Courtenay and District Museum & Palaeontology Centre

A New Look at the Dinosaurs of British Columbia
2024-12-03 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Vancouver) | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
Dinosaur fossils are rare in British Columbia compared to places like Alberta or Montana, but new research by the Royal BC Museum’s palaeontology team is uncovering the stories of BC’s dinosaurs from all corners of the province and through over 40 million years of geologic time.

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Members-Only Gift Shop Sale
2024-12-03 - 2024-12-24 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
From December 3rd through to the 24th, members of the Courtenay & District Historical Society will receive a 25% discount on most items in our gift shop. This offer does not apply to items already marked down or on consignment. Your valid membership card must be shown at the time of purchase.
Not a member? No worries! Purchase a membership and you immediately qualify for the special holiday discount.
Come in to take a look around and start checking things off your shopping list!

Elasmosaur’s Birthday
2024-11-16 11:00 - 14:00 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
Courtenay’s very own Puntledge River elasmosaur is turning 80,000,036 this November!
Join us at the museum on Saturday, November 16th from 11:00am – 2:00pm for a special birthday party for the elasmosaur and celebrate its official designation as the provincial fossil of BC.
The popular Amy from Magical Faces will be here to paint faces for a $5 cash fee.
Come and join us for cake, treats and celebration.

Moonlight and Magic
2024-11-15 17:00 - 20:30 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
The museum will be open from 5:00 pm – 8:30 pm for Courtenay’s 2024 Moonlight and Magic event on Friday, November 15th. With this year’s theme of Electric Creatures, you may spot our famous fossil out walking the streets!
Admission to the museum will be by donation while open hours extend into the evening for the public. This is the latest the building is open all year, so it’s the closest you’ll get to a night at the museum.

Lecture: Raincoast Chronicles: Fifth Five
2024-11-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
Writer, editor and publisher, Howard White, presents an in-person talk based on the recently released Raincoast Chronicles: Fifth Five. Brimming with stories and images, this fascinating collection celebrates Harbour Publishing’s fifty-year commitment to recording the unique ways of life that have sprung from the West Coast.
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Lecture: It’s a Maritime War
2024-09-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
The boats and men that protected BC’s coast and beyond during WW II and the Fort at Yorke Island

During World War II, the Canadian army, navy and air force each constructed their own boats and ships to be employed in the service of the war. Many of these vessels, as well as fishermen’s boats and other commercial vessels commandeered for the war effort, patrolled the west coast.
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Summer Kids’ Crafts
2024-08-24 11:00 - 13:00, 2024-08-17 11:00 - 13:00, 2024-08-10 11:00 - 13:00, 2024-08-03 11:00 - 13:00, 2024-07-27 11:00 - 14:00, 2024-07-20 11:00 - 13:00, 2024-07-13 11:00 - 13:00, 2024-07-06 11:00 - 13:00 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
Starting from June 22nd to August 24th, the museum will be hosting a Summer Kids Craft event every Saturday from 11 am to 1 pm.
Join our Kids Craft Coordinator, Hannah, as she guides youth and parents through the steps to make new weekly creations you can take home. The museum will provide all the materials and tools needed, and donations for the event will be put towards more supplies and designs for the next installment.

Change of Hours Tuesday 23rd, 2024
2024-07-23 13:00 - 17:00 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
The museum will be closing early at 1:00 pm on Tuesday, July 23rd and will reopen again on Wednesday, July 24th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, and resume regular hours. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Canada Day Open House
2024-07-01 11:00 - 15:00 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
The Courtenay and District Museum will celebrate Canada Day with an open house from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm on Monday, July 1st. Guests are welcome to enjoy live music by Alan Jossul, enter to win a door prize, and try their hand at kids’ crafts. There will also be a special one-day-only 50% off sale for the book Step Into Wilderness: A Pictorial History of Outdoor Exploration in and around the Comox Valley (limit of 3 per person).
While you’re at the museum loving the air-conditioned comfort, take a few moments to check out the new second floor exhibit “Models & Miniatures”.

Summer Kids’ Crafts
2024-06-29 11:00 - 13:00 | BC

Summer Kids’ Crafts
2024-06-22 11:00 - 13:00 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
Starting from June 22nd to August 24th, the museum will be hosting a Summer Kids Craft event every Saturday from 11 am to 1 pm.
Join our Kids Craft Coordinator, Hannah, as she guides youth and parents through the steps to make new weekly creations you can take home. The museum provides all the materials and tools needed for the event.

