2 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.
3 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.
4 weeks 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.
1 month 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.
4 months Millions of mysterious eggs discovered atop an underwater volcano near Haida Gwaii A team of scientists have discovered a unique underwater nursery, nearly a kilometre deep, with unusually warm temperatures in B.C.
4 months History of film censorship: The censor’s sensitivity to snakes leads to multiyear ban in B.C. Starting in 1913, one man determined which movies made it to theatres across British Columbia. The Censor of Moving Pictures decided what was a ‘decent’ film, and what was not.
4 months Prehistoric surprise: Researchers discover camel-like mammal which roamed southern B.C. A University of Victoria student may have identified a rare, to Canada, Merycoidodon. Andrea Valcourt is studying at the Royal BC Museum and believes the 35-million-year-old skull fossil she’s been analyzing is that of a sheep-sized, grazing mammal.
4 months How Emily Carr found fame in her fifties: Stories from B.C. Archives’ art collection The B.C. Archives at the Royal BC Museum houses more than 15,000 pieces of our province’s most important artworks. The vaults contain various styles of work, including a modernist piece from The Group of Seven to the largest collection of Emily Carr paintings.
5 months A mysterious ‘extra toed’ dinosaur footprint has local researchers looking for answers Researchers are studying a dinosaur footprint fossil with four toe-prints instead of the typical three. The preserved track was found in northeast B.C. and researchers at the Royal BC Museum want to know what made the unusual footprint.
5 months Flesh-eating beetles help build B.C.’s extensive collection of preserved birds and mammals The Royal B.C. Museum has been collecting bird and mammal specimens for scientific research since the 1800’s. The carefully preserved animals, and accompanying data, provide a tangible glimpse into the past and how animals have been affected over time.
5 months Mystery of the silver canoe: Find out how museum ‘sleuths’ build a backstory for donated items Staff at the B.C Archives are often tasked with building a history for mysterious donations to the Royal B.C. Museum.
5 months Not so scary looking after all: Did meat-eating dinosaurs have lips? A group of scientists believe meat-eating dinosaurs, like T-Rex, may not have had the menacing smile depicted in most movies like Jurassic Park.
10 hours What's in the water? Dirty water situation at Victoria condo getting clearer Repairs to a faulty water pump are the reason behind murky water at downtown Victoria condo building, but a week later an advisory is still in place until testing is completed.
10 hours Alleged wolf-dog in Coombs reportedly shot and killed A Coombs resident who's dog was killed by the alleged wolf-dog says he's heard from a reliable source that the wolf-dog has been shot and is dead.
11 hours B.C. sex offender pleads guilty to breaching supervision order following manhunt A high-risk sex offender who went on the run for 10 days in Vancouver has pleaded guilty to breaching his long-term supervision order and failing to attend court.
11 hours 15-year hunting ban and $10K penalty for man who baited, killed B.C. grizzly The B.C. Conservation Officer Service says a man has been fined $10,000 and banned from hunting for 15 years for illegally killing a grizzly bear near Elkford, B.C.