Insight Summer 2011

NEWSLETTER Summer 2011

Membership

Refreshed, Reinterpreted, Reopened!

Helmcken House and St Ann’s Schoolhouse

A Little Bit of Lennon www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

NEW!

WHAT’S INSIGHT

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MUSEUM

A message from our CEO Summer 2011 3 FEATURE

It has been an exciting spring for the Royal BC Museum!

At the end of May, Victoria City Council approved our rezoning application. The new Comprehensive Development Zone designation that council approved better reflects our current and future operations as one of the preeminent research and educational institutions in the world. I would like to thank the many people and organizations who came forward to support this endeavour. Your voices were crucial to this process.

The next phase of our vision will include the development of a functional program plan for the museum and archives, which is required prior to beginning architectural design. The Board will be discussing the process of securing a design architect. We will keep the community and the City of Victoria involved and continue our consultation. These are exciting times indeed!

We’re also delighted with the May reopening of Helmcken House and St Ann’s Schoolhouse. Do come by and admire the new sculpture of Dr. Helmcken in Elliot Square, and be sure to visit both buildings, which not only have been outfitted with state-of-the-art fire suppression systems, but have been refreshed and reinterpreted at the hands of our curatorial experts.

Congratulations to Dan Savard, Senior Manager for the Anthropology Audio-visual Collection. Dan was awarded the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize at the recent BC Book Prizes gala for his Images from the Likeness House (Royal BC Museum, 2010). Drop into the Royal Museum Shop for a look at this richly illustrated exploration of the relationship between the region’s First Peoples and the photographers who immortalized them on film.

All the best for a wonderful summer,

Pauline Rafferty CEO, Royal BC Museum

Helmcken House and St Ann’s Schoolhouse Welcome Visitors Once Again 4 Pauline Rafferty Receives Award

Season of Emily 5 FEATURE

Good Timber: Songs and Stories of the Western Logger

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Lorne Hammond, History Curator A Little Bit of Lennon 6–7 PROFILES

Staff Profile: Jana Stefan and Colin Longpre: Grizzly Bear Diorama Gets a Little TLC Volunteer Profile: Emily Member Profile: Angela, Shawn, Brodie and Lily Cote Partner Profile: London Drugs 7 WHAT’S ON

Coming events & exhibitions

MANAGING EDITOR Jennifer Vanderzee Membership and Marketing Administrator jvanderzee@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca MEMBERSHIP EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Angela Williams, Director of Business and Operational Services Erika Stenson, Marketing and Sales Manager David Alexander, Communications Manager Gerry Truscott, Publisher PHOTOGRAPHY Kim Martin, Carlo Mocellin, Andrew Niemann WHAT’S INSIGHT is an electronic newsletter released four times a year by the Royal BC Museum Membership Department: March, June, September and December.

In the interest of keeping our administrative costs low – and our carbon footprint small – the print version is provided to members without computer access only.

One more way to go green Ask for our email copy instead. Please contact: Jennifer Vanderzee Membership and Marketing Administrator 250.387.3287 membership@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

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Helmcken House and St Ann’s Schoolhouse Welcome Visitors Once Again operation in order to protect these precious structures and the artifacts within. And here’s the coolest part: every penny of these new improvements is due to the support from our community. British Columbia can rest a bit easier, knowing that the province’s most special places are receiving the greatest care a museum can offer.

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wo of BC’s most historically significant buildings are back on the scene and ready to welcome you. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, this past year the Royal BC Museum was able to make crucial upgrades to the fire suppression measures in Helmcken House and St Ann’s Schoolhouse. Not only have we installed state-of-the-art smoke detection, and sprinkler and alarm systems, but we’ve seized the opportunity to reinterpret the storyline of these two historically rich structures. Our curators, conservationists and historians have gone through every room in each building, imagining how best to interpret them for our visitors’ enjoyment and education. We think you’ll be delighted with the results of their efforts.

What’s involved in upgrading and reinterpreting buildings that are more than a century and a half old?

Well, it’s a team effort, involving staff from numerous Royal BC Museum departments, as well as project consultants, installation experts, contractors and data entry experts (to keep track of all the artifacts as they were removed, stored and reincorporated into the buildings, of course). The fire detection, alarm and suppression system is cutting edge and we are one of just a few places in Victoria that use the system. Should a fire break out, we now have an addressable detection and alarm system that sends an immediate alert to museum security, who have experts on site 24 hours a day. Automatic sprinklers connected to the new fire detection and alarm system will go into immediate

Step inside these reimagined 19th-century structures that acted as homes and as places of learning. Take in the artifacts, the artworks, the period details and the new interpretive storylines, and imagine what life would have been like in the early colony of Victoria.

