The Museum
celebrates its 30th anniversary!
Thank you to our 400,000 visitors and participants, hundreds of staff members, dozens of members and administrators, and all of our partners. You’ve made this amazing adventure possible. Together, we’re continuing what Dr. Frappier started: promoting health awareness and education, and disease prevention.
1994 :
THE MUSEUM OPENS
The Museum opens its doors, backed by the Fondation Armand-Frappier, the Armand-Frappier Research Centre and the City of Laval, with the inaugural exhibitions Armand Frappier and Tuberculosis and BCG.
1995 :
FIRST DAY CAMPS
Founding president of the Museum, and Armand Frappier’s eldest daughter, Dr. Lise Frappier-Davignon opens the first microbiology and biotechnology day-camp programs. She goes on to create many other camps over the years!
1998 :
UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
In addition to exhibitions, the Museum adds educational laboratory workshops to the visitor experience. There’s something for everyone, with microscope experiments, Gram staining, seed planting, and more! School groups visit one of the Research Centre’s labs and talk to the team.
2000 :
THE MUSEUM GETS A RESERVE COLLECTION
Working with teachers and students from the museum studies program at Collège Montmorency, the Museum creates a storage area, where items can be kept safe in the reserve collection!
2001 :
PERMANENT EXHIBITION MICROZOO AND RECOGNITION FROM THE MINISTÈRE DE LA CULTURE ET DES COMMUNICATIONS
Tens of thousands of visitors discover the vast and varied world of microbes, some harmful, others helpful. The Museum receives the Minister’s seal of recognition, which it still holds today, for its quality programming and activities.
2002 :
NEW EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL PROGRAMMING
Collaborative discussions and research for the new permanent exhibition, as well as trips to the Research Centre, spark new initiatives: school workshops, introductory summer research courses at the Centre, and panel discussions for the general public. The Museum spreads its wings and reaches new heights!
2006 :
THE MUSEUM’S FIRST STRATEGIC PLAN
The plan focuses on the local Laval audience, our museum ambassadors, and emphasizes the importance of finding a building better suited to its purposes.
2007 :
ACTUA MEMBERSHIP TO PROMOTE ACCESSIBILITY
The Museum becomes an Actua member, allowing it to run science workshops for thousands of disadvantaged young people. The Museum partners with INRS–Armand-Frappier Research Centre and Louis-Pasteur University’s Mission Culture Scientifique et Technique for a conference titled Diffusion des connaissances scientifiques au musée : rôle du chercheur (Disseminating science content at the museum: the researcher’s role).
2008 :
TRAVELLING EXHIBITION GERMS! GERMS! GERMS! A SUCCESS
Musée du Fjord and Musée de la Nature et des Sciences de Sherbrooke invite the Museum to collaborate on a travelling exhibition, Germs! Germs! Germs!, and its unveiling is organized somewhere unexpected: the Centre Laval shopping centre. The Museum receives a regional tourism attraction award and the jury’s choice award from the Grands Prix du Tourisme.
2009 :
GET IN GREEN GEAR EXHIBITION UNDER THE BIG TOP, AND LES SAMEDIS AU LABO
An exhibition on loan from the Biosphère looks at sustainable transportation and how it supports health. The project is a memorable one, with support from regional partners, a giant tent, and plenty of logistics—we won’t forget it anytime soon! Also in 2009: a new kid-parent Saturday activity launches, and it’s a big hit.
2010 :
“ALL ABOUT GMOs” PROGRAMMING
The Museum develops its annual programming with French science content company Double Hélice, marking the first of many collaborations. It includes an exhibition, hands-on genetic modification lab experiments, panel discussions, and debates.
2011 :
“CHEMISTRY IN DAILY LIFE” PROGRAMMING
The Museum delivers a full slate of exhibitions and lab activities. Participants find out which alcohol molecule is produced when a loaf of bread rises (hint: it looks a lot like an adorable dog!). The Museum also pays tribute to Michel Trudel, chair of the Board of Directors from 1999 to 2002 and its executive director from 2002 to 2005.
