Latest News
Fall 2023 Fossil Tours
Make the most of the fall season and book your spot on a world famous fossil tour guided by our Natural History Curator, Pat Trask. Our tours will continue throughout the fall, with school programming available for classes and youth groups. These tour options are the perfect outing for all ages of newcomers and returning enthusiasts. Click here for details.
Cumberland Fungus Fest
It’s almost mushroom season, so it’s time to get your baskets ready! From Thursday, September 28th to Friday, September 30th, the Cumberland Community Forest Society will be hosting their 4th annual Fungus Festival.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Each year on September 30th, Canadians commemorate the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools throughout our country. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never returned home and survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities.
World Rivers Day
Taking place on the fourth Sunday of September, World Rivers Day is the global extension of BC Rivers Day, which was founded in the early eighties by BC resident Marc Angelo. What originally began as a way to highlight the importance of the rivers of Western Canada has since expanded into a large event spanning continents.
Back to School
Back to school, indeed! This photo shows a casual study session in 1943 outside of Courtenay High School on Harmston Avenue. Looks like skirts were the height of academic fashion 80 years ago. Photographer: Rod McIntyre.
qathet Museum and Archives Logo Contest
If you’re thinking of places to visit not far from home this summer, consider visiting the qathet Museum and Archives in downtown Powell River, only a ferry ride away! They have just changed their name and are looking for artists to help them create a new logo.
New Exhibit: BC’s Marvellous Mushrooms
A new travelling exhibition, BC’s Marvellous Mushrooms, created by the Royal BC Museum, explores the science and practical uses of mushrooms today, highlighting some of the most fascinating of the 3,400 known species in the province. The fungi exhibit will be on display in the museum’s second floor gallery from September 8th until December 9th, 2023.
Join a Fossil Tour
Before the end of the summer, don’t forget to book your spot on a world famous fossil tour guided by our Natural History Curator, Pat Trask. Our tours will continue in the fall, with school programming available for classes and youth groups. These tour options are the perfect outing for all ages, newcomers and returning enthusiasts. Click for More Details For more information and to book your tour, please call (250) 334 - 0686 ext. 2 or send an email to info@courtenaymuseum.ca.
U’maga̱lis Helen Mary Rowena Everson (nee Frank)
We will miss friend, advisor and Board member Mary Everson who provided friendship, research background, advice and wisdom to the Courtenay and District Museum staff for over thirty five years. Mary generously shared her family and cultural history and context and we are grateful for her knowledge.
Feature Exhibit at the Nanaimo Museum
stem ‘al’u ‘u’ ni xe’xe: What is Sacred? will be on display at the Nanaimo Museum from now until November 18th, 2023. Coast Salish art is a distinct style among the art of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. The exhibit explores the past, present and future of Coast Salish art, highlighting a selection of artists from Snuneymuxw and other nations of the mid-island region.
Downtown Courtenay Market Day
This year's Downtown Courtenay Market Day will take place on Saturday, July 22nd from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Explore and experience what downtown Courtenay has to offer, and make sure you stop by the museum from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm for one of our weekly Saturday Kids' Craft events.
BC Day Closure
The museum will be closed on Sunday, August 6th and Monday, August 7th. Wishing everyone a safe and happy BC Day holiday!
Rescue from the Glacier
CDM 989.183.161 - S.B.W. (Dusty) d’Esterre photograph. In July of 1939, Alex Walker and his companion Dave Aitken set out prospecting in the vicinity of the Cliffe Glacier, amid steep slopes and jagged peaks. Walker fell ill and had to wait alone for four and a half days for rescue crews to arrive. In the meantime, a float plane was dispatched from Comox to drop supplies at the site. Walker was carried out to Comox Lake by six burly loggers who had to winch him up and over several steep cliffs and down a waterfall to safety.