3 weeks The First Peoples Gallery reopens at the Royal BC Museum with two refreshed exhibitions The Our Living Languages exhibition demonstrates 36 Indigenous languages from across BC. Jonathan Hunt House, built 50 years ago on the the third floor, received a fresh coat of paint on the intricate designs throughout the ceremonial house.
4 weeks Museum unveils summer exhibits and the return of Hunt House The Royal BC Museum will host two new exhibits over the summer. Stonehenge opens in May and Canadian Modern in June. On the third floor’s First Peoples Gallery, the Hunt House has been restored and is open to visitors after being closed for 2 years.
1 month Trash removed from Esquimalt Harbour has links to the Gold Rush Continuing efforts to clean up Esquimalt Harbour have turned up artifacts from the 1800’s.
1 month Building Old Town: Retired museum carpenter revisits his work John Waters says it took a team of talented architects and tradespeople to build the now iconic Old Town at the Royal BC Museum. After being closed for modernization, parts of Old Town have reopened to the public, with some new contextual information displayed throughout.
2 months Designs for some of B.C.’s most iconic museum exhibitions donated to BC Archives Vancouver Island design firm Andre and Associates was founded by Jean-Jacques Andre and was responsible for designing some of the most memorable museum exhibits around the province. A large portion of past designs from the family-run firm are now publicly available at the B.C. Archives.
2 months Carnivorous Clams: animals adapt to eat meat in order to survive the deep sea Researchers at the Royal BC Museum are studying animals which have adapted to eat meat in order to survive the deepest waters of British Columbia. Typically filter feeders at shallower depths, clams and sponges have evolved to suck in or stab passing prey.
2 months Glass plate negatives give us a glimpse at Victorians in the 1800’s A collection of portrait prints from the 1800’s is being sorted at the B.C. Archives in preparation for a move to a new facility in Colwood. Before film, negatives were created on glass plates. The photos and glass plate negatives are being stored with care, using some unique solutions
2 months Researchers test if they can identify a B.C. dinosaur with a single tooth When it comes to dinosaur fossils, teeth often outlast bones and can be the only fossils in an area. A grad student at the Royal BC Museum hopes her research will be able to identify and differentiate dinosaurs using just their teeth.
2 months How volunteers have been essential to the Royal B.C. Museum for over a century Volunteers have been a vital part of the Royal BC Museum since its inception in the late 1800s.
3 months A Canadian soldier’s surprising contribution to botany while serving on a remote Alaskan Island A battle for U.S. soil was expected, but it ended with a contribution to the Royal B.C. Museum’s botanical collection. Kiska Island, between Russia and Alaska, was occupied by Japanese troops during the Second World War. When Canadian and American troops arrived, the Japanese soldiers had left, so some soldiers took the opportunity to study the flora of the remote Aleutian Island.
3 months Hidden paintings found while dismantling old museum display cases Five historic paintings were discovered hidden behind wood panelling at the Royal B.C. Museum. While dismantling old display cabinets, museum staff discovered century-old landscape paintings on the back walls. Staff realized they were part of the museum’s original exhibitions, from over a century ago.
3 months An unlikely ecosystem emerges in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch Plastic garbage swirling in the Pacific Ocean has become home to hitch-hiking ocean life. Researchers around the world, including one from the Royal B.C. Museum, are identifying the organisms which now live in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The sea life can be carried all over the Pacific Ocean, creating concerns over invasive species.