What's inSight Summer 2016

Summer 2016

EXPLAINING INDIGENOUS HISTORIES THE ABORIGINAL CULTURAL FESTIVAL RETURNS FOR 2016 LENDING A HAND IN POST-FIRE ALERT BAY

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RESEARCH ROUNDUP SHARING OUR KNOWLEDGE AND PASSION CURIOUS RECORDS OF RESILIENCE

SUMMER 2016 FEATURE Lending a Hand in Post-fire Alert Bay FEATURE Research Roundup 130 Years Young FEATURE Explaining Indigenous Histories Creative Collaborations Royal BC Museum Supporters Your First Stop for First Nations Art An Ice Age Summer STAFF PROFILE New Curator of Entomology GOING DIGITAL Augmented Reality New Government Records Program Launches Silica Gel CURIOUS Records of Resilience 100 Club PARTNERSHIP PROFILE Quality Foods Learning the Ropes on the Job Spreading the Word What’s On Calendar Affinity Membership

MANAGING EDITOR Jennifer Vanderzee Marketing & Sales Manager

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MAGAZINE COORDINATOR Leslie Johnson Membership Coordinator

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EMBERSHIP M EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Erika Stenson Head of Marketing & Business Development David Alexander Head of New Archives & Digital Preservation Michelle van der Merwe Publisher

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Erik Lambertson Corporate Communications Officer

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Nathan Oickle 2D Graphic Designer

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Shane Lighter Photographer

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What’s inSight is an electronic magazine released four times annually, in March, June, September and December, by the Royal BC Museum.

In the interest of keeping our administrative costs low—and our carbon footprint small—this print version is also provided to members in digital format at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/magazine To switch your What’s inSight subscription preference from print to digital format, please email membership@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca or call 250-387-3287.

COVER IMAGE Andy Everson of the Le La La Dancers, Kwakwaka’wakw Nation.

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Dear friends, The Royal BC Museum will mark its 130th birthday in October this year. Museums and archives have greatly changed over the course of its history but our museum has stayed true to its founding vision and values—shaping a passion for British Columbia and aspiring to be world class. Over the next 130 years we will continue to build and develop our collections, strengthen our outreach and unleash the potential of our collaborations and partnerships. Above all we will push for substantial renewal.

Treasures for Generations, our anniversary project, is the biggest undertaking the museum has ever contemplated. Let me give you some numbers.

On completion of the first phase we will be able to display and accommodate over 1,000 works by Emily Carr and all her writings. A vibrant space of approximately 1,500 square metres (16,000 square feet) will encompass this new gallery, along with another dedicated to the Pacific world and a revitalized Clifford Carl Hall. We will also be able to accommodate up to 10 simultaneous events—lectures, courses and learning programs—in any one day. The way we work will change, allowing us to work effectively across the province. Creating the headroom for this growth is unquestionably a challenge but failure to do so will weaken our ability to lead culturally and to support economic growth in BC. Our success in the future does not depend on buildings or new facilities but on continued growth and change in our expertise. In doing so we must maintain our commitment to our values and excellence. Support from philanthropic giving and Friends is and will be vital in order to build on the successes of our 130 year history; it is a key component of our Treasures for Generations campaign. We will need the support of every Friend we have.

Yours,

Professor Jack Lohman, CBE Chief Executive Officer, Royal BC Museum

The Emily Carr gallery will be a permanent space where her art and her extensive writings can be experienced and enjoyed. Masterplan designed by John McAslan + Partners.

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Lending a Hand in Post-fire Alert Bay

By Kelly Sendall, Head of Collection Care and Conservation

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s head of collections at the Royal BC Museum I am frequently set with unique challenges. Most often these are related to our own collections but every once in a while we are called to take action when other museum professionals are in need. One incident truly took me by surprise and was particularly unsettling. In the early hours of July 23, 2013 the U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay on Cormorant Island, just off the coast of Vancouver Island, suffered a fire to their main building. A total of 120 objects in their repatriated Potlatch Collection were affected by the heat, smoke and pressurized spray of water from the overhead fire sprinklers. Thirty-five pieces suffered major surface and structural damage. In addition to the devastating damage to the building and valuable artifacts the community was shocked to learn that the fire was set deliberately with a flare against the outside of the building.

The staff at U’mista took immediate action; their director and fire officials worked tirelessly through the night while the rest of the staff took over in the morning, moving and triaging objects and securing the building. The damage to the artifacts and the circumstances of the disaster were hard to imagine but I was happy to hear that the community rallied in support.

That same morning George Field, one of our Royal BC Museum object conservators, was contacted by one of the senior staff at U’mista.

“Hi George, this is Juanita from U’mista.”

“Hi Juanita, how are things?”

“Well George, there’s been a fire at the museum!”

George has had a long history of working with Juanita Johnston and others at U’mista and news of the fire shocked and worried him.

His initial concerns were for the safety of the staff and community but luckily no one had been injured.

pieces and separate wet objects from those that were not damaged—and called them with the following recommendations:

When George came to me with the news and told me Juanita was hoping the Royal BC Museum could help with conserving the damaged artifacts I knew we needed to respond quickly with advice and support. It was my job to figure out how and to what extent we could indeed help.

• line the floor with boards or plywood;

George and I discussed which immediate steps needed to be taken to mitigate future damage and I suggested that he offer any advice he deemed appropriate to the situation.

He agreed to advise U’mista on the best ways to minimize damage to the objects—set up a triage area, minimize handling of damaged

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• Designate a secure, separate and non- public storage area to move the pieces into;

• re-fasten the mounts with artifacts still attached to the plywood; • avoid touching the artifacts by unfastening the mounts on which they were set and carry them by their display mounts to their new temporary location; and, • assemble as many fans and dehumidifiers as they could find locally and install them in that area to maximize air flow around the damaged artifacts, to prevent mould from taking hold.

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To ensure we had covered all our bases George contacted Heidi Sweringa at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC. She and MOA also had a long relationship with the U’mista Centre, their collection and staff.

While George, Heidi and Juanita discussed how to proceed I alerted my supervisor to the situation. It was decided that George and Courtney von Stein, the conservation intern at that time, would travel to Alert Bay to see firsthand the condition of the pieces and the progress that had been made in regards to George’s recommendations. They were joined

by Jana Stefan from our exhibits department who has additional conservation training and experience. Heidi Sweringa and her MOA intern also travelled to the community and together the team helped U’mista staff transfer the damaged pieces to a climatecontrolled truck. The truck was brought to the site to ensure a secure and temperature- and humidity-controlled environment for the artifacts. Once the pieces were safe and their stability assured the U’mista staff were able to properly plan the appropriate next steps in the remediation of the building, the long-term cleaning of the collection and the eventual conservation of the most badly damaged objects.

An exhibit showing the process of conserving these damaged objects will be put on display in our Clifford Carl Hall Pocket Gallery. It will provide a fascinating look into the expertise and practice of our conservation department and an example of valuable collaboration to save invaluable First Nations artifacts for future generations.

1. An exterior view of the U’mista Cultural Centre’s Potlatch Exhibit Gallery, repaired and repainted after a fire burned through the façade and damaged the collection housed inside.

2. A hole in the gallery wall is part of the damage caused by the arson-set fire at the U’mista Cultural Centre.

Stephen Bruce Jr. photograph.

3. Conservator George Field examines a soot-stained object at the U’mista Cultural Centre.

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Research Roundup Sharing our Knowledge and Passion

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ach year, Research Day provides an opportunity for Royal BC Museum and Archives staff to share their research projects with museum board members, colleagues, museum partners and volunteers. It is a chance to ask questions, discuss issues and increase our awareness of the remarkable range of world-class research we undertake; research that encompasses the fields of botany, zoology, paleontology, earth science, archaeology, ethnology, social history and the history of prints, photography and art. The following projects are just a sampling of the remarkable work that is currently underway.

Asian Dragonflies at an American Crossroads

selective; they will try mating with any female about the right size and shape.

When a female decides to mate with a male from a different species, hybrids may result. They show colour patterns and structural characteristics intermediate between those of the parent species Hybrids, as identified by structural features, comprise 20 per cent of individuals captured in areas where hybrids occur. To study this hybridization in more detail we sequenced dragonfly DNA. We discovered that the Treeline Emerald is an old species in Asia but is evidently a new immigrant to North America. Apparently females still have

difficulty recognizing Ringed and Hudsonian Emerald males and can mistakenly mate with them. Similarly, female Ringed and Hudsonian Emeralds make the same error with Treeline Emerald males.