It’s a story that just gets richer with the telling. We hope you’ll join us this summer for a guided tour.

We’re sure you’ll enjoy the new statue of Dr. Helmcken in Elliot Square! Designed, sculpted and donated to the Royal BC Museum by local artist Armando Barbon, the statue depicts HBC ship surgeon, husband, parent, colony physician and Father of Confederation John Sebastian Helmcken in his working prime. It’s a unique and arresting addition to our cultural precinct.

SUMMER 2011

What’s inSight

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Pauline Rafferty Receives Chancellor’s Community Recognition Award For her outstanding commitment to the community, and the history that strengthens it, Royal Roads University has honoured Royal BC Museum CEO Pauline Rafferty with the Chancellor’s Community Recognition Award. The award was presented at the spring convocation on June 16, 2011. The Chancellor’s Community Recognition Award honours residents or organizations in Greater Victoria who have provided distinguished service to the community in a way that reflects the university’s motto “living our learning.” Past recipients have included Cops for Cancer, Ted Hughes, Hudson Mack, Jane Heffelfinger, Helen Hughes and Reverend Al Tysick.

Did you know?

Emily Carr’s first studio was the cow barn behind her house. She kept company with the cow as she sketched. Later it was the location of her art classes for children.

Emily Carr and friends on the beach at Cha’atl, Haida Gwaii, 1912. Detail, F07756

Born and raised right here in Victoria, BC, Emily Carr is one of Canada’s most celebrated artists and authors. This summer, her story is full of life in a collaboration dedicated to honouring her, celebrating her mark in history and unveiling a never-seen-before historic journey.

Haida Totems, Detail, PDP00612

From May through October, venues around Victoria will be honouring her through events, exhibitions and concerts. Explore the city that shaped her unprecedented life story. www.tourismvictoria.com/seasonofemily Emily Carr won acclaim for her pen school. and ink sketches while still in high r Articles in the Victoria Colonist newspape the local praise the sketches she entered in art exhibitions.

Supported by Royal BC Museum, Tourism Victoria, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria Symphony, Carr House, The Bay Centre

Emily Carr had two paintings hung in an exhibition in Paris in 1911. This was her first international showing.

She embraced post-impressionism and loved the blues, purples and oranges of the Fauvres style.

We’re happy to announce a new membership relationship with the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

Show your Royal BC Museum Membership card at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and receive 20% off admission. Some restrictions apply, see www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca for more information. www.aggv.ca

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What’s inSight

SUMMER 2011

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Good Timber – Songs and Stories of the Western Logger

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ther Guys Theatre Company, with the Royal BC Museum, presents a rollicking musical revue: Good Timber – Songs and Stories of the Western Logger.

Back for a second year, Good Timber stars a stellar cast of professional actor-singer-musicians. The show is set against a multi-media backdrop of rarely-seen archival imagery from a time when loggers climbed trees. Good Timber is inspired by the logger poetry of Robert E. Swanson, who was known as ‘The Bard of the Woods’.

Check our What’s On calendar or go to www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca or www.otherguystheatre.ca for more information.

curator’s corner

Lorne Hammond, History Curator

A Little Bit of Lennon

You could say Royal BC Museum History Curator Lorne Hammond has a pretty cool job. With a purview stretching from “cars to thimbles,” a day in this historian’s job might encompass everything from public inquiries to mentoring grad students to preparing medical instruments for display. Hammond, who says his favourite object is “whichever one I’m working with at the moment,” admits to a certain fondness for Cataline’s pack-saddle, which he uses in his Discover Talks.

took them to Buckingham Palace, where they received their award as Members of the British Empire (and which they later returned in protest)!

There’s also the excitement of working with a careful team of experts to showcase such special collection items as John Lennon’s Rolls Royce. “It’s one of the most unusual items in the collection,” says Hammond, “and we want to share it with the people of BC.” Manufactured in 1965 for John Lennon, the Rolls was used extensively by the Beatles from 1965-69. It even

It’s a complex object, Hammond acknowledges. As RBCM conservationist Kasey Lee recently asked: “Is it a car with an unusual paint job, or is it a work of art that happens to be on a car?” Hammond says it’s both. Great care is given to protect the paintwork from external injury. “The paint was never intended to last as long as this,” he explains, noting the museum’s wish to avoid intervening with its integrity. Trucking the car instead of driving it, handling it with gloves and maneuvering it carefully are par for the course.

