Ecology and Evolution

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.

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!

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…

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.

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

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.

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