The St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre is dedicated to engaging visitors, telling the story of the city through artifacts, and preserving, sharing and celebrating the cultural identity and history of the city; we are a community resource that interprets, exhibits, researches, acquires and preserves the material culture and stories of St, Catharines.
The museum collection has approximately 800,000 records, including photographs, artifacts, archival documents, and reference files.
eMuseum
Check out our online collection (eMuseum) which offers a virtual experience for viewing objects, exhibits, sites and ships, biographies, libraries and museum collections. Learn about the people, places and events that have shaped St. Catharines over our long history.
Donating to the museum's collection
An important part of the work we do at the St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre is the documentation, preservation and stewardship of artifacts related to the story of the community. The museum accepts donations of objects, photos, and documents that help to preserve our community’s shared story.
| Process for acquisition of new objects |
| The museum's collection policy outlines the process for donating an object |
| Contact |
| Contact our Collections Coordinator via email to see if your donation is a good fit for our collection. |
| Review |
| If your donation meets our collecting mandate, the object(s) might first be taken in on a temporary basis while it is reviewed and some additional research completed. |
| Museum Advisory Committee approval |
| The object(s) will be reviewed by the Museum Advisory Committee in light of our collection policies. |
| Formal acquisition |
| Once we have approved acceptance of the object into the collection, you will be mailed the final paperwork which will complete the transfer of ownership to the City of St. Catharines. |
| Interpretation |
| The objects will be documented and preserved for the enjoyment and education of the public |
Services for researchers
The St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre provides access to its collections for researchers. Please call or contact collections staff directly via email to access the following services:
| Reference library |
| The museum has a reference library that is open to the public by appointment, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12:30-4:30 p.m. Calling ahead for an appointment will ensure that the museum staff can pull items of relevance to your search prior to your arrival. There is a fee for the reproduction either by photocopy or digital scan of any items you may find in your search. Fees can be found in the City's Rates & Fees schedule. |
| Research services |
| Museum staff are happy to help with any research query. Research that takes longer than an hour to complete will be subject to a service fee based on the number of hours required to complete the research. Fees can be found in the City's Rates & Fees schedule. |
| Photo reproductions |
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The St. Catharines Museum collection contains more than 600,000 photos and photo negatives relating to the development of our community. We are happy to provide reproductions of photos from our collections. Reproductions are subject to a service fee depending on the nature and size of the work involved and the final use of the reproduced image. Fees can be found in the City's Rates & Fees schedule. |