Background
MacDonald was born in Cambridge, Ontario.
MacDonald was born in Cambridge, Ontario.
A graduate of the University of Toronto (1961: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Anthropology) and of Yale University (Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology), he is the author of several scholarly publications.
He joined what was then called the Canadian Museum of Manitoba in 1960 as Atlantic Provinces Archaeologist. MacDonald oversaw the transition of the museum to its new facility in Gatineau, Quebec, and its reorientation to a more modern, populist form of exhibit. Inspired as much by the ideas of Marshall Mcluhan and Disney"s Epcot Center as by other museums like the Smithsonian Institution, MacDonald"s version of the museum included interactive displays, replicas, and an IMAX theatre.
