Between 1854 and 1856, following the GSC's successful exhibit for the 1855 Universal Exposition in Paris, a federal government committee recommended expanding the GSC’s work to include a large, well-staffed museum. As result, on 16 May 1856, the Province of Canada passed an act that, among other things, allowed the GSC to establish a Geological Museum open to the public. This display hall, set up in Montreal, marked the beginning of the CMH.