2012 :
“DEMYSTIFYING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM” PROGRAMMING
Visitors get acquainted with immune system defenders, our personal special ops team! Martine Isabelle, our amazing scientific content and program development director, receives the Relève award, recognizing young professionals, from the Société des musées du Québec.
2013 :
“SCIENCE AT THE TABLE” PROGRAMMING
It’s a year of experiments. Participants use refractometers to determine how much sugar different beverages contain, measure the vitamin C in fruit, and hunt germs with spices!
2014 :
ALREADY 20!
The City of Laval gives the Museum the perfect gift: its support for a large-scale relocation project! What’s more, the kids workshop Les dimanches en sarraus launches and our head of customer service, Caroline Labelle, receives the human resources – tourism employee award at the Grand Prix du tourisme québécois.
2015 :
TEMPORARY EXHIBITION VACCINES
An annual temporary exhibition replaces the permanent exhibition, breathing new life into our programming. The new exhibition looks at vaccines—what better subject to pay homage to Dr. Frappier—offering a fresh perspective that makes our attendees smile!
2016 :
TEMPORARY EXHIBITION THE BRILLIANT BRAIN
The Museum joins forces with the Musée de la Civilisation to create an exhibition that will leave its mark on our educational content for years to come. The Brilliant Brain workshop is still presented in classrooms today in 2024!
2017 :
TEMPORARY EXHIBITION ALLERGIES GET PEOPLE TALKING!
This exhibition and educational program are the result of a collaboration with École Simon-Vanier in Laval, a project that proves a truly rewarding for everyone involved! Also in 2017, Guylaine Archambault, the Museum’s director, receives the women in business prize in the public and parapublic category from the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Laval.
2018 :
TEMPORARY EXHIBITION US AND THEM: FROM PREJUDICE TO RACISM
Adapting an exhibition from the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, the Museum tackles an important social issue. The exhibition looks at the processes behind prejudice from a scientific angle, emphasizing what we have in common and how the concept of race has n o scientific basis. The workshop All Alike, All Different! for all ages accompanies the exhibition.
2019 :
THE MUSEUM’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY
The Museum’s in the spotlight as it turns 25! La Presse names our director, Guylaine Archambault, person of the week, applauding her and her team’s dedication to highlighting an important issue like exclusion, through a scientific lens. In addition, the Museum becomes accredited by the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, and Allergies Get People Talking! wins the Cascade Award for Best Exhibit – Small Institution from the Canadian Association of Science Centres.
2020 :
THE MUSEUM MOVES ONLINE
The Museum adapts to the pandemic with new online content for virtual day camps, school and weekend workshops, and new video content for social media. In May, the Museum breaks ground on the new facility.
2021 :
TEMPORARY EXHIBITION GET MOVING!
The exhibition Get Moving! welcomes its first visitors, and four-time Olympian Bruny Surin is the exhibition’s spokesperson. All throughout, we adapt to pandemic constraints amid openings and closings, and distancing and masking protocols.
2022 :
FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR THE BIG REOPENING
Against the backdrop of the pandemic and major moving preparations, the Museum continues its educational programming with Vaccination : tous concernés, tous concertés and Musée-École. The Museum also gets a rebranding, begins a partnership with the Cosmodôme, and offers thanks to the Museum’s artisans.
2023 :
THE NEW MUSEUM OPENS ITS DOORS
The Museum has a new home, adapted to its needs. On January 30, it opens with the permanent exhibition 4, 3, 2, 1… Santé! and the temporary exhibition Pandemics: Challenging Humanity, followed by Food for Thought! in October. The year also marks a celebration of valued volunteer Rosemonde Mandeville, chair of the Board of Directors from 2005 to 2023.
2024 :
THE MUSEUM’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY AND A COMMITMENT TO A SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION
The Museum is facing the future with a temporary exhibition focusing on the links between climate change and health, a contemporary theme that raises awareness of the importance of acting now and together to prevent these changes, for the benefit of the health of humans, other species and our planet.