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Main entrance to Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia. Photo by Michael KIajban-

Top 10 Facts about Royal British Columbia Museum Victoria, BC

The Royal BC Museum consists of the province of British Columbia’s natural and human history museum and the British Columbia provincial archives.

The museum was founded in 1886, and the royal title was approved by Queen Elizabeth II and bestowed by HRH Prince Philip in 1987.

The museum is recognized worldwide as an innovative, thought-leading institution offering visitors an immersive experience with exhibition and inspiration programs.

One of the most prized displays is the 1965 Roll Royce phantom Limousine, once owned by John Lennon. It was later purchased by Vancouver billionaire Jim Pattison and donated to the museum.

The museum merged with the British Columbia provincial archives in 2003. In this article, discover the top 10 facts about Royal BC Museum.

1. Royal British Columbia permanent galleries

Haida argilite figure group. Photo by Ymblanter on

The museum includes three permanent galleries, natural history, Becoming British Columbia, and First people galleries.

The first people galleries contain an extensive collection of first nations artifacts. Many of the artifacts in the gallery are from the Haida people.

Indigenous scholars have criticized the first gallery for portraying first nations people and its use of controversial images and films by Edward Curtis.

The becoming BC gallery starts with the century hall, a collection of artifacts and replicas of BC’s history over the last 200 years.

Also, the becoming gallery is an exploration narrative containing models of the original fort Victoria, a port moody train station, the 1902 Trembley Homestead, and a large-scale replica of Captain George Vancouver’s ship HMS Discovery.

The natural history gallery contains information, artifacts, and life-sized of the province’s diverse geography from prehistoric times to the present day.

2. The HMS Discovery replica

HMS Discovery. Photo outsourced from

The large-scale replica of Captain George Vancouver’s ship HMS discovery is found at Royal BC Museum.

Captain George Vancouver was a British officer of the royal navy best known for his expedition. Only two of his portraits exist, and one resides at the Royal BC Museum.

George used to be the captain of the HMS Discovery. The replica of the HMS Discover at the royal museum has captain quarters you can man.

You can pull a seat at the table used for everything from meals to map making and even surgery at the replica.

Surrounding the replica at the museum is a rendering of the landscape of Yuquot drawn by an artist among the ship’s original crew.

3. It is a world-class museum of natural and human history

Image by Michal KIajban on

The human history department mainly represents the cultural, social, and economic history of the people of British Columbia.

Since the museum’s founding in 1886, it has collected anthropology artifacts.

The history department develops the records representing the province’s biodiversity by collecting or accepting donations each year, processing them into the collection, and making the specimen.

4. The Royal BC collection

The museum has approximately 7 million objects, including natural history specimen artifacts and archival records.

The natural history collection has 750,000 records of the specimen. Most specimens are from British Columbia and neighboring state territories and provinces.

The collection is divided into eight disciplines, entomology, paleontology, botany, invertebrate, zoology, Ichthyology, herpetology, mammalogy, and ornithology.

The Royal BC Museum collection policy state that the museum collection must be related to the natural or human history of BC.

The collection is divided into categories of representative objects and significant objects.

5. The IMAX Theatre

The Royal BC Museum has partnered with IMAX Theatre to deliver educational film shows and commercial entertainment.

The theater IMAX screen is the largest in the province but also one of only 35 IMAX 4K laser projection systems worldwide.

The screen in British Columbia, combined with crystal clear images in IMAX 4K laser and wrap-around digital sound, offers an incredible cinematic experience.

6. Publishing and publication at the Royal BC Museum

In 1891 the royal BC Museum began publishing when then curator John Fannin published a checklist of British Columbia birds.

Since then, the museum has produced thousands of books, papers, pamphlets, and other documents about its collection, research, and activities.

In 1993 the royal British Columbia Museum was distributed through major Canadian distribution, including the University of British Columbia Press and heritage distributors.

The museum publishes around four titles annually and has over forty printed books.

7. The exhibition art

First Nations Exhibit at Royal BC Museum. Photo by Adam Jones, Ph.D-

In the early 1970s, the museum started the exhibition arts department. The department now constructs all of the Royal BC Museum exhibits in-house.

The department is in charge of maintaining the permanent galleries, constructing the exhibition, setting them, and taking them down.

The exhibition art department comprises specialists with various skill sets, such as metal workers, welders, blacksmiths, and carpenters.

The department has people who specialize in casting, finishing, large format printing, lighting, jewelry, and software and hardware computation.

8. The Roya BC Museum living language exhibit

The living language exhibit allows visitors to learn more about the history of disrupted language in BC.

The exhibit helps you understand the complexity of those languages, the people, and the community.

The museum has art, videos, and audio installations that paint a captivating picture of indigenous communities’ activities to preserve their linguistic heritage.

This interactive exhibit on indigenous language earned the Royal BC Museum the 2015 American Alliance of the museum in Excelona in Exhibition award.

9. It anchors the cultural precinct

Thunderbird Park. Photo outsourced from

The museum is situated in the cultural precinct, a surrounding area with historical sites and monuments near the inner harbor.

The cultural precinct occupies the space between Douglass Street, Belleville Street, and government streets.

The BC archives, Netherlands centennial Carillon, thunderbird park, Helmcken House, St. Ann’s schoolhouse, and Mungo martin house are included in the cultural precinct.

10. The learning and education at the Royal BC Museum

The learning and visitors experience initiative at the Royal BC Museum runs public programs, workshops, lectures, and guided tours, all organized toward educating and engaging visitors.

There are also annual events, including Remembrance Day commemorations, the heritage fair, a Carol with the Carillon, and other Christmas activities at Helmcken House.

It is estimated that fifty schools, family, and adult programs are scheduled annually.