Ukaliq: The Arctic Hare

Anne Botman, Canadian Museum of Nature, Canada
http://nature.ca/ukaliq/

Demonstration: Demonstrations - Session 2

Like a fresh Arctic breeze comes Ukaliq: the Arctic Hare, a Web site that describes this little-known Northern mammal. By focusing the site on this one animal you can fully explore the behaviour of Arctic hares, their role in Arctic ecosystems, and their significance to Arctic history, heritage and art. Based on original research conducted on Ellesmere Island in Canada's High Arctic, the Web site looks at Arctic hares across Canada from the Northwest Territories to Newfoundland and Labrador. Learn about the unusual behaviour of Arctic hares from the "Midnight Madness" of their late-winter breeding season, to the summer birth and unique nursing schedule, to the strategies of coping with cold and dark winters. Discover archaeological sites that show how northern people have used Arctic hares in the distant past. Learn from Inuit Elders and youth how Arctic hares are still used today. See how Arctic scientists study mammals in the wild and gather new information from field observations. Play interactive hare games and complete activities, including hare origami and the Inuit string figure known as "Ukaliq". View hundreds of stunning photographs, videos, 3D images, maps and drawings. Curriculum-based resources will also help students and educators reach a new understanding of Arctic hares and Canada's Arctic in general. See Ukaliq on-line at http://nature.ca/ukaliq.

As a recipient of a Canadian Professional Scholarship for Museums on the Web 2005, I will be presenting the new Web site – Ukaliq: the Arctic Hare. I will also outline my experiences, as Project Lead for the Canadian Museum of Nature, in creating this bilingual Web site for the Virtual Museum of Canada (http://www.virtualmuseum.ca).

Beyond the content and presentation of the site I will be pleased to discuss with conference participants my experience as project leader. The scientific research, content writing and most of the photos and illustrations came from an external contractor. Museum staff developed the site architecture, prepared the educational activities, edited the content in both English and French and managed the multimedia assets. The actual site production was contracted out to a local Web development firm.