Ottawa museums try to get handle on Pokemon Go craze

Zubats, Psyducks andDrowzeesare known tohang out in the wild,so it makes sense the Pokemoncharacterswouldalso be spotted these days at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

The Ottawa museum is just one of many educational institutions that have jumpedon board thePokemon Gocrazeever since the immensely popular reality game arrived in Canada earlier this month.

The museum ishosting a lure party this week essentially, a big meet-up of gamers that's designed to attract new and excitingPokemonfor players to catch and publicly tracking the species of Pokemon found in the museum on a whiteboard in the main atrium.

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"[It's been]really great to have all of these people coming out here, and talking to each other, meeting each other, showing off the differentPokemonthey've found," said Jillian Steele, a self-described Pokemon fanatic who's also in charge of adult programming at the museum.

"They're discovering new species well, new species of Pokemon, I guess and they're exploring their environments to find them. It's such a perfect fit for this type of museum."

Pokemon drawcrowdsduring slow summer months

The summer months can be slow for museums, so Pokemon Go's emergence as a massive cultural phenomenon comes at a fortuitous time.

Institutions like Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario and theMuseum of Modern Art in New York City have proudly promoted on social media thatthey're home to Pokestops, checkpointswhere gamers can snatch up new Pokemon for their virtual menagerie.

But not all museums are as equallygung-ho about Pokemon Go,especially those museums that focuson more serious topics.

"We recognized the phenomenon for what it is. It's a great opportunity to attract new audiences," said YasmineMingay, director of public affairs at the Canadian War Museum.

"That said, given what we do at the war museum and the stories that we tell here, we expect that there will be the respect that's needed in the museum as there always has been from our visitors."

So far,PokemonGoplayers who've visited the museum have been respectful, said Mingay. The museum is home to "a number" of Pokestops, she said,and staff have no plans to ask they be removed.

Players likely should avoid hunting for Pokemon at the nearby construction site for the National Holocaust Monumentthough. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has told PokemonGo aficionados that it's "inappropriate" to play the game on their grounds, and has said they're looking into having the museum removed from the game altogether.

'Completely Pokemon friendly'

Back at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Steele says the eight Pokestops on the premises as well asa Pokegym, where players can have their Pokemonfight each other make the museum "completely Pokemon friendly."

She says she's drawn to the game's interactive, sociable nature and the fact the game's creator wanted to become an entomologist doesn't hurt, either.

"Not only does it get you out of the house, but it gives you a really nice launching point for social interaction with the people you meet."