Artist Steven Weaver painted the car in 1967 to match Julian Lennon’s Romany-style gypsy caravan playhouse.

After Lennon’s death in 1980, Sotheby’s put the car up for auction. BC businessman Jimmy Pattison purchased it for $2.29 million, subsequently gifting it to the province.

It appeared at Expo 86 and became part of the Royal BC Museum collection in 1992. Since then, it has gone on to be displayed in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Cleveland – and even back to England!

Come on down to the museum this summer and get acquainted with a special piece of history. Look for hints of English decorative China in the ornamentation – and see if you can identify the zodiac symbol on the roof.

“It’s a story that keeps evolving as time goes on,” says Hammond. “We learn more and more.”

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Profiles our staff members

Jana Stefan and Colin Longpre

Grizzly Bear Diorama Gets a Little TLC Freshly cleaned from top to bottom, the iconic Grizzly Bear diorama is once again ready to wow the public.

“We had to tear out everything that was there,” says Jana Stefan, RBCM Exhibit Arts Technician. “We only left the tree trunks and the base. We kept the taxidermied specimens and some of the artistic plants, but everything else we made from scratch.” Months of sample-collecting, moss-making and leaf-molding have culminated in a completely refreshed exhibit.

The devil is in the details, though.

“Making the alder leaves is simple,” says Stefan, who enjoys painting and sewing in her spare time, “but it’s repetitive. We spent months vacuum-forming and painting and making branches!”

Tearing out ceilings and replumbing streams is all part of a day’s work for Exhibit Arts Technician Colin Longpre. “I like being able to come up with solutions. I enjoy the

our museum member

Angela and her husband Shawn purchased a family museum membership last year for something fun to do with their kids. They loved the value of membership and the fact they can come as often as they like.

Angela believes in learning through play and thinks that the museum is a great place to do this. There are several “don’t miss” stops for them on each visit. They like to explore at the Ocean Station, play in the AMuseum kidzone and imagine what it was like to live in the pit house.

They also love the programs designed for kids. Recently Angela took Brodie to Night at the Museum, giving them the opportunity to see what the museum is like after dark. Angela says “it was such a unique experience, one we will never forget.” Brodie’s favourite part was the flashlight tour and watching an IMAX film in pajamas. The next day he said “this is the most fun I ever had!”, and they have done some pretty fun stuff. For Angela the best part was the overall experience and the quality of the programming.

The family loves all of the hands-on interactive areas of the museum and would love to see more. We are always thinking of new ways to reach out to our members, so we have created WHAT’S INSIGHT Kids, full of fun and learning for our youngest supporters.

What’s inSight

Next time you’re up in the Natural History gallery, be sure to visit the bear. (And won’t you take a moment to applaud those alder leaves?)

our volunteer member

Angela, Shawn, Lily and Brodie Cote

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creativity of my job,” says Longpre.

“I’ve been building things since I was a kid.” From his early start in tinfoil satellites to his more recent pursuits of building model airplanes and ships – and not from kits, either – Longpre feels lucky to “get paid to build stuff.”

SUMMER 2011

Emily Emily is 16 years old and one of the newest volunteers at the Royal BC Museum. “I’ve been going to the museum since before I could walk,” says Emily. “For my volunteering at the museum I’ll be doing hands-on talks with a ‘fossil cart’ and learning how to label fossils with a collections manager. I’m now a grade 10 student and my passion is history and paleontology. I hope to learn what courses to take in university to meet my goals.”

Every year, up to 400 volunteers contribute over 40,000 hours of their time. These volunteers are part of a diverse and talented group of enthusiastic people.

our partner

London Drugs

WHAT’S ON

There’s always something happening.

Check our home page and What’s On calendar at www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca or pick up our NEW program calendar, available in print or online.

SUMMER CAMPS

As you know, we rely upon the support of members, donors and volunteers to make the museum a success. We also look to the business community to assist us in funding the expansion of programs such as our research initiatives or public programming.

London Drugs has been a longstanding corporate supporter of the museum. The BC-based company has worked with us to promote several large exhibitions in the past few years, most recently The Other Emily: Redefining Emily Carr.

London Drugs has helped to raise awareness about this exhibition by promoting it in its stores; on-line through social media; running a special contest, and by directly selling passes to the exhibition through its stores. This promotional help is invaluable.

