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Very well done
Its a taxidermy. Some formaldehyde-ed creatures. They have a bald eagle lying out with the rest of the birds, which, being from the USA, is kinda wierd to see (federal offense / endangered species / national mascot). Good gift shop.
The "undersea" exhibit leaves a little to be desired - go across the street to the actual undersea boat exhibit.
Go within an hour of closing (5pm), get friendly with the security guard at the bottom of the escalator and skip the admission fee.
Very nice little museum highlighting both the natural history and the social history of the area. A good value for the admission price and well worth the time. We took our two teenagers and they seemed to enjoy it as well. There were also activities for younger children, which we skipped. Allow 2-3 hours.
The museum kept a group of 7 of us (3 adults, 4 9-12 year old kids) completely occupied for 4-5 hours - there is lots to see and do.
Plus, a special shout out to the ladies in the gift shop, who will give you great local dining recommendations - we wouldn't have found Spinnakers without them!
I thoroughly enjoyed the Royal British Columbia Museum! We decided to stop in on our last day in Victoria since the weather was not as spectacular as the previous day. After checking our coats and purchasing our tickets we made our way up the escalators to the exhibits. The first one we entered was about the history of the "First Peoples" and how they lived before and after the arrivals of the Europeans.
We then continued onto the Natural History Exhibit which was full of different ecosystems and included the animals that inhabit them. It reminded me of an aquarium but with no live animals. The last exhibit was one of my favorites (the Modern History Gallery) and included several sights and sounds from more than 200 years ago.
Overall, I'd highly recommend a visit here especially since you can see all the galleries in about 2 hours without feeling rushed.
Listed in: Weekend in Victoria B.C.
Quite excellent museum. Detailed exhibits. Clean and very professional. Highly rec. for when visiting Victoria
The Royal British Columbia Museum is everything the Glenbow must aspire to be, but the RBCM still has many of the same shortcomings.
Much like the Glenbow, the best parts of the RBCM are the visiting exhibits. The difference being, at the RBCM, the exhibits are much more enjoyable. The permanent exhibits are overall better than most museums of this size that I have seen, and they do not compare to the Smithsonian.
Thunderbird Park is a nice place to see if you have not yet, or have no intention of visiting the Anthropology Museum at UBC (which is a superior museum)
I always enjoyed the RBCM as a child and I think this would be a great place for children today
Good Things: We could get student admission, they have a visiting exhibit from England, the museum is close to so much, you can come and go the whole day with your ticket, it has an IMAX theater, there were some hands on parts, and I learned some cool stuff.
Not So Good Things: Student admission is still high, the exhibit from England was neat, but unfortunately you couldn't take any pictures, and the main focus of the museum is on local culture. So, if you go here expecting art or more worldly things, you won't find them here. It's mostly history, and the only part that wasn't local history was in the visiting exhibit.
It was a nice way to spend the morning, but it's not the best thing in the world if you've been to the Met or the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. (all free).
*THIS* is what we should be striving for with the Houston Museum of Natural Science!
This museum is a perfection of exhibits and displays of natural and human life and history of British Columbia.
The First Peoples Gallery was my absolute favourite and I spent almost two hours there alone. {taken from their website as I just couldn't find my own words} You are privileged to enter the house of Chief Kwakwabalasami, Jonathan Hunt, a Kwakwaka'wakw chief from Tsaxis (Fort Rupert). His son, Henry Hunt, and grandsons, Tony Hunt and Richard Hunt, created the house and carvings for the exhibit. The family maintains the ceremonial rights to the house.
Thunderbird Park just outside of the museum was equally alluring to me.
If I was a kid, or I were taking kids below the age of 13, this might have been better. But as it is I'm an 18 year old girl who visited it alone and I kind of had to post two stars to cause contrast against the other reviews. I read them before I went because somebody said it was the best museum in the world, and I thought "better than the Met in NY? Than the Louvre? Well I've got to see this!" But maybe she meant, not so much better for the art lover, but better for the Kid At Heart who have an extra $18.50 to spend for a couple hours of tactile, mild entertainment. I would have given 3 stars if it wasn't so overpriced, and I bought a youth discount ticket! Can't imagine spending $30 on one. $8 max. But if you're the type to buy a $30 baseball cap, okay.
The thing that held a little bit of my attention was the recent British Museum exhibit. But it's kind of a dumbed down version without big words or lots of research. I could just be another one of those Americanist aholes who thinks that only NYC curators could properly do the job to rejuvinate an original priceless piece, but this whole looked like it was planned for the three minute attention span of an under-educated tourist. But the preservation of the mummy and sarcophagus lid was excellent. The islamist art corridor though is redeeming and worth an intense look. Gorgeous, painstakingly minute detail blows my mind.
Anyway, overall, I would have skipped it and just walked around Beacon Park which really is fantastically beautiful and bought a $20 Victoria history book.
Listed in: Victoria
As a museum geek, I always zoom into the local museum whenever I visit a new city. The Royal BC Museum is great! Though I think I would enjoy it more if I was kid. Lots of fun stuff to see and touch. The totem pole collection were quite impressive. It was fascinating and a bit sad to learn about the indigenous people who lived there before the "white man" took over.
My favorite part was watching "The Gold Rush" starring Charlie Chaplin. It was showing in a mini theater in an old town replica. I was enthralled at seeing this b&w movie! I wished I could have seen it in its entirety.