1. Treeline Emerald (Somatochlora sahlbergi) male, Old Crow, Yukon.

Rob Cannings photograph.

2. Ringed Emerald male.

G. Doerksen photograph.

3. Hudsonian Emerald male.

Rob Cannings photograph.

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By Syd Cannings, Research Associate and Species at Risk Biologist, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Rob Cannings, Curator Emeritus of Entomology In northern Yukon and Alaska the Treeline Emerald, a predominantly Eurasian dragonfly, meets two of its close North American relatives. The Treeline Emerald develops in ponds with floating moss, the Ringed Emerald prefers shallow ponds with little vegetation and the Hudsonian Emerald lives in ponds edged with tall sedges. Sometimes wetlands combine two or more of these habitats and there the three species may interbreed.

Hybrids are seldom encountered in dragonflies; this is the result of ‘good’ female choice. Males are not particularly 6

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4. Tundra pond in the Porcupine River drainage, northern Yukon. Habitat of hybrid Emerald dragonflies.

Rob Cannings photograph.

5. Syd Cannings collecting emerald dragonflies at a peatland pond along the Dempster Highway, northern Yukon.

Rob Cannings photograph.

6. View of the Cowichan Estuary near the ancient site of Khenipsen Village, 2015.

G.Hill photograph.

7. View of weir sections in front of Quamichan Village, 1929. Photographer unknown. Newcombe collection.

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Wetland Archaeology in the Cowichan Valley

By Genevieve Hill PhD, Collection Manager and Researcher, Anthropology The notion that wetlands are wastelands, better suited to agriculture than to human habitation, has permeated western archaeological education and practice.

This perception is not shared by Coast Salish groups.

The avoidance of wetlands as areas of archaeological potential is particularly notable in the Cowichan Valley on southeastern Vancouver Island, where approximately 80 per cent of recorded archaeological sites are located on the coast. By combining traditional knowledge with scientific method, I am shedding light on the cultural importance of Cowichan Valley wetlands to the valley’s original inhabitants. Preliminary results show that, contrary to long-held archaeological

notions, approximately 80 per cent of traditional use sites are in fact associated with wetland features while only 10 per cent are located on the coast. This suggests that many more archaeological sites exist.

My preliminary research examined both archaeological and traditional use sites in order to highlight the identification bias of consulting archaeologists. Due to constant wave erosion which exposes the unique matrix and frequent development of coastal sites, archaeologists often identify coastal shell midden sites.

Wetland and other inland sites that lack the distinctive shell midden are identified far less frequently. This research will involve the analysis of artifacts and site records from the archaeology collection, relevant ethnographic and linguistic recordings from the anthropology collection and photographic evidence from the anthropology collection and archives. My research will deepen our understanding of the relationship between ancestral Cowichan people and their wetlands and of the archaeological history of the valley.

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(Research Roundup continued)

Squishy and Crunchy

By Heidi Gartner, Invertebrate Collection Manager Taxonomy is a field of science that involves the description, identification, nomenclature and classification of organisms. Therefore, taxonomy is the core of all scientific research and it forms the foundation for our understanding of biodiversity. Yet our global taxonomic understanding of invertebrate biodiversity is far from complete. This is especially true for the understudied tunicates (squishy) and bryozoans (crunchy) of British Columbia.

Tunicates and bryozoans are filter feeding animals that grow on hard substrates.

They are important parts of these local food webs while also providing additional 3D structural habitat—which in turn can increase the diversity of the community. As they are commonly found on hard artificial structures near or associated with human activities, these communities are also where you most commonly find new ‘alien’ invasive species. We are studying the taxonomy and distribution of tunicates and bryozoans as little is known about these interesting and unique groups of organisms in BC. This process involves examining the specimens in our collections, working with other researchers and experts and collecting new specimens. The research is improving our collection and developing unique Royal BC Museum tools such as online taxonomic keys.

Tackling the taxonomy of these weird squishy and crunchy animals is important for understanding BC biodiversity and larger global issues, for developing partnerships and, most importantly, for contributing to Royal BC Museum products that will place our institution at the forefront of expertise on BC invertebrate biodiversity.

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1. An invasive tunicate (Botrylloides violaceus) growing on a local dock.

2. Two meeting colonies of an encrusting bryozoan (Cribrilina annulata).

3. Heidi Gartner pulling floating structures to look at tunicates and bryozoan growing in the fouling community.

4. The Bristly Tunicate (Halocynthia igaboja) is distinguished by its bristly spines and oral siphon.

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(Research Roundup continued)

Centre of Arrivals Project, Re-envisioning Canadian and Trans-Pacific History

By Tzu-I Chung, Curator of History My ongoing museum research falls under the Centre of Arrivals project, the Royal BC Museum’s multicultural and intercultural initiatives. The goal is to explore, preserve and share BC’s diverse cultural histories through collections research and community engagement.

This project currently focuses on transPacific immigrant stories unique to BC, which help us to re-envision Canadian

and trans-Pacific history. It challenges the traditional national narratives of English and French origins, broadens the understanding of our intercultural and historical complexities and distinguishes BC through its local, national, and transnational connections.

My 2015–16 research covers some major initiatives. Under the Chinese Historical Wrongs Legacy Initiatives in partnership with the Ministry of International Trade and Ministry Responsible for Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism, I conducted research for the 2015 feature exhibition Gold Rush! El Dorado in BC. This research revealed how artifacts in the US, China and Hong Kong, and specifically those in our collections and around the province, testify to the trans-Pacific network that was embedded within the British Empire and global China trade and informed the prosperous gold mountain trade.

Within the Punjabi Intercultural History Initiatives, in partnership with the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies (CICS) at the University of Fraser Valley, we collected 92 oral histories preserving pioneer Punjabi family history in the sawmill industry and intercultural urban areas. In the coming year we will work with the Punjabi Intercultural History Advisory Committee to engage communities around the province to identify what they’d like to see provincial institutions preserve and share as their heritage.

This research will grow our collections and advance public, academic and community understanding, building a legacy that is the province’s collective heritage.

Gold Mountain Dream, part of the Chinese Historical Wrongs Legacy Initiatives, was opened by Premier Christy Clark at the Guangdong Museum of Chinese Nationals Residing Abroad in November 2015.

130 Years Young Celebrating a major milestone with a BC-wide kids’ contest

By Erik Lambertson, Corporate Communications Manager

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rom the cramped confines in ‘the birdcages’ of the old legislative buildings to an innovative, world-class museum and archives that touches the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year, the Royal BC Museum has come a long way in 130 years.

The Provincial Museum of Natural History and Anthropology opened on October 25, 1886, a direct result of a petition to government requesting authorities take action to stem the stream of artifacts leaving the province.

More than a century later the Royal BC Museum’s role is more well-rounded and farther-reaching. We are a renowned research institution, a hub of learning and community, a proud ambassador of BC culture and history abroad and an awardwinning creator of exhibitions that millions of people marvel at, savour and discuss.

From the start it was clear that engaging with BC’s natural and human history can and should be provocative, stimulating and enormously interesting. That goes for visitors of any age. Particularly with children, engaging with our collections in a playful way can spark a lifelong interest in BC history—just look at the robust, ever-changing slate of events and activities our Learning team develops.

If you’re between the ages of five and 15: sharpen your pencils, pull out your watercolours, convince your parents you need the iPad for a truly creative reason.

We’re inviting you to create something spectacular, inspired by the Ice Age. So start imagining yourself in a much chillier, foreboding landscape.

hashtag) and on Facebook (facebook.com/ RoyalBCMuseum).

After the contest closes at the end of the summer we’ll review the submissions and announce winners.

Grand prize winners (plus parental chaperones) will be invited on a trip to

Whether it’s a wise old Woolly mammoth, a massive mastodon or a stupefyingly scary sabre-toothed tiger, draw something that makes us imagine we’re still living in that frigid era. Your creation can be funny, scary, sad or joyful. It could be a painting of someone your own age, 12,000 years ago—imagine what life would have been like. Be creative. We only ask that whatever you send us reflects the Ice Age.

Victoria for a special celebration ceremony

The contest will be open to kids across BC (ages five to 15, competing in three different age categories). We’ll launch the contest in June: look for details on our Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age exhibition webpage (royalbcmuseum. bc.ca/mammoths), on Twitter (twitter. com/RoyalBCMuseum with the #RBCM130

Learn more this summer at

at the Royal BC Museum on October 25.

