Field Trips in British Columbia that we have enjoyed!

Here are some of the field trips that our family has experienced in beautiful British Columbia. This is not an exhaustive list but it has been fun to revisit some of the great places we have been over the years! I hope that it will inspire you... maybe even during Spring Break!!

I would say the best value would be The Royal BC Museum in Victoria BC. In the past we have had a yearly pass and used it for everything from photo-essays to special exhibits and group field trips. We have enjoyed just being able to go and concentrate on one floor or one section.

There have been some awesome exhibits that we have experienced! I would have to say that our daughter’s favorite was Titanic Exhibit. This spurred on many Titanic plays, research projects and a great amount of curiosity about the Titanic. The “Behind the Scenes” exhibit was all about the natural history of the museum and was divided up by “ologies” and all the animals classified and displayed. Some of the reptiles and insects were a little “icky” stored in their formaldehyde. The best part of this display was seeing the actual curators.

We have been to Leonardo Da Vinci, First Nations Art, Lego and Physics exhibits and so many more. It is well worth the time spent here!!

The second amazing field trip we took was to the Cumberland Museum on Vancouver Island. This is a very small museum, in a small town, but they did a great field trip for us!! It was $1.00 per person and we learned so much about the Japanese and Chinese in Canada. The internment of the Japanese affected this little community immensely and it was fascinating to learn more about it. We learned about all the people groups that immigrated to this small town to come and work in the mines.

The bottom half of the museum is all about the mining industry and coal. It was very interesting and was great for our study of Natural Resources. Well worth setting up a field trip or visit this little museum yourself.

Small museums in small towns can be such a blessing as ours is. Our little museum is very inexpensive and has passionate volunteers who really love what they are doing! We love going often with a group. There is lots of one on one time with the guides to hear the local history of the area in which we live. 

Another great field trip for us has been Fort Langley outside of Vancouver. What a great trip this was. They had great interpreters that told stories of the people in the Fort. There were many hands on activities including having races with bales of furs. We even watched a blacksmith work with iron! This was a great field trip and well worth the time that we spent learning about the Fur Trade in British Columbia.

Another interesting field trip for us was the BC Forest Museum. This was a great field-trip to learn about both the Forest Industry in BC and the Transportation Industry. It has lots of the history of BC woven in these two important parts of BC’s past. The interpreters first took us into the forest to take a look at different trees and all the while she was talking about the importance of our Forest Industry. The kids had a great time on the train and in the village that is set up. 

What is a exploration of BC’s history without going to Barkerville. It is quite a drive but so much fun when you arrive. All of the actors and actresses in costume, the gold mining, the stores and the many building set up there were fabulous. With my husband’s Chinese heritage it was a real learning experience for our children. It was well worth the drive.

We enjoyed the Plaskett Telescope /Centre of the Universe field trip in Victoria as well. We went on their open house day. This was great as we could take a look close up at the telescope and go into the office of the head scientist as he spoke passionately about his work. There are other activities in the main building but to me seeing the telescope up close and  the equipment that runs it was very interesting!

In Vancouver we have gone to Science World many times, the Vancouver Aquarium, the Vancouver Art Gallery and many other Vancouver field trips. They were great too!! Maybe you have experienced some great field trips in your area of British Columbia - I would love to hear from you!

Blessings!!