What-To-Do Wednesday: Virtual Visits -BSM25 (The Bata Shoe Museum)

If you are still stuck inside and you want to get your dose of culture, many museums and other attractions offer a variety of virtual exhibits. This is an especially great time to explore museums and attractions that are outside of your area and maybe even outside of your country that you ordinarily would not be able to get to because of time and/or money constraints. We will  be doing so as well, and we will be sharing one or more of our virtual visits in today's and future What-To-Do Wednesday posts.

What: BSM25 (The Bata Shoe Museum)

Physical Address: 327 Bloor St. W.
                               Toronto, ON

BSM25 (The Bata Shoe Museum) in Toronto, Canada is completed devoted to the history of footwear. It was started with the personal collection of philanthropist and avid shoe collector, Sonja Bata. Shoes from the collection were first exhibited in 1992 although the  permanent museum did not open until 1995. There are currently over 13,000 shoes in the museum only a small portion of which are on exhibit at any one time. For exhibits that are currently available to participate in online see below.

All About Shoes - This exhibit features stories and artifacts from the museum's collection.

You can learn about :

The Inuits

The history of the high heel

Shoes for different occupations

and more!


On Canadian Ground Stories of Footwear in Early Canada - This exhibits gives you the opportunity to explore footwear worn by natives and immigrants in early Canadian history. Sections include:

Kamiks of the Inuit

Shoes for a New Land

Canadian Footwear in the Age of the Machine

and more!


Standing Tall The Curious History of Men in Heels - This exhibit covers the history of men's heels from the 17th history through today. Shoes covered include:

17th Century Persian Riding Boots

Power Heels

20th Century American Cowboy boots

and more!


The Museum also offers the following:

Mondays: Virtual Exhibits

Tuesdays:  AskCurator and Footwear Trivia - A curator video segment and footwear trivia are offered on the BSM25 Instagram page.

Wednesdays - Online jigsaw puzzles and weekly E-blasts

Thursdays -  More Footwear Trivia on the BSM25 Instagram page

Fridays - Coloring sheets to print out and a feature of the week

Saturdays - More Askcurator video segments

Sundays - Family Crafts to make


There are also BSM Fun Facts, a BMS Book Club, and a YouTube series Unboxing the BSM.

For more or to make your own virtual visit to BSM25, visit batashoemuseum.ca.

Tune in tomorrow for Theater Thursday.

Stay well! Stay safe!

photo credits:

photo credit 1: [◉”] Enrique Céspedes The Bata Show Museum via photopin (license)

photo credit 2: Tomato Geezer 13.BataMuseum.NB.jpg via photopin (license)