Royal British Columbia Museum: Difference between revisions
Cultures33 (talk | contribs) Added a "history" section for more historical context |
Cultures33 (talk | contribs) expanded on the Cultural Precinct |
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On October 25, 1886, the 15 by 20 foot Provincial Museum of Natural History and Anthropology opened in the [[British Columbia Parliament Buildings|Birdcages]] (the former BC Legislative buildings).<ref>Corley-Smith, Peter. ''White Bears and Other Curiosities: The First 100 Years of the Royal British Columbia Museum''. Royal BC Museum, 1989. p. 20</ref> The first curator was naturalist John Fannin, who donated his own large collection of preserved birds and animals to the museum.<ref>Norris, Thomas. "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: Fannin, John." http://www.biographi.ca/EN/009004-119.01-e.php?id_nbr=6703 . 2000. Accessed 23 January 2013.</ref> After its inception, the Royal BC Museum continually expanded. In 1896, the museum was given space in the east wing of the new Legislative buildings. The museum’s mandate was updated by the BC government in 1913, and the collection of natural history specimens and anthropological material became official parts of the museum’s operations, as well as the dissemination of knowledge to the people of British Columbia.<ref>Corley-Smith, Peter. ''White Bears and Other Curiosities: The First 100 Years of the Royal British Columbia Museum''. Royal BC Museum, 1989. p. 57</ref> In 1921, the basement of the east annex of the Legislature was excavated to provide the museum with additional room. As part of the 1967 Canadian centenary celebrations, BC Premier [[W. A. C. Bennett]] committed to building a new home for the Royal BC Museum.<ref>Corley-Smith, Peter.''The Ring of Time: The Story of the British Columbia Provincial Museum''. Royal BC Museum, 1985, p. 9</ref> It opened on August 16, 1968, with a final construction budget of $9.5 million. The museum remains housed in this building.<ref>Corley-Smith, Peter. ''White Bears and Other Curiosities: The First 100 Years of the Royal British Columbia Museum''. Royal BC Museum, 1989. p. 138</ref> |
On October 25, 1886, the 15 by 20 foot Provincial Museum of Natural History and Anthropology opened in the [[British Columbia Parliament Buildings|Birdcages]] (the former BC Legislative buildings).<ref>Corley-Smith, Peter. ''White Bears and Other Curiosities: The First 100 Years of the Royal British Columbia Museum''. Royal BC Museum, 1989. p. 20</ref> The first curator was naturalist John Fannin, who donated his own large collection of preserved birds and animals to the museum.<ref>Norris, Thomas. "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: Fannin, John." http://www.biographi.ca/EN/009004-119.01-e.php?id_nbr=6703 . 2000. Accessed 23 January 2013.</ref> After its inception, the Royal BC Museum continually expanded. In 1896, the museum was given space in the east wing of the new Legislative buildings. The museum’s mandate was updated by the BC government in 1913, and the collection of natural history specimens and anthropological material became official parts of the museum’s operations, as well as the dissemination of knowledge to the people of British Columbia.<ref>Corley-Smith, Peter. ''White Bears and Other Curiosities: The First 100 Years of the Royal British Columbia Museum''. Royal BC Museum, 1989. p. 57</ref> In 1921, the basement of the east annex of the Legislature was excavated to provide the museum with additional room. As part of the 1967 Canadian centenary celebrations, BC Premier [[W. A. C. Bennett]] committed to building a new home for the Royal BC Museum.<ref>Corley-Smith, Peter.''The Ring of Time: The Story of the British Columbia Provincial Museum''. Royal BC Museum, 1985, p. 9</ref> It opened on August 16, 1968, with a final construction budget of $9.5 million. The museum remains housed in this building.<ref>Corley-Smith, Peter. ''White Bears and Other Curiosities: The First 100 Years of the Royal British Columbia Museum''. Royal BC Museum, 1989. p. 138</ref> |
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==Cultural Precinct== |
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The museum is situated in the cultural precinct, an area comprising various significant historical buildings near the Inner Harbour.<ref>Corley-Smith, Peter.''The Ring of Time: The Story of the British Columbia Provincial Museum''. Royal BC Museum, 1985, p. 67-73</ref> The cultural precinct occupies the space between Douglas Street, Belleville Street, and Government Street. Included in the cultural precinct is the BC Archives, [[Helmcken_House|Helmcken House]], [[Sisters_of_Saint_Ann|St. Ann's Schoolhouse]] (built in 1844), the [[Netherlands_Centennial_Carillon|Netherlands Centennial Carillon]], [[Thunderbird_Park_(Victoria)|Thunderbird Park]], and Mungo Martin House, Wawadit'la, a traditional big house built by [[Mungo_Martin|Mungo Martin]] and his family.<ref name="RBCM News Release 12 September 2012">{{cite news|title=About the RBCM|accessdate=9 November 2012|newspaper=RBCM News Release|date=12 September 2012}}</ref> |
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==Permanent galleries== |
==Permanent galleries== |
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Revision as of 23:28, 28 January 2013
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| Established | 1886 |
|---|---|
| Location | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. |
| Type | provincial history museum and archives |
| Collection size | over 7 million |
| Website | www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/ |
Founded in 1886, the Royal British Columbia Museum consists of The Province of British Columbia's natural and human history museum as well as the British Columbia Provincial Archives. The museum is located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The "Royal" title was approved by Queen Elizabeth II and bestowed by HRH Prince Philip in 1987, to coincide with a Royal tour of that year.[1] The museum merged with the British Columbia Provincial Archives in 2003.