Winners will see their artistic creations on display in our Pocket Gallery and on a special commemorative poster. Winners will also receive a visit to our feature exhibition Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age, Royal BC Museum books for their school libraries—and much more.

royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/mammoths See webpage for full contest rules and regulations.

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Calling all aspiring young artists in BC: this summer, we invite you to put pen to paper and create an Ice Age-theme work of art.

We will celebrate our 130th year by honouring the great treasure trove of our collections and saluting our professional forbears. But it’s also an opportunity to simply have a great time.

In short, we plan to have fun. And one of the ways we’ll celebrate is by kicking off an Ice Age Drawing Contest1 this summer. royalbcmuseum.bc.ca 11

Explaining Indigenous Histories The Aboriginal Cultural Festival Returns for 2016

By Brian Cant, Senior Manager, Client & Media Relations Tartan Group

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he steady beat of drums will resonate across the Inner Harbour once more as Victoria welcomes back the Aboriginal Cultural Festival from Friday, June 17 to Sunday, June 19 in celebration of Aboriginal culture, values, language and cuisine.

The festival begins with a ceremonial welcome canoe paddle through traditional lands to Victoria’s Inner Harbour. The Songhees Nation and Esquimalt Nation —the event hosts—will then lead the traditional protocol and opening ceremony before a parade of Nations officially launches the three-day celebration in anticipation of National Aboriginal Day on June 21, 2016.

Created in partnership with Aboriginal Tourism BC, Esquimalt Nation, Songhees Nation, Royal BC Museum, Tourism Victoria, Robert Bateman Centre, Greater Victoria Harbour Authority and The Butchart Gardens, the goal of the festival is to honour and showcase the rich Aboriginal culture and history throughout Victoria and British Columbia.

Open daily from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm the festival is sure to entertain audiences of all ages—its wide variety of attractions range from interpretive totem pole tours and fresh coastal cuisine to artisanal demonstrations and dynamic traditional dance.

Returning to headline the festival’s performances is three-time world champion hoop dancer Alex Wells of the Lil’wat Nation. Hoop dancing is a dynamic form of storytelling that uses anywhere from one to 30 interlocking hoops that wrap around the

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dancer in an elaborate sequence, creating lively shapes and formations representing animals and symbols. This year’s festival will see more than 100 performers grace the main stage, including the Le-La-La Dancers of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation and a youth performance by The Next Generation, a collaborative group comprised of multiple nations. To see the full schedule of performances or to learn about the performers, visit aboriginalbc.com/yyj.

In addition to the exciting array of main stage performances, the Aboriginal Cultural Festival will feature an outdoor dining area where visitors can sample and purchase a wide variety of mouth-watering traditional and modern fare, including west coast clam chowder, fry-bread and BBQ sockeye salmon.

Interested in art? Learn about the aboriginal creative process and traditional carving and crafting with special artisan

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demonstrations at the Authentic Indigenous Arts Marketplace featuring carvings, prints, jewellery and more.

Last year more than 15,000 people attended the Aboriginal Cultural Festival according to The Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia, a nonprofit, membership-based organization committed to growing and promoting a sustainable, culturally-rich Aboriginal tourism industry. What better way to spend a weekend than celebrating the diverse traditional and modern cultures of Nations from across British Columbia.

Follow the conversation on social media through #YYJAboriginalFest 1. Andy Everson of the Le La La Dancers, Kwakwaka’wakw Nation.

2. Marcus Goldsmit of the Esquimalt Dance Group, Esquimalt Nation.

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Performance Schedule Three days of spectacular performances on an outdoor stage in the plaza at the Royal BC Museum. Each day starts with performances from the two local Host Nations followed by shows from Aboriginal performers from across the province as well as three-time World Hoop Dancing Champion Alex Wells!

In partnership with Aboriginal Tourism BC

Amber Wells, Lil’wat Nation.

FRIDAY, JUNE 17

SATURDAY, JUNE 18

SUNDAY, JUNE 19

11:00 am Festival and Artisan Village opens

11:00 am Festival and Artisan Village opens

11:00 am Festival and Artisan Village opens

11:45 am Greeting of the Day on the

Main Stage

11:00 am Totem Pole Tour with

Andy Everson

11:00 am Totem Pole Tour with

Andy Everson

12:00 pm Host Nations: Lekwungen

Traditional Dancers (Songhees

Nation), Esquimalt Singers and

Dancers (Esquimalt Nation) 1:00 pm Le-La-La Dancers

(Kwakwaka’wakw Nation)

11:45 am Greeting of the Day on the

Main Stage

11:45 am Greeting of the Day on the

Main Stage

12:00 pm Host Nations: Lekwungen

Traditional Dancers (Songhees

Nation), Esquimalt Singers and

Dancers (Esquimalt Nation)

12:00 pm Host Nations: Lekwungen

Traditional Dancers (Songhees

Nation), Esquimalt Singers and

Dancers (Esquimalt Nation)

2:00 pm Alex Wells, three-time World

Champion Hoop Dancer

(Lil`wat Nation)

1:00 pm Le-La-La Dancers

(Kwakwaka’wakw Nation)

1:00 pm Le-La-La Dancers

(Kwakwaka’wakw Nation)

3:00 pm Nuu-chah-nulth Dance Group

(Nuu-chah-nulth Nation)

2:00 pm Git Hayetsk (Haida, Haisla,

Tahltan, Tlingit, Lil`wat

and Musqueam Nations)

2:00 pm Nuu-chah-nulth Dance Group

(Nuu-chah-nulth Nation)

4:00 pm Youth performers: The Next

Generation (multiple Nations) 5:00 pm

Host Nations: Lekwungen Traditional Dancers (Songhees Nation), Esquimalt Singers and Dancers (Esquimalt Nation)

3:00 pm

4:00 pm

Alex Wells, three-time World Champion Hoop Dancer (Lil`wat Nation) Le-La-La Dancers (Kwakwaka’wakw Nation)

5:00 pm Git Hayetsk (Haida, Haisla,

Tahltan, Tlingit, Lil`wat

and Musqueam Nations)

3:00 pm Alex Wells, three-time World

Champion Hoop Dancer

(Lil`wat Nation) 4:00 pm Le-La-La Dancers

(Kwakwaka’wakw Nation) 5:00 pm Nuu-chah-nulth Dance Group

(Nuu-chah-nulth Nation)

*Schedule subject to change. For up-to-date information see the 2016 Aboriginal Cultural Festival website at aboriginalbc.com/victoria-aboriginal-festival/

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Creative Collaborations Renewing a Sustainable Travelling Exhibitions Program

By Kate Kerr, Touring Exhibitions Coordinator

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n a province as vast as British Columbia, many citizens may never have a chance to walk through the doors of the Royal BC Museum. We are constantly challenged to reach a wider and more diverse audience, to illuminate and engage in communities far beyond our walls. For years the Royal BC Museum had an active travelling exhibition program with as many as 15 exhibitions on the road at any given time. That program was gradually wound down due to changes in the economy and focus but now a new era of travelling exhibitions has arrived.

The Royal BC Museum has an abundance of remarkable stories and artifacts that can be shared province-wide. This is also the case for every museum these exhibitions travel to, no matter what the size. Part of the renewed program’s goal is to build capacity through collaboration and creativity at every stop. The potential for the exchange of ideas and knowledge is great and serves to strengthen the relevance and legacy of each project.

Collaboration and creativity through in-person and online consultation and feedback was the basis for the World War I commemorative exhibit launched in March 2016—British Columbia’s War, 1914–1918.

Using input from numerous organizations and individuals the content, approach and physical design was tweaked and refined to produce a rich perspective of British Columbia’s role in the Great War, appealing to diverse audiences. The innovative structure of the exhibit is adaptable, lightweight and easily assembled when it arrives at each venue on its three-year tour. The exhibition also provides cases

for local content or for artifacts from the Royal BC Museum collection, depending on each venue’s request. Regionally specific content can be added to bring even greater depth and meaning for each community.

The exhibition also has an accompanying hands-on outreach kit, housed in a replica World War I ammunition box.

The same exhibition system is used for Gold Mountain Dream, which explores the story of Chinese migrants to BC in search of gold in the 1850s, and the lasting legacy for the Chinese and provincial community. This content was shown in Guangzhou, China at the end of 2015.

