Yellowknife (Mar 10/04) - The stuffed polar bear's days are numbered. It's the most obvious artifact on display and the first thing visitors see as they enter the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre but not for much longer.

Brice Bowling works on the drains behind the scenes at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. - Jennifer Geens/NNSL photo

"Right now the first thing someone sees is a polar bear and offices," said Charles Arnold, the museum's director.

That's an image the museum no longer wants to project.

After all, since 1999, and the split-off of Nunavut, the NWT doesn't have all that many polar bears and museum administration certainly isn't of much interest to tourists.

The loss of Nunavut presents a particular challenge to the museum.

Displays were geared to the history of the old NWT, which included the history, culture and nature of what is now Nunavut.

Changes will be made to the galleries over the next three years to reflect the history of the new NWT and that excites Arnold.

"Before, we were trying to represent an area nearly one-third of Canada," he said.

"Now we can focus more on the NWT."

The display of aboriginal artifacts that used to be in the South Gallery will be completely redone.

And the polar bear will go into storage because the museum will move away from natural history and devote more space to culture.

Arnold is looking forward to refreshing the exhibits by displaying artifacts that have been tucked away for years.

Aside from updating the exhibits, the building itself needs refurbishing as it nears its 25th anniversary.

The museum building was built to last a minimum of 100 years with regular maintenance every quarter century.

Now many of its heating and ventilation, mechanical and electrical systems need to be upgraded or replaced.

Not enough space

Arnold said the museum's staff and activities have outgrown the space allotted in 1979. In fact, the museum's staff has tripled over the past 25 years.

A second floor addition will house new administration offices and the NWT archives, along with a brand new public reading room, will expand into the old offices by the spring of 2006.

The archives will also lose its darkroom as the museum continues moving into the digital age.

The government of the NWT and the federal Department of Canadian Heritage are paying for the renovations.

Behind the scenes

Currently, the only sign of renovations at the museum is the fenced off area in the parking lot and one closed gallery.

Most of the work is going on behind the scenes in the collections and conservation work areas.

The South gallery is being used to house half the museum's artifacts -- items that would have been threatened when the roof of the collections storage room is opened during the construction of the second floor addition. The gallery also houses curatorial assistant Susan Irving and registrar Pat Freeman, who were displaced from their regular work areas.

Other staff are working from the photocopier room and the cloakroom.

"Morale is good," said Arnold.

"Staff are doing remarkably well. The attitude is 'we're going to get through this, and have a better place here when it's done.'"

Next winter, renovations to the north gallery and the aviation gallery will begin.

The finishing touches to the central atrium, feature gallery and auditorium are scheduled for 2006.

25th anniversary celebrations are on hold until everything is done, likely in late 2006.

The museum will remain open throughout the renovation process, though some galleries may be closed for a time as the work progresses.

Special events, lectures and programs will continue and the Heritage Cafe will remain open.