From summer camps to Backstage Passes, we’ve got what you need to get the most out of your Behind the Scenes experience.
Backstage Pass tours
1:00, 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday during the summer
| Yep, that’s right. Grab your backstage pass: we’re going to actually take you into the collections. |
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See for yourself where we keep those jars, boxes and bins, and experience the working environment of our talented researchers and staff. We’ve got tours of the Entomology or Invertebrates Labs, the History Collection or, beginning later in the year, the Botany or Vertebrates Collections.
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All tours pass through the Exhibition Arts area, giving you a glimpse into our artists’ minds as they go about creating displays and replicas. To keep the collections safe and to ensure our staff can keep working while groups pass through, tours are limited to ten people each. Each Backstage Pass tour lasts 30 minutes. You can sign up in person an hour ahead of each tour, on a first-come first-served basis. These optional tours will run on Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the summer and fall.
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Thursday Night Museum Café
September 16 and November 18, 2010; and January 20, 2011.
Doors: 6:30 p.m.
Event: 7 to 9 p.m.
Location: Biodiversity Lounge, 2nd floor in the Behind the Scenes Gallery. Refreshments available.
Adults: $8.00 per single event / $21.00 for the series, plus HST.
Seniors / Students with ID / Museum Members: $6.00 per single event / $15.00 for the series, plus HST.
Tickets are available two weeks prior to the event from the Royal BC Museum Box Office or online.
The Royal BC Museum invites you to participate in a series of discussions on biodiversity. Join members of the community in a lively, informal atmosphere where you will hear from topic specialists, have a chance to share your opinion and discuss what matters to you.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Blue, Clear Water
British Columbia has 25% of Canada's fresh flowing water. What is water? How do we use it? What needs to change? Come and whet your appetite for discussion.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
New Species
"More than 50,000 different species (not including single-celled organisms) exist in BC but only about 3,800 of these have been assessed for their conservation status." (The Biodiversity Atlas of BC).
Why is it important to identify new species and how is it done? Hear about some of the new species being described by Royal BC Museum curators.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
International Year of Forests
"Since 2000, 36 million hectares of primary forest have been lost each year." (The Biodiversity Atlas of BC).
Forests have played an important role socially, economically and spiritually in British Columbia's past. What is the future of BC's forests and what must change in order to protect them?
Eco-Shops
October 16 and November 20, 2010; January 29, March 12, and April 16, 2011
Special topics for adults with a focus on sustainable living and environmental stewardship. Hosted by RBCM curators and visiting experts.
Cost: $25 +HST per person (10% discount for Members)
Behind-the-Scenes Lecture Series for Members
Members will learn more about these opportunities through their monthly e-updates.
I-Spy Saturdays
September 18, October 30 and November 27, 2010; February 26, March 19, April 9 and June 4, 2011
A series of special three-hour family workshops offered by RBCM curators and visiting experts. Choose from “Super NATURAL Hallowe’en”, “Tree-mendous!”, “Fish Tales” and many more!
Cost: $10 +HST per person (10% discount for Members)
Tickets go on sale two weeks before the event and sales close two days before the event. Tickets can be purchased at the Royal BC Museum box office or online.
Saturday, September 18, 2010 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Luminara Lantern-Making Workshop for Kids and Parents
Led by Luminara lantern artist Jen Witvliet.
Location: Student Lunch Room, Royal BC Museum.
Victoria's Luminara Lantern Festival has transformed into a week-long community celebration starting September 18. Come to the Royal BC Museum and make a Luminara lantern to carry! In this fun and imaginative workshop, you can use tissue paper and glue with natural and recycled materials to construct a balloon latern. Decorate your creation with your own designs and natural objects. Little kids can make a simple decorated balloon shape, and older kids can make sea creatures, plants or other organic shapes inspired by the Behind the Scenes exhibition.
Saturday, October 30, 2010 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Super NATURAL Hallowe'en
Location: Student Lunch Room, Royal BC Museum.
Learn to love the iconic creatures of Hallowe'en – spiders, snakes, bats, rats, wolves and more.
Fossil Finds
Fall 2010 (date TBA)
Speak with fossil experts on a Saturday inside the Royal BC Museum: Behind the Scenes exhibition.
Included with Museum Admission or Membership.
Planet In Focus Environmental Film & Video Festival
Earth Week - April 2011
More details will follow for this coast-to-coast simultaneous event, brought to you by the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada. Prepare for a three-day event featuring children’s animation, a family program of documentary shorts and a gala premiere presentation featuring a high-profile environmental film.
Behind-the-Scenes “Night at the Museum”
May 13/14, 2011
Travel back in time on an overnight adventure that you'll never forget! After everyone has gone home and the museum has closed its doors for the night, we invite families to join us for an exciting night of time travel through British Columbia’s past! Meet your time travel guides who will take you on a fascinating journey through primordial coasts and forests, a West Coast big house and the frontier days of BC’s wild west! When your travels have ended settle down under the watchful eye of the Woolly Mammoth for a well-deserved sleep.
Stay tuned for more details and prices in the Fall!
Speed Date a Curator
May 26, 2011
This new annual event lets you get up close and personal with our experts. Using the “speed dating” format, small groups chat with a curator about biodiversity and current research at the museum.
Camp Inside Out
Summer 2011
Camp Inside Out thrills eight- to ten-year-olds with a week-long behind-the-scenes summer camp immersion. Campers will see hidden artifacts and specimens, meet curators and special effects crews, and learn about how museums work. Crafts, games, and explorations of BC’s incredible natural world beyond the museum walls completes the week. It’s a new adventure every day!
"As a parent I love that she is experiencing more than just "looking" at the exhibits... Just for fun, I asked her if it gave her more ideas on what she might want to be when she grows up and she said YES!!!"
"We did the program last year and my daughter loved it. She was excited to have the opportunity to do another one."
"Overall I loved that the children got to see that the museum is more than the exhibits - they got to meet and interact with the staff who make it all happen - collecting or finding the artifact is only a beginning step - different art forms are utilized in the displays."