Also on the road this summer, literally, is the Species at Risk exhibition; a stylish little display that pops out of a teardrop shaped trailer. Travelling through the Lower Mainland and Kootenay region this year, tour hosts will provide interpretation and run day-camps at numerous venues such as

museums, parks and interpretive centres.

Its counterpart exhibition about invasive species—Aliens Among Us— will be at the Museum at Campbell River for the season, enhanced by local content created by the experts of that region.

More exhibitions are being planned, guided by interest, opportunity and issues. Each one will be developed with capacity building and sustainability in mind so that the renewed travelling exhibitions program of the Royal BC Museum can build upon past strengths through collaborative projects, innovative design and creative approaches.

For a full list of travelling exhibitions and how to book them, visit royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/travelling Royal BC Museum touring exhibition Gold Mountain Dream, on display at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver in spring 2016.

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Royal BC Museum Supporters April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016

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he Royal BC Museum greatly appreciates the ongoing support of the province of British Columbia, the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development and the Royal BC Museum Foundation. Their core support makes our work possible.

This past fiscal year, 58 per cent of our operating budget came from the province and another 22 per cent came from memberships and admissions. This meant that the remaining 20 per cent—approximately four million dollars—needed to be generated from other sources including donations, grants, sponsorships and more. Increasingly, we rely on our donors to make a difference.

With the help of our supporters we were able to share the BC story by opening three new exhibitions in China in 2015 and by creating our acclaimed summer exhibition—Gold Rush! El Dorado in BC—which has now opened at the Canadian Museum of History. Our Species at Risk exhibition toured the province and engaged communities about environmental stewardship, and our innovative learning programs reached over 35,000 school children. We digitized 90,000 colonial records and made them available online and we accessioned new items for your collection. We made important new research discoveries and built stronger connections with communities across the province as we collaborated on new projects related to your collection. With your help we are building a world-class museum and archives—a dynamic forum for exploring our shared history and future.

Please join us in thanking these generous funders for their invaluable contribution to our work during the past fiscal year.

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$500,000+

Province of British Columbia Royal BC Museum Foundation

$100,000–$499,999

CHEK Media Global BC/Shaw Media Inc. Government of Canada - gouvernement du Canada Truffles Catering Peeter and Mary Wesik W. Garfield Weston Foundation

$25,000–$99,999

BC Transit Corporation Clipper Vacations CTV Vancouver Island Francis Kermode Group Helijet Immediate Images Inc. Jim Pattison Broadcast Group John and Joan Walton Innovators Fund Lamar Advertising Company Times Colonist Tourism Victoria

$5,000–$24,999

Andrew Mahon Foundation The Bay Centre Black Ball Ferry Line Butterfly Gardens Canada’s History Canadian Geographic Enterprises Canadian Museums Association Franny’s Cultured Cow Products Ltd. Goldcorp IMAX Victoria Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, University of British Columbia Bob and Marjorie Johns Elizabeth Kennedy Lyall and Susan Knott Mayfair Shopping Centre Gwendolyn Page

Pattison Outdoor Advertising Peninsula Co-op Quality Foods Ernest and Adele Roberts Sunset Magazine TELUS Thomas Christopher Brayshaw Estate Vancity Victoria Foundation

$1,000–$4,999

Eric Adler Patrick and Anne Anderson Anonymous (3) Decorate Victoria Digital Direct Howard Armstrong in memory of Ronald Armstrong Michael Bell Gary and Susan Braley Joyce Clearihue Daphne Corbett Robert and Marianne Eng Jonathan D. Glover Hotel Grand Pacific Island Parent Group Robert and Devi Jawl Audrey Johnson Professor Jack Lohman CBE Ron and May Lou-Poy Tommy Mayne Jim and Isabel Merston Northwest Travel Magazine David and Dixie Obee Stefan and Magdalena Opalski Tom Osaki Paladin Security Barbara Potash Raymond and Sheila Protti Provincial Employees Community Services Fund Pauline Rafferty and Bob Plecas Melissa Sands and Robert Kiddell Silk Road Tea

If you have been inspired by this list of dedicated supporters and want to make a financial contribution to support the work of the Royal BC Museum, please contact us today at 250-387-7222 or donate@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca. Thank you!

Gifts to the Collections M Sharon Smith Anthony and Darlene Southwell David Starr Alan Tompson in memory of Anne Tompson Tricom Canada UVic Continuing Studies Jack and Bev Wallace Rene and Allison Weir Angela Williams

$500–$999

Michael Albrechtson Anonymous (3) Barkerville Brewing Company Robert and Birgit Bateman BC Ferries J. Roger and Mavis Begg Jocelyn Braithwaite Jeff Bray Paula Carey and Nick Wemyss Kelly and Rose Chu Country Grocer Carol Cullimore Karen Duddlesten Barbara Fields Chris Hallett Joe and Linda Harvey Theresa McMillan Tracey Mellor Monk Office Matthew Rainsberry Shelley Reid Robert Rothwell Marek Rozwadowski Donald and Anne Russell Derek and Julie Sanderson Pete Seward Shaw Communications Inc. John and Fern Spring Mark and Elizabeth Taylor Betty Thacker Lillian and Jim White

Every effort has been made to ensure our supporters are recognized accurately.

If you notice an error, please call the Royal BC Museum Development Department at 250-387-7222.

any items in the Royal BC Museum’s collection are gifts from generous museum and archives supporters who want to see an object, documentary record or specimen live on and impact future generations. These donations help us further our provincial mandate to advance new knowledge and understanding of British Columbia’s cultural and natural history.

highly-skilled conservation staff ensure that each piece is properly cared for and preserved. Conservation efforts are at the core of the important work we do and the end result is that another integral piece of British Columbia’s history is shared with the world.

But acquiring a new object is just the beginning of the story. Through professional conservation, protection measures and display consultations, our

If you would like to make a donation to our collections please contact Senior Registrar Caroline Posynick at 250-387-2961 or cposynick@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

Kristan I. and Mary Andrews Anonymous (37) Bruce S. Archibald Elaine Armagost Jagjot Athwal Dorothy Barnes Graham Beard Reg Beck Fran Benton David C.A. Blades Don Bourdon Steve Brame Margaret Bray Jennifer S.H. Brown Tzu-I Chung Tom Cockburn Darren Copley Cross Family Family of Gerald Herbert Cross Stephen Denroche Cheryl Moore d’Estrubé Rob d’Estrubé Charles Dillon Christopher Garrish David Genn Raymond Graham Ronald Greene Gail Harris Richard Hebda Steve Heddle Val Hedstrom Michael Holmes Richard Holmes Allen Hopwood Mark Howard Marlene E. Hunter

Susan Huson per David Huson Gord Hutchings Jackh Alter Ego Trust, The Carl Jonsson Gary Kaiser Wren Katzalay Grant Keddie Milan and Sharon Lakika Frank Lomer Terri McCarty Anne Mayhew Christine Meyer Shirley A. Miller Joyce Mogg Jeannette Murray Murrell Family Cynthia Newans Dean Nicholson Eric Oscar Dave Peddlesden Heather Phillips Brenda Rate Derek L. Reimer and Maxine Charlesworthy Linda Rivas Veronica Strong-Boag L. Ann Sturrock Steve Suntok Charlotte Taylor Kyle Turner Misha Whittingham Katie Wilson Matthew Wilson B. Anne Wood

The Royal BC Museum wholeheartedly thanks those who generously donated to the collection during the past fiscal year.

royalbcmuseum.bc.ca 17

Your First Stop for First Nations Art Aboriginal Tourism BC’s Indigenous Arts Initiative

By Erik Lambertson, Corporate Communications Manager

A

lmost anyone who’s ever travelled abroad and been moved by the beauty or cultural differences of a newly discovered place feels the pull to take home a meaningful and tangible memento of that lived experience. Buying a souvenir is like taking a three-dimensional photo of a happy moment in our lives.

And it’s why souvenir shops flourish.

But kitsch and cheap mementoes can only go so far. Most residents of any city frequented by tourists rarely make their own purchases at souvenir shops—we simply don’t feel that the wares on display truthfully represent the special qualities or subtle cultural attributes that we hold dear as locals.

Happily for British Columbians who live in (ahem) one of the most beautiful, diverse and (often) wild landscapes in the world, a place that’s home to an abundance of diverse cultures, there’s a new initiative that helps give pride of place to arts and crafts we can stand behind and celebrate.

The Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC (AtBC), the organization behind the successful Aboriginal Cultural Festival held annually on the grounds of the Royal BC Museum, has recently launched the Authentic Indigenous Arts initiative.

The initiative has been designed to provide a simple way to clearly identify authentic indigenous art. This is a huge boon for travellers who have fallen in love with our

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What’s inSight

Summer 2016

province and who want to make ethical and sustainable choices when buying mementoes.

They can rest assured that when they buy authentic indigenous art and crafts they are making a positive impact in the community where these goods were made.

in local indigenous art has grown, we have unfortunately experienced an influx of knock offs into the market,” said Keith Henry, AtBC’s former CEO. “We want the consumers to buy indigenous art with confidence.”

In short, there are three parts to the initiative: helping to clearly identify legitimate indigenous products in BC; convincing consumers (and that means all of us, not just tourists), travellers and resellers to seek out and purchase these certified goods; and nurturing economic and cultural sustainability in First Nations communities throughout the province.

The economic opportunities are considerable. AtBC estimates that the sale of Northwest Coast art generates more than $100 million annually in Vancouver alone. BC is home to the largest number of indigenous artists in all of Canada, with almost one-third of the country’s indigenous artists (about 900 artists or 29 per cent of the Canadian total). These artists account for 3.8 per cent of all artists in BC.

There are compelling reasons to start this bold new plan. “Over the years, as interest

The program uses a three-tier process to certify Aboriginal artwork (and

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products carrying Aboriginal designs).

The system ensures that the arts and crafts sold accommodate a broad range of participation by Aboriginal artists and that fair value returns to artisans and their communities. In June 2015, more than 31 indigenous artists attended the pilot Authentic Indigenous Arts workshop in Victoria, providing feedback on the tiered system and developing a greater understanding of how their work is valued by consumers.

themed products that are endorsed by the Authentic Indigenous Initiative may become a ‘recommended retailer’. After reaching out to artists and retailers the result to date is that more than 200 artisans and seven retailers in BC now support the Authentic Indigenous Arts initiative.

For more information, visit AuthenticIndigenous.com

1-2. Kelly Robinson, Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Nuxalk Nation.

These are examples of authentic indigenous art created for the exhibition Our Living Languages: First Peoples’ Voices in British Columbia.

3. Interactive Language Light Pillar by Francis Dick.

4. Storytellers and Language Keepers

by Jaalen Edanshaw.

5. Salish Loom by Deborah Sparrow.

As part of the program, any retailer who stocks at least 30 per cent of indigenous-

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4.

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royalbcmuseum.bc.ca 19

An Ice Age Summer Camping Anyone?

By Janet MacDonald, Head of Learning

W

ith the heat of summer just around the corner, why not cool your kids off in the Ice Age? What better companion to spend time with than our very own Woolly mammoth?

As adults, some of our fondest childhood memories are grounded in the summer camp experience so our Learning team is hard at work planning an extraordinary menu of camp programs for your consideration.

Since its inception in 2009 the Royal BC Museum’s week-long summer camp program has continued to expand in attendance and popularity. Our sold-out success is directly linked to the quality and innovation that comes with consistent rejuvenation from one year to the next.

Parental and youth survey results have scored museum work and behind-thescenes explorations as the top reason for enrolling in the programs and we do not fail to integrate this fascinating aspect into each day of the week.

The travelling exhibition Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age from The Field Museum in

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Chicago provides the thematic foundation for this year’s camps. In addition, the permanent exhibits surrounding our mammoth diorama are experiencing a ‘refresh’, enhanced by new hands-on and virtual interactivity.

This August will be an opportunity for even the littlest mammoth lovers to roam the galleries and learn more about their hairy obsession. Not since the Dragon Bones: When Dinosaurs Ruled China exhibition in 2003 have we offered a program just for them. Mammoth Mornings will incorporate play-based learning into their daily visits; ensuring an age-appropriate and safe environment from which to grow their love of museums!

Connection and co-creation with the community around us naturally extends our reach and provokes new insights. With this in mind, this summer’s camp program has a new offering for 7–11 year olds in late July called Living Sustainably—Then and Now. In partnership with O.U.R. Ecovillage in Shawnigan Lake, participants in this camp will learn from both the past and in the

present; pooling resources and expertise, both organizations aim to inspire your child to live a more sustainable life.

Building memories to last a lifetime … in this respect, the Royal BC Museum aspires to play a pivotal role.

Camper exploring behind the scenes during summer camp.

Our summer camps program provides hands-on learning opportunities that illustrate to young students how fun learning can be. You can help us create an extraordinary range of camp programs that can benefit students for a lifetime.

Help us inspire young minds. To make a contribution today, contact us at 250-387-7222 or donate@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

STAFF PROFILE

New Curator of Entomology – Joel Gibson

By Dr. Scott Cooper, Vice President, Collections, Knowledge and Engagement

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A

lthough still at an early phase of his academic career, Joel Gibson has been working in the science of entomology for more than fifteen years. His elementary and secondary school years were spent mostly outdoors in and around St. Thomas, Ontario. He completed a BSc in Wildlife Biology at the University of Guelph in 1999. While in Guelph he was employed at the Insect Collection as a student curator. Following an internship with the US Geological Survey in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Joel enrolled at Iowa State University where he completed an MSc with a thesis examining the systematics of Southeast Asian aquatic flies. Upon returning to Canada in 2002 he completed a BEd at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He then embarked on a career as a high school science and biology teacher but after four years of hard work in the classroom Joel decided to refocus on his own education.

In 2007 he began a PhD program, working

at Carleton University and the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes. After completing his doctoral thesis in 2011, Joel was employed as a Project Manager and postdoctoral research fellow with the University of Guelph and Environment Canada. Joel began his career here at the Royal BC Museum as curator of entomology in February, 2016.

Joel’s research has been chiefly on insect biodiversity and systematics. He has investigated the evolutionary biology of three different families of beetles and flies.

His research also focused on using phylogenetic relationships to develop improved next-generation sequencing protocols for biodiversity analysis. Joel developed new ways to use the vast amounts of DNA sequence data available from modern molecular methods to explore phylogenetic and ecological relationships in Canadian ecosystems. From this work, Joel has published a series of papers focusing on insect life history, phylogenetic relationships, descriptions of new species and genera, and molecular ecology.

Joel’s field work has allowed him the chance to climb volcanoes in Hawai’i; to scour waterfalls in the Smoky Mountains and Thailand; to survey hilltops in Northern California and Argentina; and to avoid army ants in Costa Rica. In his pursuit of historical and modern insect records he also visited and worked in insect collections

in California, Chicago, Paris, Costa Rica, Argentina and throughout Canada.

Much of Joel’s work has been on a small but important family of flies. The Conopidae, or thick-headed flies, lay their eggs inside of living bees and wasps where they develop to adulthood. This process, understandably, is destructive to important pollinators. The flies, however, are also pollinators and often very convincing mimics of their prey. Strange flies indeed.

Conopidae are found throughout the world but their range, diversity and ecological impact within BC is poorly known.

Joel enjoys cooking and eating good food and hiking on hilltops and shorelines.

Fortunately, all of these things abound in his new BC home.

1. Dr. Joel Gibson, Curator, Entomology.

2. Joel hard at work, looking for flies on Mount Rigaud, Quebec.

Jeff Skevington photograph.

2.

royalbcmuseum.bc.ca 21

GOING DIGITAL

Augmented Reality

By Meg Sugrue, Web and E-commerce Specialist

H

ave you met the Royal BC Museum’s beloved Woolly mammoth? Chances

are if you’ve visited the museum, you’ve encountered the behemoth inside the Ice Age exhibit. Woolly, as he’s affectionately called by visitors and museum staff, is a replica of the largest animal that ever walked this continent.

To complement the blockbuster exhibition Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age, we’re giving Woolly an innovative update—an augmented reality application created in partnership with NGX Interactive. This app will launch fall 2016. The goal of augmented reality is to superimpose virtual content onto a physical environment,

1.

diorama or artifact using your smartphone or tablet. Whether you’re a seasoned smartphone user or a little less comfortable with the technology, augmented reality is user-friendly and interactive.

Why augmented reality? If you’ve visited museums recently you may have noticed how many people are on their phones texting, taking selfies or surfing the web.

So why not use those wonderful devices to re-engage audiences with the physical world around them?

Augmented reality offers the ability to tell a story, create layers of content or bring inanimate objects to life, all without altering the physical environment. Rather than forcing users to look down at their phones to access extra content, augmented reality encourages the use of artifacts as a jumping off point for visitors’ experiences.

