Step through the doors of the oldest house in British Columbia still on its original site and experience what Christmas was like in Victoria more than 100 years ago. Decorations, music and first-hand accounts will take you back to Christmas past. 

Free admission. Drop in anytime between 12pm and 3pm any weekend day in December—no registration required.

Start the new year with a moment of stillness and reflection in our galleries. Discover self-guided activity stations throughout the galleries designed for mindfulness. Stop by our mindfulness lounge, take a self-guided tour, write some poetry, and more. Enjoy a peaceful journey through the exhibits at your own pace.

What to Expect

Step into the museum’s immersive forest diorama for a restorative sound experience. In this domed room, you enter the magnificent coastal forest of British Columbia—a unique setting that invites a serene and calming atmosphere. During this 30-minute session, you’ll be guided through a journey of sound and song designed to encourage stillness.

Wear comfortable clothing and bring a yoga mat or any props that help you feel supported. All experience levels are welcome to join this invitation to slow down and reconnect with both your inner rhythm and the natural world around you.

Experience the serenity of the Natural History gallery during a yoga session set within the immersive forest diorama, led by Natalie Wright from One Yoga Victoria. This unique setting blends mindfulness and gentle movement amidst a backdrop of natural beauty and ambient forest sounds.

This session is part of our larger Mindfulness at the Museum series, which offers a variety of ways to pause, reflect, and connect with the galleries through guided and self-directed activities.

What to Expect

Learn how we depend on bats and how you can help these amazing flying mammals. Join a Royal BC Museum educator for this special online program with NatureKids BC. See bat specimens up close, learn what they do in the winter and practice using your bat wings in a fun activity. 

Watch the recorded program later from our video library on Youtube.

Learn about the Ice Age and the Woolly Mammoths who lived there. Using images, video and objects we will learn about how Woolly Mammoths adapted to survive in the Ice Age. There will be opportunities for questions and interaction.

Grades 1-4

Pre and post visit resources: https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/playlist/meet-the-mammoth

Fabulous Plants and their Fungal Friends

Two Kingdoms - plants and fungi - from extraordinary partnerships that allow both partners to survive and thrive. This talk will feature BC's lichens, mycorrhizae, fungal endophytes and magnificent mycoheterotrophs. 

Speaker: Andy MacKinnon, co-author of Mushrooms of BC, a Royal BC Museum Handbook

Magic at the Museum brings close-up magic to the historic parlour of Helmcken House for an enchanting evening of wonder. 

Experience the rare delight of parlour magic performed in an actual Victoria parlour -- within one of British Columbia's oldest homes. Dave Morris, Andrew Brimstone, and special guests perform sleight-of-hand, mentalism, and more in an up-close, unforgettable setting. 

Discover the art of illusion where history and magic intertwine, creating moments of astonishment within walls that hold their own mysteries.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a global youth robotics program that empowers students from Kindergarten through Grade 12 to learn STEM skills through hands-on challenges. In FIRST LEGO League, participants in this competition design, build, and program LEGO robots while exploring real-world themes through research and innovation.

The process of archiving, protecting and making government records accessible is an important way that citizens of democracies keep governments accountable. Join an archivist for an investigation into the importance of primary sources containing but not limited to voter lists and other government records. Examine who was included in the democratic processes in the past and who was missing? There will be time for Q&A in this live interactive program. 

Grades 4-7

Celebrate Black History Month at the Royal BC Museum with a dynamic display of booths from local organizations, hosted by the BC Black History Awareness Society. 

Heritage Day is an opportunity to meet and talk with direct descendants about their stories and family history. The exhibits include images, artifacts and archival documents.

Details of the presenters and displays coming soon.

Victoria at Dusk is a free winter arts experience that will light up Downtown Victoria with art, performance and community connection from February 13 to 15, with the Royal BC Museum as one of the hubs. 

Explore the self-guided walking route to discover art, performances and interactive experiences for all ages. 

Stay tuned for more details.

Join us for an intimate storytelling experience inside historic Helmcken House, one of British Columbia's oldest residences. 

As part of The Story Collection series, this site-specific event invites you to walk through the historic home while storytellers share personal tales inspired by themes of memory, place, belongs - and also love. Held on Valentine's Day, this evening reflects on the many ways love threads itself through our lives: in the people we cherish, the places that hold us, and the stories we carry.

Celebrate BC Heritage Week and Black history month! Join a digital access specialist at BC Archives, for a peek inside the scrapbook of Selena Smith, a Black Canadian 19^th-century musician and teacher. We will explore the calling cards, musical programs, and letters that document Selena’s many accomplishments and use these primary sources to pull together the details of her life. Hone your detective skills to gain insights through primary sources into the life of someone who lived and died over 100 years ago!

Celebrate BC Heritage Week and Black history month! Join a digital access specialist at BC Archives, for a peek inside the scrapbook of Selena Smith, a Black Canadian 19^th-century musician and teacher. We will explore the calling cards, musical programs, and letters that document Selena’s many accomplishments and use these primary sources to pull together the details of her life. Hone your detective skills to gain insights through primary sources into the life of someone who lived and died over 100 years ago!

Welcome the New Year with movement, music, and cultural traditions. Join Jessica Yue to learn a festive Chinese New Year dance and explore how families celebrate this joyful season—honouring past good fortune and wishing for prosperity in the year ahead.

Join a museum educator on an investigative journey through the natural history gallery as we explore some techniques that educators use to communicate science! Be prepared to use your observation skills and practice scientific illustration skills with one our talented exhibit designers!

Grades 4 to 7

Pre and post visit material: 

https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/pathways/drawing-nature/?view=look

Join us for a special Science Sunday in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, where art and observation meet.

Inspired by the stunning photographs around you, families will slow down to really see nature - noticing textures, patterns, shapes, and the small details that make each composition unique. This drop-in event includes sketching activities and close observation games while exploring how both photographers and illustrators capture the natural world.

In 1858, when gold was discovered in the Fraser River, what is now known as British Columbia became a destination for hopeful miners from around the world. For every gold seeker who rushed here, there were factors that drove them from their homelands and dreams that enticed to a new and foreign place. The impacts of the gold rush on British Columbia were large, and lasting.

Grades 4 to 5

Pre and post visit resources: https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/playlist/bcs-gold-rush/

Plants and animals have features (body parts) and behaviours that help them survive. These are called adaptations. Learn about some BC animals and the amazing ways they survive and thrive in our local environments through this visit to the natural history gallery.

Grades K to 3

Pre and post visit resources: https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/playlist/amazing-adaptations/