Preserving our past
Do you have an item you would like to donate to Heritage Park?
As an accredited museum, Heritage Park has a stewardship role in preserving our historical assets that include our collection of more than 55,000 objects. The collection is largely made up of artifacts donated by people like you, and these objects help us tell the story of the settlement of Western Canada.
The artifacts we accept fit into the time periods presented at Heritage Park: Pre-1915 for the Village, 1885 or earlier for the Settlement, 1920s-early 1930s for Famous 5. The Gasoline Alley Collection features automotive artifacts to the 1950s.
Heritage park has been collecting for almost 60 years! This means we have a large number of some items. Currently, we are unable to accept donations of the following:
- Pianos and organs
- Sewing machines
- Cash registers
- Buffets/sideboards
- Furniture
- Stoves/heaters
- Doilies/table linens
- Wedding dresses
To determine if Heritage Park is the best fit for your object, we will need to know a bit about it. The type of information we are looking for includes:
- Who used the item?
- Where was it used?
- Where it was made, and by whom?
- When was it made, and when was it used?
- What condition is it in?
- How did you acquire the item?
Please send this information, along with a photograph, to [email protected]
If you are looking to donate tea stands/ services for use at Famous 5 teas, please email [email protected]
Donations will not be accepted without a prior appointment.
Review Process
Your submission will be reviewed and the Collections staff will carefully consider your offer and research our existing collection to see if there are already similar artifacts in the collection. A decision to accept an item for donation is based on significance to our storylines, how many similar artifacts are in the collection, its condition, how it fits into exhibit plans, its heritage value, and whether we have a place to put it.
After more than 50 years of preserving our heritage, we have amassed a strong collection representing our past. Should we determine Heritage Park is not an appropriate home for your item we may need to respectfully decline your offer.
We are unable to accept items on long-term loan.
Acceptance
If we decide to accept your item, we will send you a donation form, which stipulates that you hold rights of ownership and possession to the donated objects and by signing the document, are transferring those rights, with no limiting conditions to the Heritage Park Society.
As a registered charity, Heritage Park can issue gift-in-kind income tax receipts for the fair market value of an object. To receive a tax receipt donors will need to submit an independent written valuation with their donation in accordance with our procedures and Canada Revenue Agency regulations.
