshing to hear someone talk about the “body politic” and “civic discourse” without people immediately taking opposing sides. Politics and then COVID has created societal divisions that before we could reach across and have open civic discourse. Now some of these divisions are becoming too wide and too steep to cross. We must reverse that course. If the New Bruce can help do so, we are all for it.
We can all see works of art and scientific inventions on a screen at home, but that is no substitute for seeing it in person. It is kind of hard to imagine the size of a 200-pound Kairuku penguin that went extinct 27-million years ago. Unless, of course, you can see a representation of one at the New Bruce. You need to be able to view these objects in person so you can walk around them, changing your perspective to see them differently. Getting close to see the detail, standing back so you the entirety. Looking at the historical perspective. And then discussing with others. We believe that is what Wolterstorff means when he says the New Bruce will help “build the respectful civic community.” Using art and science as a way to build community – there is something romantic and inspiring about that concept.
The New Bruce will formally open its doors to our community this Sunday. The weather looks decent. Stop by and experience all the Museum and Café have to offer. Talk about it with those around you. Enjoy the experience.