Much like audio tours, augmented reality provides added value for museum visitors by making dynamic and memorable content more accessible.

1. Mammoth 3D scale reproduction, ca. 1978–79.

2. Swordfish augmented reality experience, 2015. Skin & Bones app from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

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Other museums have used augmented reality to provide outdoor guides, didactic information, virtual exhibitions and animations. One example is the Bone Hall exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Installed in the 1960s, with some displays dating as far back as 1881, this dense and scientific exhibit was in need of an update. To breathe new life into the aging space the museum introduced the augmented reality app Skin & Bones. The app allows visitors to bring long-extinct animals to life using animation, 3D tracking, video and other media. Without altering the physical displays in any way, visitors receive a unique glimpse into the museum’s collections.

This custom app allowed visitors to

The Royal Ontario Museum created a similar app to complement the Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants of Gondwana exhibition.

Museum we’re looking forward to using

manipulate the fossils, adding flesh to the ancient bones and demonstrating how dinosaurs would move or behave.

Throughout the museum, visitors could point their cameras at markers and see dinosaurs pop out—scary, but cool.

At the Laguna Beach Art Museum in California the A Moment in Time app was created to turn static images into living art.

Using artworks as triggers the app allowed users to point their device at a still image to display dynamic and beautiful video content.

The possibilities for augmented reality for museums are endless. At the Royal BC

The creation of this augmented reality smart phone app was made possible through the John and Joan Walton Innovators Fund and the in-kind support of NGX Interactive.

Please consider contributing to this fund and helping to create future innovative learning opportunities for British Columbians and visitors from all around the world.

Help us share our history and inspire our shared future. To make a contribution today, contact us at 250-387-7222 or donate@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

augmented reality to bring Woolly to life and encourage learning, imagination and wonder.

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royalbcmuseum.bc.ca 23

New Government Records Program Launches

By David Alexander, Head of Archives, Access and Digital

T

he Royal BC Museum and Archives, working in agreement with the Government Records Service under the Ministry of Finance, launched a new government records program early this year to process, describe and make accessible a backlog of government records.

After the Royal BC Museum and BC Archives merged in April 2003, to become a crown corporation, transfers of archival records from departments within the BC Government to the BC Archives stopped. Under this new program transfers have begun again and records dating back to 2003, which have been cared for by government in the interim, are now destined for the BC Archives.

A new offsite department has been set up to process these records and is headed by long-time archivist Michael Carter. In addition, a new archivist, Taryn Jones, and a collection manager, Marion Tustanoff, have been hired for the program. The program expects to process about 3,000 boxes a year, material which will eventually make its way into the BC Archives collection accessible via the public reference room and the new online archives search AtoM at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/search-archives/ Government Records Program Archivist Taryn Jones peruses BC Building Corporation records.

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Silica Gel Diverted from the Landfill for Use in Preventive Conservation

By Rachel Stark, Objects Conservator

P

artnerships do not have to be huge and multinational. They can occur on a much smaller scale, aimed at making a difference on a more manageable, human level.

dless of theMost result, eachwould would people dless of the result, each wouldrecognize silica gel n interestingasstory deep-sea packages that thoseabout tiny unobtrusive n interesting story about deep-sea across theare vastinNorth Pacific: eitherand sometimes shoeboxes, across the vast North Pacific:purses either n species are more connected than food.

They are usually treated as n species are more connected than ously thought, or these species, if in the garbage disposable tossed ously thought, or theseand species, if e, have changed relatively little after unwrapping or consuming the e, have changed relatively little divergence.product. Several years ago, as part of divergence.

their waste diversion program, Mountain

visits to our natural history visits to ourEquipment natural history Co-op (MEC) staff contacted tions are not rare. In addition to the tions are not In BC addition to theconservation therare.

Royal Museum’s ands of specimens sent out as loans ands of specimens sent out as manager to explore loans the possibility of year, more than 100 researchers year, more than 100 their researchers re-using silica gel packets. around the world travel to Victoria around the world travel to Victoria e the Royal Silica BC Museum’s collections gel is a highly absorbent form of e the Royal BC Museum’s collections ltimately, tosilica, answer important used for the same reason in retail ltimately, to answer important ific questions, ranging from and ranging food distribution ific questions, from as it is used in onal taxonomy and systematics museums—as a humidity buffering agent. onal taxonomy and systematics diversity, species at can risk,add invasive Silica gel or remove moisture and diversity, species at risk, invasive keeps objects and products at safe relative es and climate change. es and climate change. humidity (RH) and it can be conditioned to

lways a pleasure to host visitingdrying it in an oven a specific RH through lways a pleasure to host visiting rchers. Ourorcollections benefit adding humid air. Museum staff enclose rchers. Our collections benefit ndously from the shared silica with artifacts to make sure the ndously from thegel shared tise and knowledge, and as object is held tise and knowledge, andatasa stable RH that suits the rchers, we artifact. broaden our own placed in an airtight space, rchers, we broadenWhen our own and understanding.

But perhaps that RH is But maintained. and understanding. perhapsThis is useful for importantly,storing this isand what the displaying materials that are importantly, this is what the tions are forvulnerable – to share, to study, to fluctuating tions are for – to share, to study, or extreme RH ltimately, tolevels—metal learn more about thethat may corrode objects ltimately, to learn more about the al world. if at a high RH, wooden objects that could al world.

warp and split at a low or fluctuating RH, and paper artifacts that are vulnerable to nady Kamenevmildew and Natalya and mould. In short, museums use nady Kamenev and Natalya eva use the Royal BC gel Museum’s silica on a daily basis in the preventative eva use the Royal BC Museum’s agnification microscope and agnification microscope care of aand large number of objects. tacking software to examine and tacking software to examine and aph details of a deep-sea clam. aph details of a deep-sea clam.

Members Enjoy Discounts Around the World

immediate interest. We distributed the Due to our collaboration with MEC, the silica gel to small museums, historical Royal BC Museum now receives shipments societies and cultural centres across the of silica gel every second year or so and province, and a waiting list has been in large quantities. The last shipment established for future shipments. weighed over 130 pounds! At this point, Flash membership card atofany ofgel, these locations to receive your special Royal BC Museum membe the your museum has a stockpile silica Flash your membership card at any of these locations to receive your special RoyaltoBC Museum membe It has been a wonderful feeling pass more in fact than we are likely to use. along a useful product at no charge, to save  Ro  Huble Homestead /  Art of Greatermuseums Victoria But Gallery small community  Ro  Huble Homestead  Art Gallery of Greater Victoria with tiny the planet a little bit/ of trash and to create  Sa Giscome Portage Heritage Society  Barkerville Museum budgets or no budget at all could certainly  Sa Giscome Portage Heritage Society  Barkerville Museum these positive community contacts.

H  Kelowna Museums  Beaty Biodiversity Museum use theBiodiversity product for Museum their own preventive H  Kelowna Museums  Beaty  Sc  Kilby Historic Site  Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art  Sc  Kilby Historic Siteof blue silica gel conservation.

When the Royal BC Museum  Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art Magnified image  Sh  Mackie Lake House  Britannia Mine Museum  Sh  Mackie House  Britannia offered theMine extraMuseum silica gel to the museum indicatorLake beads—these turn pink when  So  Manitoba Museum  Canadian Museum of Nature  So  Manitoba Museum  Canadian of Nature fully saturated with moisture. communityMuseum through the BC Museums  SS  Museum of Caribou Chilcotin –  Crocker Art Museum  SS  Museum of Caribou Chilcotin –  Crocker Art Museum Association distribution list, there was

 Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical  Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden Chinese Garden  Fernie Museum  Fernie Museum  Gallery2 Grand Forks  Gallery2 Grand Forks  Glenbow Museum  Glenbow Museum  Gulf of Georgia Cannery National  Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site Historic Site  Haida Gwaii Museum  Haida Gwaii Museum  Hope Visitor Centre and  Hope Visitor Centre and Museum Complex Museum Complex  HR MacMillan Space Centre  HR MacMillan Space Centre

Williams Lake Williams Lake  Museum of Vancouver  Museum of Vancouver  Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre  Nuyumbalees Cultural Centre  O’Keefe Historic Ranch  O’Keefe Historic Ranch  Point Ellice House  Point Ellice House  Quesnel & District Museum and  Quesnel & District Museum and Archives Society Archives Society  Quesnel Museum  Quesnel Museum  Revelstoke Museum & Archives  Revelstoke Museum & Archives  Robert Bateman Centre  Robert Bateman Centre  Roedde House Museum  Roedde House Museum

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CURIOUS

Records of Resilience Developing Awareness of the Inspirational Legacy of Chinese Canadians in BC

By Christie Silver, Digitization Specialist

C

urious is an online publication and app which collects essays, research, archival items and photography from Royal BC Museum curators, archivists and other experts. Each issue of Curious engages with a particular theme that is important to British Columbia residents and visitors.

