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Royal British Columbia Museum Review

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Royal British Columbia Museum

Address: 675 Belleville St., Downtown, Victoria, BC | Map It
Phone: 250/356-7226; 888/447-7977
www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

Category: Museums/Galleries
Location: Victoria

Write a review | Avg. member rating: 4.6/5

Fodor's Review:

This excellent museum, one of Victoria's leading attractions, traces several thousand years of British Columbian history. Its First Peoples Gallery, home to a genuine Kwakwaka'wakw big house and a dramatically displayed collection of masks and other artifacts, is especially strong. The Living Land, Living Sea Gallery traces B.C.'s natural heritage, from prehistory to modern-day climate change, in realistic dioramas. An Ocean Station exhibit gets kids involved in running a Jules Verne-style submarine. In the History Gallery, a replica of Captain Vancouver's ship, the HMS Discovery, creaks convincingly, and a re-created frontier town comes to life with cobbled streets, silent movies, and the rumble of an arriving train. Also on-site is an IMAX theater showing National Geographic films on a six-story-high screen. Optional one-hour tours, included in the admission price, run roughly twice a day in summer and less frequently in winter. Most focus on a particular gallery, though the 90-minute Highlights Tour touches on all galleries. The museum's annual special exhibits, usually held between April and October, often attract crowds. In 2008 and into early 2009, Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and BC,will celebratethe province's 150th anniversary through the recollections of ordinary, and famous, British Columbians. You can skip ticket lines by booking online.

The museum complex has several more interesting sights, beyond the expected gift shop and café. In front of the museum, at Government and Belleville streets, is the Netherlands Centennial Carillon. With 62 bells, it's the largest bell tower in Canada; the Westminster chimes ring out every hour, and free recitals are played most Sunday afternoons between April and December. Behind the main building, bordering Douglas Street, are the grassy lawns of Thunderbird Park, home to 10 totem poles (replicas of originals that are now preserved inside the museum) and Wawadit'la, a First Nations ceremonial big house. The house is not open to the public, but you can wander among the totems. Next door is Helmcken House (10 Elliot St. July and Aug., daily 12-4), one of the oldest houses in B.C. still on its original site; it was built in 1852 for pioneer doctor and statesman John Sebastian Helmcken. Inside are displays of the family's belongings, including the doctor's medical tools; admission is included with a museum ticket. Next to Helmcken House is St. Ann's School House. Built in 1858, it's one of British Columbia's oldest schools (you can view the interior through the door).

Cost: C$14, IMAX theater C$10.50, combination ticket C$22.50. Rates may be higher during special-exhibit periods
Open: Museum: Mid-Oct.-June, daily 9-5; July-mid-Oct., daily 9-6 (open until 10 PM most Fri. and Sat. early June-mid-Oct.). Theater: daily 10-8; call for show times

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Member Reviews and Ratings

Reviewed by WineTraveller from Wilmington, DE, USA on 12/8/08
We spent almost an entire day here with our eight year old daughter. Like any museum, some things grabbed our attention (like all the First Nation dwellings and totems), others just nudged us. If you enjoy history (and not just the military stuff), you'll love it and come out with a phenomenal understanding of British Columbia!