In addition, this year the London Drugs Foundation also made a separate donation to the Royal BC Museum Foundation.

All of these funds will provide much-needed resources for our important exhibitions and public programming.

The Royal BC Museum continues to broaden the base of support for the museum within the provincial community. It’s terrific to have London Drugs as a key supporter, and we’re grateful for its support!

Register now! July 11 to 15; July 25 to 29; Aug 8 to 12; Aug 22 to 26 TIME: 9 am - 4 pm (before/after care available) ADMISSION: $224 ($200 for members) Ages 8-10 Camp Inside Out will thrill kids with a weeklong, behind-the-scenes immersion. Campers will explore the beauty and diversity of the west coast through art, science, hands-on activities, demonstrations, and behind-the-scenes tours.

In recognition of The Other Emily exhibition, campers will also learn about Emily Carr’s love of nature and the environment.

HELMCKEN HOUSE & ST ANN’S SCHOOLHOUSE Open now through September 5, 2011, daily from 12 to 4 pm

GOOD TIMBER DATE: August 8 to 27, Monday to Saturdays TIME: 8 pm to 9:30 pm LOCATION: Clifford Carl Hall ADMISSION: $22 adults, $17 students, seniors & members Tickets available by phone: 250.721.8480 or in-person at the RBCM box office.

FRIENDS OF THE ARCHIVES These events are free for members of Friends of the Archives, $5.00 for non-members, payable at the door. All events take place in the Newcombe Conference Hall.

For more information on these activities, and to register, please contact Janet MacDonald 250.387.2016.

The Other Emily/A New Emily Kathryn Bridge Sunday, September 25, 2 to 3:30 pm

SUMMER HOURS

LIVE @ LUNCH – NOON TO 1 PM

Royal BC Museum Open daily from 10 am to 5 pm Fri and Sat late nights until 10 pm (June 3 through September 24)

Bring your lunch and enjoy a free presentation.

Altai Adventures: Collecting Alpine Plants in the Mountains of South Central Siberia Richard Hebda and Ken Marr DATE: Wednesday, September 7 LOCATION: Newcombe Conference Hall Join Richard and Ken as they share some images and stories of the region’s landscape and flora and discuss the scientific implications of their discoveries.

DISCOVER TALKS Daily, July through August 1:15 to 1:45 pm Discover how the RBCM preserves and cares for its seven million artifacts and archival records. See how the special effects team creates our amazing environments. Hear what it’s like to go on an expedition with our curators. Free with admission or membership.

PROVINCIAL HERITAGE FAIR DATE: Thursday, July 7 TIME: 10 am to 3 pm LOCATION: Clifford Carl Hall ADMISSION: Free Regional Heritage Fair winners from around BC (grades 4 to 10) will display their work – featuring Canadian people, events, history and places.

GUEST SPEAKER The Influences of Van Gogh’s Art and the Poetry of Walt Whitman on Emily Carr DATE: Friday, July 15 TIME: 7 pm to 9 pm LOCATION: Clifford Carl Hall ADMISSION: Adult $10 (10% member discount) Pre-registration required.

Professor of English and poet, Dr. Stephanie McKenzie has been digging into Carr’s writings here in the BC Archives. She will speak about the importance that the artist Van Gogh and poet Walt Whitman played in the evolution of Carr’s artistic and literary creations.

Coming events & exhibitions

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MUSEUM

CONTINUING The Other Emily: Redefining Emily Carr Until October 10, 2011 Behind the Scenes Part One: Natural History Until October 10, 2011

IMAX FEATURES Now Playing Born to be Wild Journey into Amazing Caves Rescue: Disaster Response Coming Soon Whales Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The IMAX Experience For opening and closing times please visit imaxvictoria.com or phone 250.953.4629

MY MUSEUM Do you want to share your RBCM story?

Tell us why you love the Royal BC Museum and you could be featured in our “My Museum” campaign. Email us at membership@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca and tell why the museum is special to you.

The deadline is July 15, 2011.

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LNAL=NA PK >A LQVVHA@ Don’t miss out – buy your tickets today Thursday, October 6, 2011

PRESENTING SPONSOR

CATERING SPONSOR

EVENT SPONSORS

Your task: determine what is artifact or artiFIction Walk the red carpet and put your trivia intellect to the test at this exciting gala fundraising game!

