Great Maritime Achievers is a traveling exhibition created by Science East in Fredericton. Eleven great Maritime Achievers in Science and Technology are featured in individual displays with hands-on exhibits. The units offer insight on the ingenuity, early discoveries and important scientific contributions of our scientific pioneers.

Georgina Fane Pope was a military nurse in the South African War and the First World War. She was appointed the first Nursing Matron of the Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1908, and she was the first Canadian to receive the Royal Red Cross from Queen Victoria for conspicuous service in the field.

Thomas Hall was a mechanic, innovator and successful Summerside business owner. In the mid to late 1800s, the Hall Manufacturing Company supplied a large proportion of the Island market with agricultural equipment. Hall’s thresher-cleaner took first prize at the Dominion Exhibition in Halifax in 1881.

“I am pleased to welcome the Great Maritime Achievers exhibition to Prince Edward Island,” said Hon. Carolyn Bertram, Minister of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour. “I hope Islanders of all ages will get a chance to visit the Confederation Centre Public Library and see this bilingual, interactive exhibit.”

The exhibit will be on display until March 8, 2009. It is situated on the main floor of the library and is open to the public during regular library hours: Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The exhibition is sponsored by Heritage Canada's Museum Assistance Program, the New Brunswick Culture and Sport Secretariat, the University of New Brunswick and the Association of Professional Engineers & Geo-scientists of New Brunswick. For further information on Science East, visit their website at www.scienceeast.