In the current issue, community experts and Royal BC Museum staff examine the Chinese Legacy Initiatives and the task of preserving and making accessible the history of Chinese Canadians in BC. Christie Silver is a graduate of the University of Toronto Masters of Museum Studies program and a Digitization Specialist with the Royal BC Museum. This is an excerpt from her article: I have been privileged. Over the course of my time working on the Chinese Legacy Initiatives, a world of worlds has been opened to me. In every archival accession I digitize, every file tells a story.

Given the thematic scope of this project, the vast majority of the narratives I have encountered are of a tragic nature. Digitizing materials which detail interactions with Chinese Canadians and their experiences over the past 150 years inevitably involves bringing to light acerbic, anti-Oriental perspectives and ugly histories—legally sanctioned racism, discriminatory language, deeply internalized prejudice.

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My understanding of and respect for human resilience has grown as a result of the intimate awareness I have developed handling records for the Chinese Legacy Initiatives.

This is precisely the purpose of the project, as I understand it—to highlight the history of Chinese Canadians in British Columbia as represented in the collections of the Royal British Columbia Museum and Archives, in an effort to acknowledge and apologize for past mistreatment. Through exposure these dark episodes—all the more significant for their uncomfortable nature—can contribute to the development of a healthier historical understanding of BC. I wholeheartedly agree that only once a more holistic vision of the Chinese Canadian experience in BC has been recognized can that thorny past be appropriately reconciled.

the accomplishments of individuals from the community, promoted local industry, celebrated club activities and reviewed cultural events. Smiling faces of Miss Chinatown hopefuls and proud business owners fill every edition.

Delve deeper into the inspirational history of British Columbia’s Chinese Canadian community and other Curious articles online at curious.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

However, grinding through records of hate and hurt, it is easy to lose sight of the narrative of success that ultimately underscores the Chinese Canadian legacy in this province. While uplifting accounts and heartwarming anecdotes have been regrettably scarce, one collection in particular did strike a chord.

One of the first sets of records I worked to digitize was a set of about 20 editions of the Chinatown News, a bi-monthly publication out of Vancouver founded by Roy Mah for English-speaking Chinese Canadians.

Running for four decades beginning in the 1950s, the Chinatown News highlighted

A Chinatown News cover celebrating the crowning of a new Miss Chinatown, 1958. BCA NW 301.4505 C53, volume 5, number 18.

100 Club Creating a Culture of Corporate Giving

By Shawn Embree, Sales Coordinator

T

he Royal BC Museum’s 100 Club is a new access program, launched in April 2016. It is built on a foundation of inclusion and community outreach and the belief that everyone should be able to enjoy and learn from the Royal BC Museum.

How does it work?

The 100 Club provides a simple program for companies, individuals or foundations to purchase museum admissions for distribution to charities that focus on providing opportunity for disadvantaged groups, such as low-income families, students and the unemployed. Admissions

are distributed through the United Way of Greater Victoria or participating companies may choose a specific organization to be the recipient of their donation.

We would like to welcome and thank the inaugural members of the 100 Club:

To receive a 100 Club information package, please contact: Shawn Embree Sales Coordinator sembree@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca 778-679-0380

• Fisgard Asset Management, with their donation of admissions for the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health.

• LA Limousines, with their donation of admissions for the United Way of Greater Victoria.

PARTNERSHIP PROFILE

Quality Foods Q

uality Foods has been a Vancouver Island-based company for more than 34 years. We employ more than 1,000 people in our 13 full-service grocery stores and we’re proud of the way we support local businesses.

Community is extremely important to us and we welcomed the opportunity to partner with the Royal BC Museum’s ‘Wonder Sunday’ school program.

Wonder Sunday offers engaging educational activities and lively presentations for families. The current theme for these innovative programs is built around the topic of food and the role that food plays in our culture and our lives—a topic where we have knowledge and insights to share.

From understanding where food originates, to the evolution of menus and the topic of operating a food business, we are happy to lend our support and knowledge to this popular program.

also be making a special appearance at some Quality Food locations throughout the summer so please watch out for it at your local store.

Quality Foods is also a proud sponsor of the Royal BC Museum’s travelling exhibition Species at Risk, a valuable initiative to help us all understand why some species are under threat and what actions we can each take to help protect our environment.

The Species at Risk exhibition will be touring BC, visiting schools, libraries, community centres and local museums to help spread this important knowledge. Species at Risk will

Wonder Sunday outreach and the Species at Risk exhibition at Quality Foods in View Royal.

royalbcmuseum.bc.ca 27

Learning the Ropes on the Job Co-op Program at the Royal BC Museum

By Dr. Erica Wheeler, Collection Manager and Researcher, Botany

What is co-operative education?

British Columbia’s Co-operative Education Program (co-op) offers experiential learning to college and university students by pairing them with employers in their field of study.

Students alternate between terms on campus where they acquire knowledge and skills, and terms on the job where they apply what they have learned to real-world problems.

At the beginning of each term thousands of BC students step into a new workplace adventure where they face steep learning curves and a new set of expectations. At the end of each term these students are one step closer to being prepared for the workforce and their employers have benefited from their hard work.

Our role: The Royal BC Museum has been a co-operative education partner for many years and has provided training in archive and museum methods to dozens of students. We are very proud to play a role in training the next generation of archive and museum professionals and our community is enriched when students are on the museum campus. In exchange for on-the-job experience, the Royal BC Museum receives help with a wide range of projects, including: • Editing our online magazine, Curious • Organizing shrimp specimens preserved in alcohol according to taxonomic group • Preparing colour photographic prints in the Modern History collection for long-term cold storage

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• Making species distribution maps based on plant specimens in the herbarium • Cataloguing and writing a report about marine invertebrates collected at a deep sea hydrothermal vent system • Appraising, arranging, describing, and preventative rehousing of archival records from large businesses operating during the 20th century Co-op student profile: Joyce Chan is a fourth year undergraduate student in Environmental Science at the University of British Columbia. She is keen on botany and has worked in the herbarium at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum as a volunteer, a work-learn student and a co-op student. In January 2016 Joyce began a four month co-op term in the Royal BC Museum herbarium, home to our botany collection. This position was jointly funded by the museum and the BC Conservation Data Centre and focused primarily on updating and improving database records for plant species that are rare or endangered in BC. Maintaining the accuracy and accessibility of these records is a key contribution that the Royal BC Museum makes to regional, provincial and national efforts to protect and manage biodiversity in BC. Thanks to Joyce’s hard work we now have a more complete picture of where rare plant populations occur in the province. In May Joyce moves to Summerland where she will help scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada set up experiments to learn more about horticultural crops. Good luck Joyce!

UBC co-operative education student Joyce Chan holds one of her favourite specimens of streambank lupine (Lupinus rivularis), a critically imperilled species in BC.

Spreading the Word Royal BC Museum Publications

By Michelle van der Merwe, Publisher

I

t’s not only Royal BC Museum travelling exhibitions that are hitting the road this year, we are also sending our publications out into the world of book fairs and trade shows in British Columbia and beyond.

Some are even taking flight ‘across the pond’ to spread the word about our impressive catalogue of books.

To start off 2016 we participated in BC Book Day at the provincial legislature on April 13, which allowed members of the BC publishing industry to raise awareness of who we are, what we do and our economic and cultural impact. More than 30 publishing houses operate in BC—the second-largest English-language book publishing sector in Canada—and many of those publishers were at the event along with related associations, librarians and booksellers. It was evident that this is a favourite event in the MLAs and staff calendar by the number of people who came to show their love of books.

While we were talking books in the rotunda of the legislature in Victoria, three of our books—Treasures of the Royal British Columbia Museum and Archives, Images from the Likeness House and Emily Carr in England—were on a UK excursion to the The London Book Fair, April 12–14 in Olympia, London. Three more titles will

wing their way over to Germany in October for the Frankfurt Book Fair in an effort to increase international awareness of Royal BC Museum publications.