Twenty artifacts from the Royal BC Museum collections will be displayed throughout the gallery spaces, with 20 trivia questions from curators, conservators and archivists designed to stump you.

Answer correctly, and you could win one of three amazing Grand Prizes.

Emceed by BC’s own Tony Parsons, anchor of CHEK News and CBC News Vancouver, this event features a delectable roving buffet, BC beer, wine and cider.

Need to get in touch?

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General Inquiries info@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca Membership Inquires membership@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca Follow us on

MEDIA SPONSORS

PRINTING SPONSOR

Tickets: $150 each Members receive a 10% purchase discount

Purchase by phone: 250.387.7222 Online by visiting: www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/gala 6:00 pm Red carpet begins. Cocktail reception.

6:30 pm Tony Parsons: How to play the game.

6:45 pm Let’s play! Let’s eat!

8:45 pm Game over. Decadent deserts.

9:15 pm How did you do? Answers revealed.

Winners announced.

Dress Code: Fabulous!

675 Belleville Street, Victoria BC

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Membership Department 250.356.7226 or 1.888.447.7977 (Toll Free)

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Royal BC Museum 675 Belleville Street Victoria, BC V8W 9W2

Printed on paper containing 10% post-consumer recycled fibre.

Membership Department 675 Belleville Street Victoria, BC V8W 9W2

NEWSLETTER Summer 2011

Who says kids can’t make discoveries?

Last May, 12-year-old Kayin found a rare ammonite (Hypophylloceras (Neophylloceras) hetonaiense) on Denman Island. Kayin and his aunt were on a collecting trip with the Victoria Palaeontology Society. The fossil – a rare and nearly perfect specimen – is part of the Nanaimo Group, one of a mere handful of similar fossils found locally. Denman Island is home to evidence of Late Cretaceous sea life – meaning Kayin’s fossil is about 80 million years old!

We were thrilled when Kayin donated his fossil find to the Royal BC Museum.

As our way of saying thanks, Kayin received a special tour through our collection. Kayin’s story is proof that discoveries – and donations – from amateurs (of all ages) can move science forward.

Earth history at the Royal BC Museum includes the study of fossils. Our earth history research also studies the history of BC’s landscape and climate.

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The smallest specimen in our exhibition, the parasitic wasp.

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Canada’s only real scorpion, the Northern Scorpion.

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One of the only living parts of the exhibition, the oriental fire bellied toad.

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Fascinating feces.

We have almost 60,000 specimens in our collection including mammoth and mastodon bones and teeth from the last 20,000 years.

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The hidden mouse, can you find him?

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The biggest specimen in our exhibition, the moose.

What is the newest addition to the collection?

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The ammonite, just like the one Kayin found.

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AMuseum kidszone.

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The humpback whale.

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“A closer look” in each area.

What is a fossil?

A fossil is any evidence of past life. This includes bones, teeth, horns, claws, eggs, skin impressions, footprints and even feces (yup, that’s poo to you!).

How big is the fossil collection?

One of the newest items in our collection is our first pearl and first dinosaur bone from marine sediment in BC. You can check them both out in the Behind the Scenes feature exhibition, on now until October 10, 2011.

What’s Insight Kids summer 2011

Ichthyology is the scientific study of fishes. BC has a great variety of marine and freshwater habitats, so many kinds of fish live here.

How big is the ichthyology collection at the museum?

The collection consists of about 15,000 groups of marine and freshwater fish. Approximately 370 of the 400 species in BC are found in the collection.

next time you’re in the Natural History exhibit: It is a tooth from a Carcharocles megalodon which is an extinct giant shark and is about the size of a hand!

When did the museum start collecting fish?

The oldest specimen we have is from 1887!

What is the largest fish in the collection?

The largest fish we have is the Basking Shark. But nowadays, sightings of it in the wild are very rare.

Are there sharks in BC? There are 11 species of sharks that live in the waters of British Columbia. These are all regular inhabitants of our coastline, but in warm years, you can even expect to see Great White Sharks in BC.

SEVENGILL SHORTFIN MAKO SIXGILL SOUPFIN THRESHER

BASKING BLUE BROWN CAT DOGFISH PACIFIC SLEEPER SALMON L

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Camp

Inside-Out

July 11–15 July 25–29 August 8–12 August 22–26 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

What could be better than spending a whole week at the Museum? Our Summer Camps let you explore the west coast through art, science, hands-on activities and tours. You’ll go back to school with the best summer stories!

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What’s Insight Kids summer 2011