Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC offers an engaging exploration of British Columbia’s history and the interconnections of nature through permanent exhibits and rotating installations. Find a spring break event based on one of the museums collections, and more!
Vancouver’s Natural History Museum at UBC
- Date: Museum and Gift shop open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00am to 5:00pm.
- Beaty Nocturnal is every third Thursday of the month from 5:00pm to 8:30pm.
- Location: Beaty Biodiversity Museum (UBC Vancouver Campus, 2212 Main Mall, Vancouver)
- Tickets: Admission is available for purchase online or in-person. UBC students and faculty receive free admission.
Explore Vancouver’s natural history museum, Beaty Biodiversity Museum and discover the interconnections of all life forms on Earth and the role we play in preserving delicate systems. Journey through 2 million specimen including a 26 meter-long blue whale skeleton, dinosaur trackways, and fossils, mammals, and plants of all kinds from around the BC region and across the world. There are more than 500 natural history exhibits showcasing fossils and shells, mammals, birds, plants, and so much more.
The museum’s permanent exhibitions features a blue whale display, Culture at the Centre, dinosaur trackways, and an Earth timeline. The Blue Whale display at the museum holds one of 21 blue whale skeletons available for public viewing worldwide. Culture at the Centre focuses on how land, language, and culture are linked and the demonstration of interconnections with the history of 6 Indigenous communities (Musqueam, Squamish, Heiltsuk, Nisga’a, and Haida). Leap back in time with the Dinosaur Trackways exhibit and immerse yourself fin Canada’s fossil heritage. And, walk along 4.5 billion years of history in the Earth Timeline exhibit with a close-up view on the last 500 million years.
Through the permanent collections visitors can explore interactive, changing exhibits while learning about the biodiversity of not only BC and Canada but the world. Current exhibitions and upcoming exhibitions are updated on the Beaty Biodiversity Museum website.
The museum offers some online exhibits including Pressed Plants: Making a Herbarium, The Curious World of Seaweed by Josie Iselin, and much more.
Spring Break at Beaty Biodiversity Museum
There’s plenty of activities planned for Spring Break at Beaty Biodiversity Museum. Each event will focus on celebrating and learning about one of the museums collections. A full event’s calendar is available for viewing online. Featured event topics include:
Entomology | Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at 10:00am
Use a magnifying glass to look up close to identify and classify major groups of insects.
Herbarium: Fungi & Lichen | Thursday, March 28, 2024 at 10:00am
Explore Fungi and Lichen – two types of organisms that are kept in herbarium but are not plants.
Marine Invertebrates | Sunday, March 31, 2024 at 10:00am
Focus in on squishy ocean friends known as marine invertebrates. Creatures like snails, octopuses, and sea stars fall into the “invertebrate” category, meaning without a backbone.