Miniature Craft Workshop: Custom Fridge Magnets
2024-05-25 11:00 - 13:00 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
To celebrate the completion of our new exhibit, Models & Miniatures, the museum will be hosting a miniature sculpting/painting workshop on Saturday, May 25th from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm. Anyone 10 and up is welcome to drop in and sculpt, bake, then paint their very own custom fridge magnets to take home.
Our volunteer enthusiast, Josh, will be on hand to guide the group and assist with any difficulties. This is a free event (with some painting involved), with materials provided to accommodate 1 magnet per person while supplies last, so come join us in your painting clothes! If you would like to make a donation for this activity please click here.

Mark Merlino: A Presentation on Artificial Intelligence
2024-05-21 19:00 - 20:00 | BC
Event type: Online (Zoom)
Time and Date: 7:00 pm, Tuesday, May 21st, 2024
Speaker: Mark Merlino
Cost: Free Admission or By Donation
Zoom Link to Copy: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83273151147?pwd=[REDACTED]
Join our guest speaker, Educator/Librarian Mark Merlino, for an enlightening Zoom presentation about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) facilitates machine learning and its present and future role in our lives.
Discover the latest transformative applications of AI and the implications of its expanded use. From research and e-commerce to self-driving vehicles and AI video generation, you will gain a deeper understanding of the impact of AI on our lives.
The presentation will be 45 minutes, with a 15 minute question/discussion period afterwards.

Glacier Grannies Quilt on Display
2024-05-15 10:00 - 2024-05-18 16:00 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
Over 300 grandmothers from Canada and six countries in sub-Saharan Africa have created this stunning quilt to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, and to raise awareness of the African grandmothers affected by the HIV epidemic.
While you enjoy this beautiful piece of fabric art, the Glacier Grannies will be on hand to answer your questions about the quilt and the work of the Foundation. For this stop in its journey across Canada, the quilt will be on display in the museum’s Dogwood Gallery from May 15th to 18th alongside cards for sale, and a visual scavenger hunt.

Good Friday Closure
2024-03-29 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
The museum will be closed on Friday, March 29th. Open 10am to 4pm on Saturday, March 30th. Wishing everyone a safe and happy Easter weekend!

Spring Fling and Easter Things
2024-03-23 11:00 - 14:00 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
We hope you can join us at the Courtenay and District Museum on Saturday, March 23rd for our annual “Spring Fling and Easter Things”. The event runs from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm. Admission is by donation.
There are a ton of family friendly activities planned within the three hours. Meet ducks, chicks, hedgehogs, bunnies and goats, all courtesy of Barnyard Party Animals. The popular Amy from Magical Faces will be here to paint faces for a $5 cash fee. There will also be live children’s entertainment with singer/songwriter “Mr. Day”. He will be bringing his puppet friends, Gus the Giraffe, Rocco Racoon and Itty Bitty Kitty. There will be four half-hour shows: 11:15 am – 11:45 am, 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm, 12:45 pm – 1:15 pm, and 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm.
The Easter Elasmosaur mascot will be handing out delicious treats and posing for photos between 12:30 and 1:00 pm, and there will be fun games and door prizes throughout the event. We hope you can join us!

Lecture: The Best Loved Boat: Princess Maquinna
2024-03-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
Event type: In-person
Time and Date: 7pm, Tuesday, March 12 (6:30pm Doors Open)
Location: Rotary Gallery of the Courtenay and District Museum
Speaker: Ian Kennedy
Tickets: $5 for Historical Society members; $6 for general public. Advance tickets recommended. Tickets can be purchased over the phone by calling 250-334-0686 ext 2.
Kennedy’s talk, based on the book of the same title, tells the story of the BC built ship, the Princess Maquinna that sailed up and down the west cost of Vancouver Island for nearly forty years from 1913 until 1952.
Princess Maquinna, sometimes referred to as the “Ugly Princess” but most often “Old Faithful,” transported Indigenous people, settlers, missionaries, loggers, cannery workers, prospectors and travellers of all kinds up and down Vancouver Island’s rugged and dangerous west coast, stopping at up to forty ports of call on her seven-day run.
The Maquinna faithfully served as the lifeline for all those who lived on the west coast of Vancouver Island before it became accessible by roads. Because of this strong connection she became the “Best Loved Boat” in BC’s maritime history.
The people on the west coast relied on the Maquinna for their supplies, medical needs, food, mail, newspapers, liquor and transportation in and out of their communities. Weddings were timed to the ship’s schedule; women took her to hospitals in Port Alberni or Victoria for the births of their children, and tourists flocked to buy tickets to cruise on her in the summers. She made three, 1500 km. long, trips a month from Victoria to Holberg, near the top of the Island, and back, stopping at over thirty ports, some of which had no wharves.
In his book Kennedy recounts battles through eighty-knot gales along the exposed coastline sailors called “The Graveyard of the Pacific,” and reveals the bigotry that forced Indigenous and Chinese passengers to remain on the foredeck of the ship while other passengers sheltered from the elements inside. He brings the history of this beloved ship to life with rich detail, recalling a time when this remote part of British Columbia was alive with mines, canneries and now-forgotten settlements.
Copies of The Best Loved Boat (Harbour Publishing) will be available for purchase ($35 cash or cheque only) and signing after the talk.
Ian Kennedy is the author of several books about BC history including 2010’s The Life and Times of Joseph McPhee, Courtenay’s Founding Father and co-author of Tofino and Clayoquot Sound: A History with Margaret Horsfield published in 2014.

