VISIT ON-LINE
Permanent Galleries
Living Landscapes
BC Archives

WEBCAM
View of Inner Harbour

CORPORATE
INFORMATION
Museum Act
Vision/Mission
Service Plan
Annual Report
Staff and Departments
Collection Policy
Museum Timeline

AFFILIATIONS
National Geographic/
IMAX Theatre
Friends of the Royal
BC Museum
Foundation
NAASA

VISITING THE MUSEUM

Royal BC Museum

The Royal BC Museum anchors an area bounded by Douglas, Belleville and Government Streets, steps from Victoria's Inner Harbour and across the street from BC's Legislature Buildings. This cultural precinct includes the BC Archives, Helmcken House, St. Ann's Schoolhouse, the Netherlands Carillon Tower, Thunderbird Park and Mungo Martin House - Wawadit'la.

The Royal BC Museum rewards visitors with a magical journey through BC's history. Two intriguing floors of exhibits bring the past to life.

Captain Vancouver's ship, a partial re-creation of the HMS Discovery, sits at its dock in an area devoted to early explorers and the fur trade. The European influx eventually brought mining, logging, fishing, and agriculture on a commercial scale, all represented in displays in the modern history gallery.

A turn-of-the-20th century town features a theatre with silent movies, a steam train pulling into the station, a Chinatown alley with resident cat, and the aroma of apple pie wafting from a kitchen. The century lives on in displays by the decade, with Pokemon and skateboards included as a few of the cultural icons of the 1990s.

In the natural history gallery, the coastal rain forest is carpeted with real salal undergrowth. Ocean animals enjoy their tidal pool at the seashore. Realistic dioramas provide backdrops for a homestead scene from the Peace River region and for the birds of the Fraser River Delta. Plants of BC are found in the native plant gardens outside the Museum building.

Other features of the Royal BC Museum include the First Peoples Gallery with its forest of poles, a display on the historic Nisga'a agreement and people of the Nass River, and an extensive display of Haida Argillite carving. Particularly memorable is the visit to a First Nations' longhouse where, to the hauntingly poignant beat of drums, visitors learn about potlatches and shaman practices.

Local and international special exhibits are featured several times each year. Theme weekends, illustrated talks, summer camps for kids, family workshops and adult evening activities are held throughout the year. See the events calendar for details and registration information.

The on-site National Geographic IMAX Theatre offers films to complement the natural and human history theme of the museum. Images spring to life on a screen six stories high. Film schedules and descriptions are available at www.imaxvictoria.com.

RBCM Cultural Precinct

Helmcken House was built by Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken and is the oldest house in British Columbia on its original site that still opens for the public. Dr. Helmcken, a surgeon with the Hudson's Bay Company, set up house in Victoria when he married the daughter of Governor James Douglas in 1852. He went on to become a statesman and helped negotiate the entry of British Columbia into Canada, as a province. The good doctor's original 19th century medical kit is among the interesting items on display.
Please check the Royal BC Museum on-line events calendar for the Christmas and summer program schedule for Helmcken House.

St. Ann’s Schoolhouse may be the oldest building still standing in Victoria. Built by Jacques Lequechier in 1844 and constructed in the Hudson Bay Company Red River style, it was purchased by Roman Catholic Bishop Demers in 1853 for use as a residence and a schoolhouse. In 1858, when four Sisters of St. Ann returned with Bishop Demers from Quebec, it was in this building that they lived and held their first school classes. The Sisters gave the school to the Museum in 1974 when it was moved to its present location behind Helmcken House on Elliott Square. Free.

The Netherlands Carillon Tower was a gift of the Dutch community of British Columbia to the people of the province in honour of Canada's Centennial. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands laid the cornerstone on May 23, 1967 and the tower housing 62 bells was completed and officially opened a year later. Recitals are held Sundays at 3 pm throughout the year. Free.

Thunderbird Park was set up in 1940 to display some of Northwest Coast's finest art. By 1951, the original poles were in advanced decay. To remedy the situation, the Royal BC Museum hired the late Chief Mungo Martin as Head Carver of the Totem Restoration Programme. With the exception of Mungo Martin's house front pole, all poles are replicas of the original poles in Thunderbird Park, replaced between 1951 and 1990. A new Kwakwaka'wakw pole was carved and raised in the park in 2000. Free.

Mungo Martin House, Wawadit’la, a traditional "big house" in Thunderbird Park, was entrusted to the Royal BC Museum by the family of Kwakwaka'wakw Chief Mungo Martin who also supervised its construction beginning in 1952. The house is a copy of a big house built at Fort Rupert in the mid-1800s. Wawadit'la, completed in 1953, is today reserved for traditional First Nations ceremonial gatherings and is not open to the general public.

The BC Archives started in 1894 when R.E. Gosnell, first Legislative Librarian, was empowered to collect historical records. Today, this branch of the Royal BC Museum provides research access to records of enduring value to the province for both the provincial government and the public. Service hours vary. Open for full or partial service Monday to Saturday. Limited records access available on-line. Closed Sunday and statutory holidays. Free. Phone 250-387-5885.

