Fall features First Nations masters, mummy exploration and more at the Royal BC Museum.
Savour Saturdays at Unexplored Highlights, a four-part adult learning program led by our expert staff that explores some of the biggest ideas preoccupying the museum world. Through intimate conversations, dynamic lectures and behind-the-scenes visits, participants will get an exclusive look at some of the most intriguing items in our collection. This is a four-part series with one session per week from Oct. 13 to Nov. 4. Tickets cost $150 per person.
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Wondering why there aren’t any mummies in our Egypt exhibition? Join us for the October edition of the It’s Complicated discussion series focusing on Human Remains and Cultural Belongings on Oct. 18. Learn how the Royal BC Museum ensures ancestral remains and cultural belongings are handled respectfully and the ways in which these belongings are returned to their families and communities. Join us for this free event in Newcombe Conference Hall on Oct. 18 from 5:15 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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With Women’s History Month beginning in October, discover inspirational women who have worked at the Royal BC Museum and BC Archives or whose records are held here. Join Dr. Erica Wheeler, Head of Collections Care and Conservation, Heidi Gartner, Invertebrates Collections Manager and Researcher and Genevieve Weber, Archivist at the BC Archives, for a Live at Lunch discussion highlighting influential women. From botanist Mary Gibson Henry to provincial librarian and archivist Alma Russell, discover how their legacies impacted us and learn about the challenges they faced. Live at Lunch takes place on October 3 in Newcombe Conference Hall; attendance is by donation.
READ ALSO: Indigenous carvers bring art to the people outside Victoria’s Royal BC Museum
Visitors and locals alike have been delighted to watch Tsawout Nation master artists Tom and Perry LaFortune carving the Crossing Cultures and Healing totem pole this summer. The pole is now near completion and will be finished on Friday, Oct. 5. It will then be taken off-site before it is moved to its permanent location at the Ministry of Health in November. Tom and Perry are working on the intricate details of the figures and will be painting parts of the pole in the coming days. Be sure to stop by to talk with the LaFortune brothers and see the figures take shape. The pole is outside the museum; access is free and the carvers are at work between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.
From Oct. 4 to 22 explore a collection of Indigenous artworks created by artists from four First Nation communities across BC at a cultural art showcase called Reclaimed: Culture and Life. The TimberWest First Nations Cultural Art Showcase took place on the upper plaza in late July, giving artists the chance to interact with visitors and showcase their work, including carvings, cedar weaving and contemporary clothing with traditional designs. See a selection of these pieces in Clifford Carl Hall from the following artists: brothers Dave and Jonathan Jacobson of Tsaxis First Nation in Fort Rupert, Tom Hunt Jr. of Wei Wai Kum First Nation in Campbell River, Toni Frank of shíshálh First Nation in Sechelt, and the Good Family from Snuneymuxw First Nation in Nanaimo. Access to this program is free. Join us during regular open hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
What animals creep, crawl and fly late night when most of us are asleep? Find out through our Wonder Sunday series beginning with Animals of the Night. Back for 2018, this weekly family drop-in program provides activities for kids of all ages from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm each Sunday. Each month has a new theme and explores different areas of the galleries.
There’s more to the story of the Royal BC Museum and BC Archives than you could imagine. Want to know more about our quirks, curiosities and fascinating characters? Written by Patricia E. Roy, our latest publication, The Collectors, will be available to purchase on October 15. Retailing for $39.95, the book will be available at local bookstores, the Royal Museum Shop and online through the Royal BC Museum Bookshop.
For more information about any of the special events above, visit our online calendar at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/visit/calendar.
c.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca
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