Upcoming Museum Events
Raffle draw September 7 at 12:00 noon.
See Programs and Events for more event information!
Gabriola’s Devon Featherstone made this life-size polymer clay sculpture, hand painted and mounted on a piece of local driftwood.
The male hummingbird is for sale in the museum.
Summer Hours
May 19 – Sept 1
Tues-Sun | 10-3
Closed Mondays
Fall Hours
Sept 3 – Oct 6
Wed-Sat | 10-3
Closed Mon-Tues
Remembrance Day
11-2 | Open
December weekends
10-3 | Gift Shop open
Winter
Closed Jan – May
The McRaes – Two of Gabriola’s Finest
Maxine and Stan McRae were awarded a lifetime membership to the Gabriola Historical & Museum Society at the museum’s Opening Day event, May 19, 2019.
Learn why the McRae’s are honoured lifetime members of the museum.
Outdoor Exhibits and Native Plant Garden are OPEN all year.
Connections From the Ground Up
The Museum has undergone a major transformation of its constantly changing exhibits to create a permanent display, which represents a broad perspective of Gabriola Island and its people.
Connections From the Ground Up, our new permanent exhibit, explores the island’s cultural landscape through rocks, shores, ocean and forests. The exhibit shows the interdependence of this natural place with the humans who have called it home and loved it. Gabriola’s stories reveal diverse ways of knowing and living: Snuneymuwx stories, settler stories, scientific stories, and many more.
Three new themes have been introduced-On the Rocks, At the beach, and In the Woods.
On the Rocks
On the Rocks includes an extensive look at our island origin stories and its geology from a variety of perspectives. Artifacts of Snuneymuwx tools and fossils are displayed in drawers and give a real sense of our collection. Local geologists and those who study rocks and fossils on our island explain land formations that puzzle us, such as Malaspina Galleries. This is just a small taste of what is in store for you in our geology section.
At the Beach
At the Beach includes a revised Beach Quest exhibit, and touch tubs of intertidal shells remnants of live animals and seaweed. Magnifiers are available to look closely! Learn about undersea animals and plants and the impact of our tides.
In the Woods
In the Woods is still being developed but we have an exciting display on Cedar and basket weaving. Snuneymuwx weaver, Dave Bodaly has contributed one of his woven cedar hats to this exhibit, which also shows a number of baskets from our collection.
Gossip Corner
Gossip Corner is a new exhibit, which offers visitors an opportunity to leave mail and messages. Historical photos show the importance of Gossip Corner for early settlers. Next to that is our famous Hippy Display, which is loved by all.
Future exhibits
Future indoor exhibits will show the industries of Gabriola such as fishing, farming and forestry. These are yet to come. As well, a geology group has been creating a map of Gabriola with a power point that shows the land and its formations. We look forward to sharing this important piece of geological history with all.
The new exhibit includes something for every one of all ages, with activities and experiences that will engage you in a variety of ways.
A group of Gabriola Elementary grade 7 students have been working with the museum for over a year and developed interpretive activities and games for all ages. Our thanks goes to Mia Cereno, Kira Fullerton, Tully Ivany, McGill Parcher, Nisha Strauss, John Swift, and Ava Teichroeb for their ideas and enthusiasm in helping to set the direction of the museum’s displays.
Join us in learning, sharing and connecting together to celebrate this place now called Gabriola Island!
The museum would like to acknowledge community funders whose support made this exhibit possible. Special thanks goes to the Gabriola Lions Club, Village Food Market, Arbutus-Home Hardware, and Sea to Sky Construction. As well, a number of private individuals have made anonymous donations, which are greatly appreciated.