We are also sending three Royal BC Museum publications for display at Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, May 28–June 3 in Calgary, Alberta. Congress attracts over 8,000 attendees and is Canada’s largest gathering of scholars so this will provide great exposure for our publishing program.

September takes us to Word Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers (PNBA) Tradeshow in Tacoma, Washington.

Word Vancouver is western Canada’s largest celebration of literacy and reading, held during the last week of September with the main festival day held at Library Square on Sunday the 25th—come find us at one of the outside tent booths (just look for the Woolly mammoth). The following

1.

weekend we will be over the border in Tacoma for the PNBA tradeshow where we will again put our books under the noses of fellow publishers, booksellers, distributors and agents in order to increase awareness and distribution of Royal BC Museum publications in the US. In 1891 the museum’s first curator John Fannin published Check List of British Columbia Birds—the museum’s first publication. Since then the Royal BC Museum’s many publications have contributed greatly to the public knowledge of British Columbia and the museum’s reputation as a world-class institution, bringing the history and nature of our province to life in exciting ways. By taking our books on the road we continue to spread the word that the Royal BC Museum does much more than produce first-rate exhibitions—we also publish books of interest to many people in many places.

2.

1. Our table at BC Book Day in Victoria drew a lot of attention from people who wanted to chat and share their love of the museum and our publications.

2. The London Book Fair in the UK is host to more than 25,000 publishing professionals each year. royalbcmuseum.bc.ca 29

What’s on LECTURES & EVENTS Food Truck Festival May 1 – September 30 Daily 11:00 am to 6:00 pm Fridays and Saturdays until 7:30 pm Back Courtyard Check out the website for additional information at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/foodtrucks/ Aboriginal Cultural Festival Free | June 17, 18, 19 Royal BC Museum precinct Join us for this three-day celebration of Aboriginal peoples, art and culture through performances, food and an artisan fair.

Presented in partnership with Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC.

Traditional Tlingit Tattoo Revival June 18 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm $12 per person Newcombe Conference Hall Nahaan is of Łingít, Iñupiaq and Paiute tribes.

His talk will address how cultural tattoos are healing the historical and present day traumas of colonization.

A Botanical Travelogue to the Scapegoat Wilderness June 29 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm $12 per person Newcombe Conference Hall Mark Egger, research associate at the Burke Museum of Natural History in Seattle, is an expert in the genus Castilleja plants commonly known as Paintbrushes.

Canada Day Penny Carnival July 1 | 1:00 – 3:00 pm Free | Thunderbird Park Dig out your pennies and step right up to try your hand at the fishing pond, an egg-on-spoon race and other old-time favourites.

Canada Day Species at Risk Kick Off July 1 | 12:00 – 4:00 pm Free | Legislature Grounds For the months of July and August our Species at Risk exhibition will be travelling throughout the Kootenay region. Join us as we give a proper send off to this unique travelling exhibition.

For a full listing of what’s happening at the Royal BC Museum, view our calendar online at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/calendar MUSEUM HOURS: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm daily Open late until 10:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays from May 20 to October 8.

HELMCKEN HOUSE: June 1 to September 5.

Open Daily 12:00 to 4:00 pm | Included with admission or donation.

Have We Got a Story to Tell —Domesticated August 1 | 7:00 – 9:00 pm $12 per person Helmcken House Limited to 50 participants Helmcken House is a home filled with stories.

And for this installation of Have We Got a Story to Tell we’ll be adding some new ones to the mix.

SUMMER CAMPS Camp Mammoth July 11–15 SOLD OUT, July 18–22 July 25–29, August 8–12 August 15–19, August 22–26 SOLD OUT 9:00 am – 4:00 pm $244 per person I Ages 7–11 Mammoth Mornings August 8–12, August 15–19 August 22–26 9:00 am – 12:00 pm $120 per person I Ages 5–6 Diorama Extravaganza August 28 I 1:00 – 3:00 pm Free I Clifford Carl Hall Living Sustainably —Then and Now Camp 2016 July 25–29 9:00 am – 4:00 pm $244 per person | Ages 7–11

SPECIES AT RISK TOUR Quality Foods, View Royal May 29 | 1:00 – 3:00 pm Ecole Willow Point, Campbell River June 15 | 8:00 am – 3:00 pm Victoria Butterfly Gardens June 17 | 12:00 – 4:00 pm Qualicum Beach Museum June 23 | 1:00 – 3:00 pm Legislature Grounds July 1 | 1:00 – 3:00 pm Beaty Biodiversity Museum, UBC Campus July 7 Kamloops Museum and Archives July 9 Big Little Science Centre, Kamloops July 11 Okanagan Science Centre July 12–13 Touchstones Nelson Museum of Art and History July 18–22 Creston and District Museum July 25 – August 1 Wildsight Invermere Branch August 4 Ktunaxa Interpretive Centre, Cranbrook August 8–12 Rossland Museum and Discovery Centre August 15–19 Check local museum websites for the confirmed dates and times you can view Species at Risk at these locations. Species at Risk is presented in partnership with TELUS and the Robert Bateman Centre, sponsored

by Quality Foods and supported by the John and Joan Walton Innovators Fund. With the participation of the Government of Canada.

EXHIBITIONS & INSTALLATIONS Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age June 3 – December 31, 2016 Our Living Languages : First Peoples’ Voices in BC On now In partnership with First Peoples’ Cultural Council

Pocket Gallery Clifford Carl Hall Exhibits change regularly. Please check our website for current information.

DID YOU KNOW? Royal BC Museum members enjoy up to 20% off admission at more than 25 partner attractions. Just flash your membership card to receive your discount!

View the full list of partners at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/reciprocalpartners

Information correct at time of printing. Subject to change. Please visit royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/calendar for most up-to-date information. Prices do not include applicable taxes.

Affinity Membership

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BECOME A MUSEUM INSIDER AND CHOOSE AN AFFINITY MEMBERSHIP** LEVEL

The Royal BC Museum’s AFFINITY Membership provides you a unique opportunity to become a museum insider. All AFFINITY levels include a family membership to the Royal BC Museum for up to two adults and three children. Look through the different levels and benefits to pick an option that best suits you.

 Collector  Conservator  Guardian

Annual Family Membership $125.90* Maximum five people – two people 19+ and up to three people six to 18 years.

• Unlimited admission to galleries and exhibitions • Express entry • 10% discount on: • Guest museum admission (up to two per visit) • Special events, programs and services • All items at the Royal Museum Shop • Regularly priced items at the National Geographic Store • 20% discount on single feature IMAX theatre tickets • What’s inSight magazine subscription • Exclusive Kids’ Club program • Discounts at select partners and attractions** *Some restrictions apply. **Visit royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/join for more information.

Each AFFINITY level includes the privileges and benefits offered with an annual membership, PLUS:

Collector $350 • Two free guest passes for permanent exhibitions • Exclusive feature exhibition preview • Tax receipt for CRA-approved amount

Conservator $750 • Four free guest passes for permanent exhibitions • Exclusive feature exhibition preview • Tax receipt for CRA-approved amount • Behind-the-scenes tour (one per year) • Annual recognition on donor wall

Guardian $1,000 • Six free guest passes for permanent exhibitions • Exclusive feature exhibition preview • Tax receipt for CRA-approved amount* • Behind-the-scenes tour (one per year) • Annual recognition on donor wall • Reciprocal privileges to more than 500 select museums and art galleries across North America

*Affinity memberships include a membership subscription fee of $125.90 and a CRA tax receipt for the approved maximum amount.

**Affinity Memberships include an annual membership subscription fee of $125.90 and a CRA tax receipt for the approved maximum amount.

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Please mail to: Membership Department Royal BC Museum 675 Belleville Street, Victoria, BC V8W 9W2 Or purchase online at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/join PRIVACY POLICY We want to keep you updated about the museum and archives. At the same time we value your privacy. The personal information collected on this form is collected under the authority of Section 4 of the Museum Act (SBC 2003, c.12) and will only be used to maintain our list of members, process payments, and provide you with the latest membership news. If you have any questions about your privacy please contact the Manager of Information and Privacy, 675 Belleville St., Victoria, BC, V8W 9W2; privacy@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca or (250) 356-0698.

PM42265026

EXHIBITION OPEN

JUN 3 – DEC 31, 2016 Get tickets at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/mammoths This exhibition was created by The Field Museum, Chicago.