When the pandemic closed the doors to the Royal BC Museum on March 18, they knew they had to find a way to stay connected to all of us.
Kim Gough, the museum’s learning program developer, says they went from 20,000 self-guided visits and around 10,000 kids coming in with booked school programs, in addition to the thousands of people coming in for events, such as lectures and evening workshops and parties, to nothing.
“So it was a huge change for us. We had a really fast brainstorming meeting, and we thought we’d have maybe a week [to plan before the museum shut down.] We thought we’d come up to the galleries, get some footage and make some videos, and we were sent home that afternoon. Luckily, because in 2016 we started experimenting with online programming, we were well set up to do something from home,” she said.
When staff could return in June, learning program developer Liz Crocker says they got busy, creating even more digital field trips to post on the Royal BC Museum website.
“Most of the digital field trips that we do are up in our galleries and they’re mobile programs. We’re using video conferencing, through a smartphone, as a window to being in the galleries with us,” Crocker says.
Learn more about how the Royal BC Museum Learning Team has pivoted since the pandemic began with a feature by Veronica Cooper.
Veronica Cooper
