Science

Explore the museum's bird collection. Learn how to help birds through citizen science.

There are 15 species of bats in BC. Which ones live near you? Find out how important bats are to people and the world we share with them.

Dive into the world of ancient deep-sea biodiversity hotspots called glass sponge reefs.

Almost 50 years ago a geologist found dinosaur fossils in northern BC. Today those fossils are in the Royal BC Museum collection. Curator of palaeontology Dr. Victoria Arbour studies those fossils. Find out about her exciting discoveries!

Explore simple machines at the Royal BC Museum! Find examples of simple machines in the museum’s collections and galleries. If you can’t get here in person, you can find Royal BC Museum examples of simple machines here on the Learning Portal.

For thousands of years, Indigenous people have shared the Great Bear Rainforest with wolves, eagles, sea otters, salmon and herring, as well as many other animals. It is the only home of BC’s provincial mammal, the Spirit Bear.

British Columbia has high mountains. Lots of them. In fact, more than 12 per cent of the province is alpine tundra—land above the trees. The alpine tundra is a land of extremes. Trees can’t grow at such high elevations because of cold temperatures. The growing season is brief, and some areas are covered by snow…

In 2018 the Leahy-Langevin Collection of fossils from the McAbee Fossil Beds near Kamloops was donated to the Royal BC Museum. Explore images and video to learn more about these important fossil finds.

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) partnered with Royal BC Museum. Discover how this place of science helped the world understand astronomy and our place in the universe.

More than 4,000 alien species have made their way to BC with human help, including most of the plants and animals that we eat.

Learning about native plants can connect us to the places we live. Studying First Peoples’ uses of plants can teach us which native berries are edible and which are not.

This pathway is especially for teachers who want to use object-based learning in the classroom. Includes lesson ideas and online support.

Have you met the infamous Woolly mammoth at the Royal BC Museum? He greets visitors inside the entrance to the Natural History gallery. Woolly, as he is affectionately called by visitors and museum staff, is a replica of the largest animal to ever walk on this continent. Not everyone likes him. He has been known to frighten small children.…

Marine invertebrates are animals without backbones that live in the ocean. These creatures make up most of ocean animal life. Learn about the incredible diversity beneath the waves.

The study of insects (entomology) is alive and well at the Royal BC Museum. Go behind the scenes to discover how we learn about the diversity of insect life in this province.

Many people fear spiders but they are rarely harmful to humans and are important natural predators of insects. The spider collection at the Royal BC Museum strives to reflect the diversity of spiders in this province.

The Royal BC Museum fish collection is varied and wonderful. Explore the astounding diversity of British Columbia fishes through the collection and scientific illustration.

We're all in this together. An ecosystem is a natural community. When species disappear it can throw an entire system off balance, with far-reaching consequences for ecosytems, for the planet, and for us. What can we do about it?

Some of the oldest fossils in the Royal BC Museum collection are some of the oddest looking too. Learn about the strange forms of early life on Earth.

American botanist Mary Gibson Henry collected plants in northeastern BC in 1931. Her pioneering journey was recorded on film. Lucky for us, BC Archives has a copy.

With all the choices for recording images these days, the art of illustration is still valued by scientific researchers. Explore the work of gifted biologist and illustrator Dr Hart.

Listening for birds is a skill that takes patience and perseverance. Grace Bell used her skill and love of birds to record British Columbia bird calls and songs.

Archaeology tells us that Indigenous people have been here a very long time. Evidence such as artifacts, house remains and animal bones are held in the Royal BC Museum collection.

The mammal collection is as diverse as the mammals of BC. Mammal specimens at the museum are preserved, stored and made available for research.