Vancouver Maritime Museum, a registered non-profit, has been working since 1959 to preserve and share the maritime history of the Pacific Northwest and Arctic.
Located in Vanier Park in Kitsilano, west of False Creek on the waterfront, the Vancouver Maritime Museum is home to numerous permanent and rotating exhibitions that explore maritime and Arctic heritage including:
- The St. Roch, a historic Arctic exploration vessel used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
- Galleries of model ships
- A full-sized reproduction of the fo’c’sle of Captain Vancouver’s ship Discovery
- Collection of maritime art
- The Chung collection of material relating to Canadian Pacific Steamships
- Original hand-drawn charts from Captain Cook’s exploration of the Pacific.
- Outdoor displays including, the NASA undersea research vessel Ben Franklin, and the boiler of the Beaver, the first steamship in the Pacific Northwest and Heritage Harbour.
Right now, Vancouver Maritime Museum has several temporary exhibitions that explore both the maritime history in BC and afar.
By the Shore: Maritime B.C. in Paintings
Runs until October 25, 2020
Journey through time and space on the BC Coast. By the Shore showcases the beauty of BC’s maritime landscapes and the generations of artists who have been inspired by them, with maritime scenes of our beautiful province through the museum’s painting collection. The experience begins in the heart of Vancouver and its port. Visitors then travel across the Lower Mainland, to Vancouver Island and finally to the northern coast of BC. The exhibit includes works by Emily Carr, E.J. Hughes and artists such as Ronald Jackson, Spencer Percival Judge, and Thomas William Fripp who were influential in the early days of painting in BC. Book to see this exhibit.
Celebration: 75 Years of Freedom
Runs until November 15, 2020
Canadian Forces played an integral role in the liberation of Europe in 1945. In honour of the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands, the Dutch Liberation 2020 Canadian Society has created a temporary display chronicling the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian Armed Forces. The exhibition covers the Dutch experience under Nazi occupation, how the Canadians helped the Dutch by providing a safe haven for the Royal Family and how the Canadian Forces liberated the Netherlands from the Germans. The exhibition also explores the immigration of Dutch citizens to Canada and the legacy of how the Dutch and Dutch-Canadians have worked to honour the Canadian effort to free the Netherlands during WWII. Book to see this exhibit.
#VirtualVMM – Your Online Maritime Museum
If you are unable to visit the Vancouver Maritime Museum, online programming and resources are available, so you can visit no matter where you are! Check out their artifacts and archival materials, peruse the online library catalogue, and take a virtual tour of the St. Roch. Explore online now.
To book your visit to the Vancouver Maritime Museum, head to their website.
The Vancouver Maritime Museum is located on the traditional territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.
