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Royal BC Museum Victoria: Intriguing, Informative & Interactive

For young and old alike, visiting the Royal BC Museum Victoria is a terrific way to spend a few hours. If you take the time to examine the artifacts on display, you’ll be amazed at the treasures and oddities on display – like the dagger that was reputedly used to kill Captain Cook – founder of Victoria. The Royal BC Museum Victoria is intriguing, informative and interactive.

1940s Military Artifacts

Esquimalt Graving Dock Artifacts

The Demise of Captain Cook

Replica building from early 1900s

The museum was founded in 1886 and was originally housed in a single room adjoining the Provincial Secretary’s office in the Capitol Buildings. The Province started collecting archival records in 1894 and established the Provincial Archives in 1908. It wasn’t until 2003 when the museum and the archives combined their efforts and the Museum Act was re-written providing this establishment with the updated mandate of collecting and safeguarding artifacts, documents and specimens of British Columbia’s natural and human history.

Thunderbird Park

Land that the current museum sits on was purchased in 1941 and Thunderbird Park was created when totem poles from the museum’s collection were erected. Unfortunately, within 10 years there was noticeable deterioration of the poles and the decision was made to begin a pole restoration project. The poles currently on display are replicas of the originals which were moved indoors to climate-controlled facilities.

The current museum structure was built as part of a Canadian centennial project and the Royal BC Museum Victoria moved into their newly-constructed building in 1969.

Part of the Wildlife of the Year 2020 Exhibit

The museum consists of permanent displays including Our Living Languages: First People’s Voices in BC, the First Peoples Gallery and the Natural History Gallery and travelling exhibits such as Wildlife Photographer of the Year (2020) and Terry Fox: Running to the Heart of Canada (2017). Check the museum schedule to see the upcoming exhibitions and more information to help plan your trip.

During our most recent visit to the museum (fortunately we got there right before the pandemic), I was excited to see John Lennon’s rolls Royce which was on display in the lobby.

Like so many people, I too wondered why this magnificent piece of art/history wasn’t on permanent display. Turns out it is too large to fit inside the Royal BC Museum’s freight elevator and even if it could, there is a lack of climate-controlled space in either the 2nd or 3rd floor galleries. As well the sheer weight of the vehicle – a whopping 2,700 kgs presents structural challenges for the museum. Similarly, the main lobby is not appropriate for permanent display due to the amount of light and inability to control the temperature. For now, the vehicle will be displayed briefly in the glass lobby during quieter winter months.

John Lennon's 1965 Rolls Royce on display in the lobby of the Royal BC Museum in Victoria

Once inside the museum, there are several interactive displays that will delight guests of all ages. Walk through the “language forest” and listen to a greeting in one of the 34 First Nations languages, peer into a tide-pool to discover the marine life or take a selfie with the woolly mammoth.

Selfie with the mammoth

My nephew and son moments before deciding to check out the mammoth up close and setting off the alarm!

I usually visit the Royal BC Museum Victoria when there is a specific travelling exhibit that I am interested in, but that’s because I have the opportunity to go whenever I want. If you have flexibility when you visit Victoria, be sure to consult the Royal BC Museum website to see the schedule of upcoming exhibitions. Otherwise, I am confident you will be happy to experience the museum regardless of what additional displays may be there at the time.

You can pick up a souvenir of your visit in the gift shop or they have a number of books and products available on amazon