The Royal BC Museum includes three permanent galleries: modern history, natural history, and local First Nations’ history. The museum’s collections comprise approximately 7 million objects, including artifacts, natural history specimens, and archival records.[2] The natural history collections have 750,000 records of specimens almost exclusively from BC and neighbouring states, provinces, or territories. The collections are divided into eight disciplines: Entomology, Botany, Paleontology, Ichthyology, Invertebrate Zoology, Herpetology, Mammals, and Ornithology. Bryophytes and Algae are not well represented. The museum also hosts touring exhibits, and previous exhibits have included artifacts related to the RMS Titanic, Leonardo da Vinci, Egyptian artifacts, and Genghis Khan. The museum's IMAX theatre shows educational films as well as commercial entertainment.
The museum is in Victoria's Inner Harbour, between the Empress Hotel and the Legislature Buildings. The museum anchors the Royal BC Museum Cultural Precinct, a surrounding area with historical sites and monuments, including Thunderbird Park.[3] There was also a summer satellite gallery at the Wing Sang building (51 E. Pender) in Vancouver’s Chinatown, opened in June 2012.[4] The overarching exhibition of the summer satellite gallery was "Curious," made up of four installations: Intimate Glimpses, Artifact/ Artifiction, Magic Lantern and Bottled Beauty.[5]
On 26 March 2012 Jack Lohman was appointed CEO of the Royal BC Museum, and he received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) Honour on 16 June 2012.[6] Various groups assist with the development, success, and maintenance of the Royal BC Museum. These include volunteers, who number over 500 and outnumber the Royal BC Museum staff 4 to 1 [7]; the Royal BC Museum Foundation (formerly Friends of the Royal BC Museum Foundation), a non-profit organization created in 1970 to support the Royal BC Museum financially and to assist its work by forming links within the community; Security Services, responsible for risk management, emergency response, security services, and business continuity expertise; and Property Management and Operations, who focus on sustainability, recycling, and environment control within the museum.
History
The BC Government founded the Royal BC Museum in 1886 in response to a petition from prominent citizens who were concerned about the loss of British Columbian artifacts. Judge Matthew Baillie Begbie, Charles Semlin, William Fraser Tolmie, and former Premier George A. Walkem were amongst those who wanted to stop European and American museums from appropriating BC artifacts.[8] Notably, the petitioners argued that the export of First Nations artifacts was particularly troubling, under the premise that “their loss [was] frequently irreparable.”[9]
On October 25, 1886, the 15 by 20 foot Provincial Museum of Natural History and Anthropology opened in the Birdcages (the former BC Legislative buildings).[10] The first curator was naturalist John Fannin, who donated his own large collection of preserved birds and animals to the museum.[11] After its inception, the Royal BC Museum continually expanded. In 1896, the museum was given space in the east wing of the new Legislative buildings. The museum’s mandate was updated by the BC government in 1913, and the collection of natural history specimens and anthropological material became official parts of the museum’s operations, as well as the dissemination of knowledge to the people of British Columbia.[12] In 1921, the basement of the east annex of the Legislature was excavated to provide the museum with additional room. As part of the 1967 Canadian centenary celebrations, BC Premier W. A. C. Bennett committed to building a new home for the Royal BC Museum.[13] It opened on August 16, 1968, with a final construction budget of $9.5 million. The museum remains housed in this building.[14]
Cultural Precinct
The museum is situated in the cultural precinct, an area comprising various significant historical buildings near the Inner Harbour.[15] The cultural precinct occupies the space between Douglas Street, Belleville Street, and Government Street. Included in the cultural precinct is the BC Archives, Helmcken House, St. Ann's Schoolhouse (built in 1844), the Netherlands Centennial Carillon, Thunderbird Park, and Mungo Martin House, Wawadit'la, a traditional big house built by Mungo Martin and his family.[7]
Permanent galleries
The natural history gallery on the second floor displays life-sized displays of the diverse geography of the province (such as the Fraser River delta, and prehistoric life (including a woolly mammoth), and a simulated journey to the depths of the ocean. More recently, a section on climate was added, including information on the effects of modern climate change.
