History
The National Canal Museum opened in 1970 as a joint cooperative effort between the City of Easton's Hugh Moore Park Commission and the Pennsylvania Canal Society. Sitting at the fork between the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers, this small Museum was intended to highlight and operate Hugh Moore Park.
The Museum had been a destination for people interested in the canal, as well as school trips looking for information about transportation. In 1978 with the addition of the Josiah White, the canal boat ride became a distinctive part of a visit to the National Canal Museum.
In 1982 The Museum's Exhibits were redesigned to make the museum a National Museum of the towpath canal era. This redesign also acted as a catalyst for the expansion into the industrial heritage of the Lehigh Valley.
During this period, the National Canal Museum began hosting several major events, including the annual Canal Festival and annual Canal History and Technology Symposium, the latter being held at Lafayette College. By 1985, the Museum was realizing the ability for a complete collection and archival ability of important artifacts of both the canal era and the industrial revolution.
In 1996, the National Canal Museum moved to downtown Easton into Two Rivers Landing in an effort to revitalize the downtown district. Since that time, Two Rivers Landing receives an average of 250,000 visitors each year. Beginning in 2002, the Museum began a campaign to recreate the museum to add hands-on activities to the existing exhibits. A proposal to the National Science Foundation(NSF) resulted in a grant of $1.4 Million, later supplemented to $2 million for the creation of exhibits based on their proposal "Science and Technology of Canals and Inland Waterways."
This led to a brand new exhibit space installed in March 2006, incorporating the history, science, and technology of canal construction and navigation. In October 2008, the National Canal Museum was awarded the Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for Visitor Experience by the Association of Science-Technology Centers INC.
At the end of 2011, the 15 year lease period in Two Rivers Landing ended and was not renewed. In January 2012 the museum was relocated back to the canal in Hugh Moore Park, repurposing the Emrick Technology Center to act as the main exhibit and administrative space.
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