by Nancy Baye
When it comes to museums in Vancouver, variety is key. The culturally diverse West Coast city is home to a number of big-name institutions – such as the Museum of Anthropology, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum and Science World – plus a few lesser-known hidden gems. Take some time to explore each of these five neighbourhoods and get ready to be inspired at Vancouver’s best museums. [Photo courtesy of the Museum of Anthropology]
Tourists and locals sometimes like to rock the boat, and there’s no better place for nautically inclined individuals than the Vancouver Maritime Museum. The St. Roch, a historic Arctic exploration vessel, is just one of the full-sized ships on display. Visitors can explore the archival library, a model ship gallery, and more than 15,000 artifacts on display in the museum’s permanent collection. Maritime buffs will love the full-scale models of Discovery’s forecastle, the boiler of the region’s first steamship, and original charts from Captain Cook's Pacific exploration. Afterwards, take a scenic stroll down to the nearby waterfront to see the small heritage harbour. A-hoy matey!
The H. R. MacMillan Space Centre is an out-of-this-world museum offering permanent exhibits on space and science with live demonstrations and interactive galleries. The Planetarium Theatre lets you recline in comfort to visit local galaxies, planets, stars, nebula and black holes. The museum shares its distinct spaceship-like roof with the Museum of Vancouver (MOV), where stories and objects relating to Vancouver’s historic past help encourage a connected and civically-engaged city. Exhibits include historical, archaeological, cultural and natural artifacts. Gregory Dreicer, who became MOV’s director of curatorial and engagement in 2014, is focused on community. “The museum is place for Vancouverites to gather and envision the future,” Dreicer says. “We engage people in the development of programming that encourages them to connect. That’s how we learn about our city and ourselves. It's how we create strong, resilient communities.”
Among the wealth of museums at UBC, the picturesque university campus is most famous for the Museum of Anthropology. The museum attracts locals and visitors throughout the year with its permanent collection and curated exhibits on world arts and cultures, with an emphasis on regional First Nations people. Overlooking Jericho beach, the stunning building was designed by Canadian architect Arthur Erickson. Allow plenty of time for this stop if you want to savour all 550,000 cultural and archaeological artifacts on display.
The Beaty Biodiversity Museum showcases UBC’s biological collections and the diversity of life. Considered Vancouver’s natural history museum, the massive venue has more than 500 permanent exhibits that are sure to stir a sense of wonder. Be humbled underneath the 26-metre blue whale skeleton and tour through exhibitions of fossils and shells, flora and fauna from around the globe. Compelling exhibits and interactive activities will boost your understanding of how all living things are connected.
It’s safe to say that the Pacific Museum of the Earth really rocks! Discover minerals, fossils, dinosaur bones and other wonders of planet Earth from over the past 4.5 billion years. The Globe and Gem Gallery holds prized displays such as the Omni Globe Exhibit, a sphere that comes to life in an interactive demonstration – the push of a button morphs the globe into any planet of choice, enacts real-time weather, ocean currents and other climate events. Watch the cycle of natural disasters such as a tsunami wave, shifting tectonic plates or a blazing forest fire.
Blurring the lines between museum and attraction, Science World is interactive, full of surprises and sure to delight kids of all ages. The building’s large, geodesic dome is easy to spot from almost anywhere along the downtown skyline. Inside, you’ll find cool exhibits and interactive displays that encourage visitors to take a hands-on approach to learning. Here you can experiment with light and sound, walk on a giant piano, build a tower and meet a hedgehog all in one afternoon. The Puzzles and Illusion exhibit will twist the mind and push physical dexterity beyond any house of mirrors. The Sara Stern Gallery will tickle your senses as you amble through a beaver’s lodge, pet a bear’s coat, or sit under a T-Rex. Don’t miss a show at the OMNIMAX Theatre; the towering five-storey screen has wrap-around digital sound to deliver an immersive experience.
Located at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver's downtown core, BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates the region’s many sporting achievements and iconic athletes. Preserving and honouring B.C.’s sports heritage with stories and artifacts, this place is a testament to human challenge and triumph. Showcasing individual athletes and iconic sports teams, the displays and community programs will certainly inspire.
Located at the bottom of Alma Street on the edge of Hastings Mill Park, Old Hastings Mill Store Museum gives visitors a glimpse into the city’s past with its collection of Native American, pioneer and immigrant artifacts. Vancouver's oldest building, the cedar-planked pioneer store originally stood on the south shore of Burrard Inlet and was barged to its current location in 1931. The two-floor museum is home to an oxen yoke, vintage logging photographs, objects from a 1836 steamship that sank off Prospect Point, a Hansom cab, the oil lamp used by the city’s famed lifeguard Joe Fortes, carvings and other curios. Admission is by donation but the museum is closed in December and January.
Roedde House Museum is a late-Victorian period house in Vancouver’s West End. The Queen Anne revival style home was built for the Roedde family, the city's first bookbinders. Originally constructed in 1893, the house has been restored and designated as a heritage house. The house offers a historic representation of life for a middle class immigrant family in that era and visitors are welcome to explore the 11 rooms and handle the artifacts – with care, of course. The museum also hosts guided Tea and Tour Sundays, plus musical concerts and a lecture series.
Although Vancouver was established in 1886, there’s no shortage of history and places to view it. In spite of its youthful age, the city is home to a wide variety of must-see museums where you’ll find educational exhibits, interactive displays and inspiring artifacts just waiting to be discovered.