The modern history gallery on the third floor begins with "Century Hall" which displays collections of artifacts of the 20th century. Visitors pass into a replica of a cobblestone streetscape of early 20th-century Victoria (with silent movie theatre, a hotel, a train station, old automobiles, and Chinatown). The display shifts to a tour of early forestry, fishing, and mining industries (including a mine shaft and water wheel), and then a history of exploration (that includes a model of the original Fort Victoria and a large scale replica of Captain George Vancouver's ship the HMS Discovery.
The First People's gallery on the third floor is a First Nations exhibit, portraying life before and after contact with Europeans. The gallery includes a collection of masks, totem poles, and a Kwakwaka'wakw longhouse built by Henry Hunt, and grandsons, Tony Hunt and Richard Hunt. The gallery is criticized by indigenous scholars for its portrayal of First Nations people, and its use of controversial images and film from Edward Curtis.[16]
Affiliations
The Museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.
Images
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Thunderbird Park with the museum in the background -
The popular woolly mammoth in the natural history gallery -
The recreated water wheel in the modern history gallery -
Stó:lō people fishing with traditional dipnets on the Fraser River -
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Haida totem pole in Thunderbird Park -
Other Haida totems in Thunderbird Park -
A totem pole on the grounds of the Royal BC Museum -
Okanagan/Syilx family portrait -
A totem pole located outside the Royal BC Museum -
Historical ladies' accessories -
A recreated underwater exhibit at the Royal BC Museum -
A car in a recreated garage at the Royal BC Museum -
The main entrance of the Royal BC Museum -
Totem poles in front of the Royal BC Museum -
Several totem poles in Thunderbird Park
See also
References
- ^ Historical Record of Royal British Columbia Museum Corporation, Royal British Columbia Museum, p. 10
{{citation}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ 2010-11 Annual Report, p. 40
- ^ Corley-Smith, Peter.The Ring of Time: The Story of the British Columbia Provincial Museum. Royal BC Museum, 1985, p. 67-73
- ^ "Royal B.C. Museum CEO Offers Farewell Tour". Times Colonist.
- ^ "Royal BC Museum Opens the Curious Exhibition". RBCM News Release. 13 June 2012.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Royal BC Museum CEO Awarded CBE Honour". RBCM News Release. 16 June 2012.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b "About the RBCM". RBCM News Release. 12 September 2012.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Corley-Smith, Peter. White Bears and Other Curiosities: The First 100 Years of the Royal British Columbia Museum. Royal BC Museum, 1989.
- ^ Corley-Smith, Peter.The Ring of Time: The Story of the British Columbia Provincial Museum. Royal BC Museum, 1985, p. 1
- ^ Corley-Smith, Peter. White Bears and Other Curiosities: The First 100 Years of the Royal British Columbia Museum. Royal BC Museum, 1989. p. 20
- ^ Norris, Thomas. "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: Fannin, John." http://www.biographi.ca/EN/009004-119.01-e.php?id_nbr=6703 . 2000. Accessed 23 January 2013.
- ^ Corley-Smith, Peter. White Bears and Other Curiosities: The First 100 Years of the Royal British Columbia Museum. Royal BC Museum, 1989. p. 57
- ^ Corley-Smith, Peter.The Ring of Time: The Story of the British Columbia Provincial Museum. Royal BC Museum, 1985, p. 9
- ^ Corley-Smith, Peter. White Bears and Other Curiosities: The First 100 Years of the Royal British Columbia Museum. Royal BC Museum, 1989. p. 138
- ^ Corley-Smith, Peter.The Ring of Time: The Story of the British Columbia Provincial Museum. Royal BC Museum, 1985, p. 67-73
- ^ Gloria Frank, "'That's my dinner on display': First Nations Reflection on Museum Culture," BC Studies 125/126 (2000)
External links
