Thunder Bay Museum Exhibit - Out of Place: The Strange Plants of Lake Superior's North Shore

The North Shore is a landscape of survivors, relics, and holdouts. Glaciation, climate and geology have created cold-air pockets, dry exposed bedrock, coastal cliffs, and mineral-rich wetlands, allowing plants associated with very different climates and ecosystems to persist side by side. Through carefully preserved herbarium specimens, discover these “out of place” species and the hidden side of the North Shore they reveal, one shaped by ancient climates, ecological boundaries, and millions of years of evolution.

Developed in partnership by the Thunder Bay Museum and Lakehead University's Claude E. Garton Herbarium, the exhibit draws upon generations of botanical collecting to explore what these unusual plants reveal about the region’s natural history. It also celebrates Claude E. Garton, whose passion for botany helped shape the Herbarium and inspired generations of naturalists. Botanical illustrations by Emily Palahnuk.

This exhibition runs from August 12, 2026 – March 21, 2027.

Thunder Bay Museum
425 Donald St E.
Thunder Bay, ON P7E 5V1
https://www.thunderbaymuseum.com/