Museum and IMAX Tickets

A few things to know before booking Museum and IMAX on-line:

• Your Museum ticket may be used throughout the day, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the date you book.
• Your IMAX ticket may be used only for the film you have selected on the date and time booked. Film schedule is subject to change.
• The Museum portion of a Museum/IMAX combination admission must be used on the same date as the IMAX portion of your admission. If you want to visit the Museum and IMAX on different dates you may not access the combination rate.
• Please double check the day and date of your visit before booking as tickets are non-refundable and may not be exchanged for another day and time.
• Visa and MasterCard may be used to book on-line.
• When your on-line transaction is complete, you will receive an e-mail from the Museum. This e-mail contains a PDF file that contains your bar-coded tickets. You will be able to print the bar-coded tickets on your own printer. Please ensure you bring these tickets with you, as they will be scanned on entry into the museum exhibits area, at the base of the escalator in the main floor lobby.
• Ready to order? Click here to go to our Ticketing page.

Experiencing technical difficulties?

• If you experience any problems in receiving the PDF file by e-mail, you may need to temporarily adjust your email and anti-virus security settings to accept PDF files, readable with Adobe Acrobat Reader. The file created by the ticket purchase will still be on your computer within your e-mail program, and will appear once those settings have been changed. When you have opened the document and printed the tickets, then revert to your previous security settings within your e-mail program. When printing your tickets, select "Print as an Image" from Acrobat Reader program.
• A current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to view and print the tickets. If you do not already have this program installed, you can download the software at no charge from www.adobe.com. If you still cannot view or print your bar-coded tickets, or have any other printing problems, please bring your transaction number to the Web Sales assistance counter on arrival at the Museum and we will print them for you.

LOCATION
Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, the Royal British Columbia Museum is at the corner of Belleville and Douglas Street, close to both the parliament buildings and the Empress Hotel in downtown Victoria. (view satellite images)

Royal BC Museum
675 Belleville Street, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, V8W 9W2
Telephone: (250) 356-RBCM (7226) (phone tree-pdf format)
Toll Free: 1-888-447-7977
Fax: (250) 387-5674
Email: reception@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

Parking Near The Royal BC Museum

HOURS OF OPERATION
Museum: Every day 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
IMAX: Every day 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Friends of the Royal BC Museum Foundation: Monday to Friday, in person: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., by phone: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Museum, IMAX and Friends Foundation: Closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

GROUP RATES AND BOOKINGS
Group rates are available when pre-booked two business days in advance for fifteen or more people. Credit card number is required to hold IMAX group seating reservations.

SCHOOL PROGRAMS
On-site school programs on a variety of subjects have been given every year for over 30 years at the RBCM. Each year an average of 8 programs are given on subjects ranging from pioneer life to marine biology. Each program is offered twice a week from the middle of October to the end of May, and takes place in the Museum galleries and classrooms.

ROYAL BC MUSEUM SHOPS
Operated by the Friends of the Royal BC Museum Foundation, the Royal Museum Shop carries quality items that reflect the human and natural history of British Columbia. Featuring jewelry, art, publications, calendars, videos, gourmet BC food products and children's items.

No admission is required to visit the main floor gift shop.

PHOTOGRAPHY and FILMING in EXHIBIT GALLERIES
Photography and filming, including videotaping, is permitted in most of the exhibit galleries. The following general restrictions apply:

• the use of a tripod is not allowed when the Museum is open to the public.
• commercial and promotional filming is allowed only with prior permission. Such permission is arranged through the Marketing Office.

In the First Peoples Gallery, the following restrictions apply:

• videotaping and audio tape recording are not permitted to the general public.
• photography is not permitted to the general public.
• no photography of the Jonathan Hunt House, either its exterior or interior.
• no photographing of the Cave of the Animals exhibit.
• commercial and promotional filming is allowed only with prior permission. Such permission must have prior written approval from the Manager, Anthropology, and will then be arranged through the Marketing Office. During such filming, the appropriate Curator or Manager must be present.

BACKPACKS AND BAGS
All oversized bags must be checked at the Coat Check. Charge is by donation. In order to check an item by donation, you must produce a "same day" museum ticket. For all additional items (umbrellas, coats, etc.) there is a minimal charge.

WHEELCHAIRS AND STROLLERS
Strollers and wheelchairs can be signed out from the Coat Check. There is no charge.

FLOORPLANS

Friends Foundation, family members, or business contacts, can use a gift certificate to select in $5.00, $10.00, $20.00 and $50.00 denominations

• Their own gift from the Royal Museum Shop or special temporary exhibit shops, or
• Tickets to the museum, or
• A Friends of the RBCM Foundation Membership, or
• Tickets to special presentations and workshops

Purchase and pick up gift certificates at the Royal BC Museum admissions counter from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week.