Holiday Closure
2023-12-24 16:00 - 2024-01-01 17:00 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
We will be closed for the holiday from Sunday, December 24, 2023 thru to Monday, January 1, 2024. Our regular hours resume Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

Live Music: Tranquil Harp
2023-12-16 13:00 - 15:00, 2023-12-02 13:00 - 15:00 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
Patt Scrivener is passionate about the Celtic harp. A long distance move forced her to leave her beloved grand piano behind and in 2001 she replaced it with a Celtic harp. Patt has been fortunate to study with some great harpists from Canada, USA, Israel, Wales and Scotland.
She plays music in many genres including, Scandinavian, Classical, Celtic, Latin and Pop. Her extensive piano background has been an asset in teaching herself and others to play the harp. Patt makes her home in Parksville, BC and performs for celebrations of all kinds and teaches music in her home studio.
Tranquil Harp’s Website

Exhibit Opening: Our Living Languages
2023-12-16 10:00 - 16:00 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
Our Living Languages: First Peoples’ Voices in British Columbia
December 16, 2023 to April 6, 2024
You might find yourself expanding your vocabulary—and appreciation for the state of Indigenous languages spoken in BC—after visiting the Courtenay and District Museum to view the Our Living Languages: First Peoples’ Voices in BC travelling exhibition.
Learn what First Nations communities throughout the province are doing to help 34 different languages survive and flourish, in Our Living Languages, a beautifully designed exhibition from the Royal BC Museum and First Peoples’ Cultural Council that celebrates the resilience and diversity of Indigenous languages in the face of change.
Languages, especially the languages we grow up with, are powerful and potent markers of identity and culture. BC, one of the planet’s most linguistically diverse regions, is known as a linguistic “hotspot” because of the diversity and vitality of the First Nations languages in BC.
Through interactive stations, video and audio, Our Living Languages: First Peoples’ Voices in BC provides visitors with the opportunity to learn more about the history of disrupted languages in BC, the complexity of these languages, and the people–and entire communities–that are working tirelessly to document and revitalize them.
The original exhibition of the same name was developed in partnership with the First Peoples’ Cultural Council and was displayed at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria before being adapted and developed as a travelling exhibition to be enjoyed by people throughout the province.
The travelling exhibition runs from December 16, 2023 to April 6, 2024 at the Courtenay Museum.

Members-Only Gift Shop Sale
2023-12-01 - 2023-12-23 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
From December 1st through to the 23rd, Courtenay Museum members will receive a special 25% discount on most items in our gift shop. Not a member? No worries! Purchase a membership at the front desk and you will immediately qualify for the member’s-only sale.
We’re happy to announce plenty of new items hitting the gift shop shelves this month and into December, including tea towels, metal signs, glasses cases, and much more from Emma Bridgewater and Thornback & Peel. Come and check us out to start making your shopping list!
Please note, this offer does not apply to items already marked down or on consignment. Your valid membership card must be shown at the time of purchase.

Lecture: Tales of the Elasmosaur
2023-11-28 19:00 - 20:30 | Courtenay & District Museum, 207 Fourth Street, Courtenay, BC, V9N 1G7, Canada
Event type: In-person
Time and Date: 7 pm, Tuesday, November 28th
Location: Rotary Gallery of the Courtenay and District Museum
Speaker: Pat Trask
Tickets: $5 for Historical Society members; $6 for the general public. Advance tickets are recommended. Tickets can be purchased over the phone by calling 250-334-0686 ext 2.
Join Courtenay Museum Natural History Curator, Pat Trask, for an evening all about palaeontological discovery in the Comox Valley. Trask will recount “Tales of the Elasmosaur” at 7pm on Tuesday, November 28th in the museum gallery.
Trask will focus on the 1988 discovery of the Puntledge River elasmosaur (which was just officially designated as BC’s provincial fossil emblem), discoveries made by others in the Comox Valley, and on his own recent find of a juvenile elasmosaur on the Trent River. Pat’s lecture will include slides and a walk through the exhibit area.
Pat Trask is well known in the Comox Valley for his passion for palaeontology. Thousands of school children and members of the public have attended his fossil tours over the years. He is also the recipient of the Rene Savenye Award that is given to honour an amateur palaeontologist who has demonstrated outstanding service to the science or to palaeontological education in BC.
