Helmcken House was built by Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken, a surgeon with the Hudson’s Bay Company. It is one of the oldest houses in British Columbia still on its original site. St. Ann’s Schoolhouse, built in 1844 in the HBC’s Red River style, may be the oldest building still standing in Victoria. Visit these two exceptional heritage buildings for a peek into Victoria’s past.

Join us for three days of outdoor events in celebration of Canada Day. Music and dance bring the diverse communities in BC to life and on Canada Day our annual Penny Carnival offers fun for the whole family!

Everyone is welcome to belly-up to the local saloon in Old Town, located in our Becoming BC exhibition, for some musical fun with our player piano and to learn about the history of alcohol in British Columbia. 

From the fascinating to the scandalous, this short performance spans the decades from the golden age of saloons to the prohibition.

Join us for three days of outdoor events in celebration of Canada Day. Music and dance bring the diverse communities in BC to life and on Canada Day our annual Penny Carnival offers fun for the whole family!

Join us for three days of outdoor events in celebration of Canada Day. Music and dance bring the diverse communities in BC to life and on Canada Day our annual Penny Carnival offers fun for the whole family!

See for yourself where we usually keep those jars, boxes and bins and experience the working environment of our talented researchers and staff. This tour will focus on our entomology collection (insects) and how these collections help us to learn about our province.Tours are limited to 10 people. Sign up begins at the information desk in the main lobby one hour prior to the tour start time.

Destination Canada has identified these amazing tours as a Canadian Signature Experience.

See for yourself where we usually keep those jars, boxes and bins and experience the working environment of our talented researchers and staff. This tour will focus on our mammal collection and how these collections help us to learn about our province.Tours are limited to 10 people. Sign up begins at the information desk in the main lobby one hour prior to the tour start time.

Destination Canada has identified these amazing tours as a Canadian Signature Experience.

Join us for three days of specular performances on an outdoor stage at the Royal BC Museum. Each day will begin with a traditional welcome by the Esquimalt and Songhees, your host nations, followed by by more than 100 cultural performers from across BC, telling their history and stories on stage with their songs and dances.

Join us for three days of specular performances on an outdoor stage at the Royal BC Museum. Each day will begin with a traditional welcome by the Esquimalt and Songhees, your host nations, followed by by more than 100 cultural performers from across BC, telling their history and stories on stage with their songs and dances.

Join us for three days of specular performances on an outdoor stage at the Royal BC Museum. Each day will begin with a traditional welcome by the Esquimalt and Songhees, your host nations, followed by by more than 100 cultural performers from across BC, telling their history and stories on stage with their songs and dances.

Join our friendly and informative guides and embark on a special sixty-minute tour in the museum’s modern history galleries. Tours are free with same-day admission or membership. 

See for yourself where we usually keep those jars, boxes and bins and experience the working environment of our talented researchers and staff. This tour will focus on our entomology collection (insects) and how these collections help us to learn about our province.Tours are limited to 10 people. Sign up begins at the information desk in the main lobby one hour prior to the tour start time.

Destination Canada has identified these amazing tours as a Canadian Signature Experience.

See for yourself where we usually keep those jars, boxes and bins and experience the working environment of our talented researchers and staff. This tour will focus on our mammal collection and how these collections help us to learn about our province.Tours are limited to 10 people. Sign up begins at the information desk in the main lobby one hour prior to the tour start time.

Destination Canada has identified these amazing tours as a Canadian Signature Experience.

Snapshot Tour: Join our friendly and informative guides in the lobby and embark on a special thirty-minute tour in the museum’s Gold Rush gallery. Tours are included with same-day admission or membership. 

Snapshot Tour: Join our friendly and informative guides in the lobby and embark on a special thirty-minute tour in the museum’s Gold Rush gallery. Tours are included with same-day admission or membership. 

This World Oceans Day join Curator of Vertebrate Zoology Dr. Gavin Hanke and Invertebrates Collections Manager Heidi Gartner, as they conduct a beach seine at Willows Beach. Friends of Uplands Park will join us too! In the past we've caught more than 20 species of fishes, along with crabs, shrimp and other invertebrates (animals without backbones). What will we discover this year? Everyone will get an up-close look at what lives beneath the waves. 

Find out what’s happening at the museum and archives in these monthly talks featuring curators, staff and researchers. First Wednesday of each month. Admission by donation.

Back to the Beach: Insects on the Shores of Vancouver Island
Dr. Joel Gibson, curator of entomology

Join our friendly and informative guides and embark on a special sixty-minute tour in the museum’s modern history galleries. Tours are free with same-day admission or membership. 

Join our friendly and informative guides and embark on a special sixty-minute tour in the museum’s modern history galleries. Tours are free with same-day admission or membership. 

Guest Speaker: Sally Butterfield, Archivist, BC Archives

The BC Archives acquires public records from the Government of British Columbia as well as private records of provincial significance from individuals, families, organizations, and businesses. The BC Archives receives hundreds of inquiries each year from private individuals or organizations interested in donating their records – each inquiry is considered on a case by case basis.