Terry Fox exhibit opens at Canadian Museum of History

Marking the 35th anniversary since Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope across the country, the Canadian Museum of History’s newest exhibit, titled Running to the Heat of Canada, opens Thursday.

The Gatineau, Que., museum will be displaying personal items related to the Marathon of Hope which have never before been publicly displayed, including the van which accompanied Fox on the run, his journal and his prosthetic leg. The exhibit also features a searchable database of 60,000 cards and letters sent by supporters to Fox from Canada.

“During the Marathon of Hope and the months that followed, Canadians filled our home in Port Coquitlam, B.C., with scrapbooks, written tributes and gifts reflecting a collective compassion and admiration for Terry’s unselfish act,” Darrell Fox, Terry’s brother, said in a release. “On the eve of the 35th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope, it is time to share the Terry Fox collection and the compelling story that the memorabilia evoke with the world.”

The Marathon of Hope began April 12, 1980 when Fox dipped his prosthetic leg in the Atlantic Ocean in St. John’s, intending to run across the country. That marathon-per-day run ended in Thunder Bay, Ont.,  when Fox’s cancer had spread to his lungs. He died in June at 1981 at the age of 22, having raised $24 million for cancer research. Since his death nearly $700 million has been raised for cancer research in his name.

The exhibit will be open until Jan. 24, 2016.