This is a must if you're visiting!
Listed in: Hot spots in Victoria
This is the BEST museum in the world!
(Formerly the Provincial Museum)
It easily rates TEN stars.
Whenever we are in the Pacific Northwest we go to Victoria and go to this museum as a destination place.
http://www.royalbcmuse...
Fabulous!
Fantastic!
The First People's Gallery is so awesome.
The exhibits depict what life was like before and after the Europeans arrived. There is a native house where ceremonies are still performed.
There are photos, baskets, weavings and other artifacts that are so beautiful and moving.
The Natural History Gallery has dioramas that are NOT enclosed in glass. Even though the animals may be "stuffed" they are placed in such a well constructed and detailed environment.; you feel like you are in the woods, at the ocean, etc.
The History Gallery is my favorite.
They have a recreation of a turn of the century town with every kind of shop imaginable. There is also a small Chinatown.
On the second level there is a section you can peer into. Someone is making apple pies..You can SEE the crust and apples laid out on a cutting board and you can SMELL the pie that is in the oven!
There is also a small movie theatre playing silent movies.
There is a train station with a fake train clicketty clacking past the windows.
There is a replica of Captain Vancouver's boat.
This museum is sheer paradise.
The people who designed it and are in charge of the exhibits should be given medals!
Everything on display in this museum is so "user friendly" ----what a concept, eh?
I wish some of the US museums would be more like this fabulous place!
AND and and their gift shop is the BEST!
Listed in: Things or Places I love that…, TEN STAR PLACES, Can I Move in ?, Far away faves, Best Museum Gift Shops
World class, for sure!!
I wish this place was located in the US!! Granted it wouldn't be as cool nor as hip!
Damn those Canadians and their will in educating the masses. I mean this place really is da bomb! Educational, yes, interesting for teens, yes, totally addictive for parents and a 5yo, HELLS YES!!
The staff here is always friendly, they love answering questions, but don't piss them off and just check your freaking bag at the front counter, okay?
Past visit they had an art presentation of Linda McCartney's photo work over the years, yes, Paul's first wife, the one who didn't take him for several of millions of pounds!! Her work was wonderful and a showed a great insight to the luv-feast that took place in the late 60's/early 70's...pre-Yoko Ono, dat beehotch! *ahem*
More recent was the Titanic presentation, you could even touch the ice to get a feel of the chill!
We could easily get lost in here for several days and no one would notice, even the teenagers.....
Listed in: Our Vancouver/Victoria BC must…
As long as the woolly mammoth still stands at the entrance to the permanent exhibit, I'll keep visiting the Royal BC Museum, every single time I come to Victoria. Maybe it's because this place was a field-trip staple, but I still feel like a kid when I walk through those doors. Very little changes - from the natural history dioramas of the forests and coasts complete with life-size walruses, seals, moose, and more, to the Victoria street with a creepy Chinatown off to the side and the mill, mine, and farm setups.
They also get some blockbuster touring exhibits in the spring and summer that usually provide the impetus for coming on back to the RBCM... such as the Leonardo Da Vinci one a few years back, and the Titanic one that came around last year. Looks like one of artifacts from the august British Museum will be coming this year.
I love that mammoth.
One of North America's finest museums, we are truly blessed to have it here in Victoria. Okay for older kids, my 4 year old just wanted to ride the escalator though.
The RBCM is the real deal, and don't complain if you have to pay a minimal $10 admission. We need to support goddamn culture in this country, and the RBCM boasts excellent and knowledgeable staff, fascinating rotating special exhibits, professional and clean regular museum floors, a bangin' IMAX theatre, plus it's right on the water and in the midst of tourist-central which, in Victoria, really isn't a bad thing.
Listed in: Victoria Foodgasms and Other…
I love the RBC Museum, so much so that I decided to volunteer for them! I always looked forward to visiting when I was a child, and I still find something new or something that I forgot about every time I visit these days. The old town gallery is really neat, but the natural history gallery is my favorite. The new addition of the Ocean Station was well worth the wait. Very cool! The best time to go is early in the morning, 10 - 12, on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. You'll end up having the whole place to yourself a lot of the time.
Incredible museum and probably one of the best museums Ive ever been to. The treasures section was incredible with tons of stuff on loan from the British museum. This museum is also huge so bring your walking shoes because if you plan on seeing everything you will be all over the place. Come early to avoid crowds.
My dad is a fanatic when it comes to educating his kids. Especially when we go on a family "vacation" during spring break or fall break. Ugh! Education vacation, I call it. Anyway, my parents took us here to get an idea of Canada and what we can learn. IMHO....I really loved it. I got the chance to understand things about Canada if I haven't learned at school on my own. It's definitely a must-see, especially for kids!
As a child this was such a magical place to go. I was glad to visit last year and find that it is freshly updated and even more magical (few things in life are like this - no?). So do as the others have said, spend your next rainy day here.
Listed in: Best of Touristy Victoria
I enjoyed the displays on the Indiginous peoples very much. This place was very educational and definitely worth seeing if in Victoria for a short time.
diffinitely worth it, wait for a rainy day(Victoria has a lot)-the exhibits are good , the staff really cares-if you don't like one you'll like another and there is an IMAX if you need to jazz it up a bit-the gift shop is also a winner
Listed in: Vancouver Island
Victoria, BC
Victoria, BC
Brentwood Bay, BC
Victoria, BC
Victoria, BC
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