Victoria!

An hour and a half ferry ride brought us to the capitol of British Columbia, Victoria. We were welcomed by gloomy skies and rain. It seemed like a good day to do something indoors, so we headed to the Museum of British Columbia. As you probably know, I am really into museums and I have no problem developing strong opinions regarding the educational value and design of museums. I wasn’t expecting much from this relatively small museum containing two major exhibit halls. Well, it knocked my socks off! The Museum of British Columbia was one of the best museums I’ve been to. The first major exhibit focused on the people of British Columbia, starting with the “first nations”, the Native American groups that inhabited the area for approximately 10,000 years. Gideon and I were intrigued by the artwork of these people, particularly the totem poles, animal masks, and argillite carvings.


The exhibit did an excellent job explaining the effects that European diseases, especially smallpox had on these native populations once white men arrived. Basically, the tribes were decimated. The white man took over, harvesting the animals, forests, and ground with wild abandon. The museum portrayed the story with life-sized dioramas of native homes, European ships, forests, coal mines, wood mills, street scenes and more. It was pretty incredible.


The second exhibit focused on the flora and fauna of the region. Again, life-sized dioramas made me feel like I was hunting woolly mammoths, encountering a grizzly bear in the forest, and exploring the sea in a submarine. I just wish more museums were like this one. I left feeling like I had a better understanding of British Columbia, like I had “experienced” life in B.C. 100, 100, and 10,000 years ago. Five stars to the Museum of British Columbia!