Dear Museum Supporter...

This December and January, the team at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum hopes to be a part of your holiday celebrations! Visit the museum with your family and friends or take a break from your busy holiday schedule. We will be featuring tours, stories, and activities every day. Check out our daily schedule for more information.

Memberships make a fantastic holiday gift, and are available for individuals, couples, and families. Give the waste-free gift of a year of biodiversity experiences at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. You can purchase a gift membership in person or by phone at 604-827-4955.

As we wrap up the calendar year, it’s time once again to vote for the “Best of Way Cool.” Attend our last talk of 2014 on December 7, and then cast your vote for the most interesting speaker. 

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday throughout December and January. We will be closing at 3:00pm on December 24 and 31; the only day we are closed is December 25. 

We hope to see you soon!

What's New  

The gift shop has a plethora of new biodiversity related items. From upcycled Bowen Island glass, to felted mushrooms, to coffee table worthy books on the Great Bear Rainforest, nature guides and children's books. 

Give the gift of an experience. Stay tuned for more information about our winter workshop series gift package. 

Events

December

January 

Best of Way Cool

Are you a fan of the Way Cool Biodiversity series? Now’s your chance to tell us who should be the “Best of Way Cool.” Between Sunday, December 7, 2014 and Sunday, January 11, 2015, participate in our survey to select the coolest organism and presenter, and enter for a chance to win a family membership. 

Your favourite talks from past years have focused on bird pollination, caddisflies, and strawberry poison frogs. See the Best of Way Cool video winner above. Click here for more information on the Way Cool Biodiversity Series.

Behind the Scenes 

This month we are featuring the Work-Learn students on our Exhibits Team:  

Tessa Lawson  

I am a fourth year Biology student focusing on the dynamics and conservation of animal diversity. My interest in the natural world led me to apply at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum and I am thrilled to be a part of the exhibits team. My job has exposed me to various types of life during the process of mounting specimens, by preparing them for use in educational displays. Thus far, my favourite project has been mounting the birds of prey collection for education, as I was able to connect what I have been taught during my lectures to a physical specimen. I am excited to be a part of a group that is dedicated to educating the public on the variation of life.

Ming Wong

Hello! I'm Ming, a fifth-year Arts student studying English Literature and Film Studies. As Production Assistant I work with the museum’s design team on a variety of projects, be it designing the backdrop poster for the Birds of Prey visitor activity, editing the videos of the Way Cool lectures, or fabricating signs for exhibits. Some projects I enjoyed making thus far: redesigning wayfinding signage in the building and editing the “Laysan Island is Way Cool” lecture. Editing the Laysan lecture was fun because I got to look up a lot of Laysan-specific birds I haven't heard of before. The standout bird for me is the Steller's albatross — it's cute, majestic, and confused all at the same time.

Window into the Collection

Red and green are classic holiday colours beautifully shown in the holly specimens above. Did you know the red accents in this case are provided by the berries on a female plant? This holiday colour makes an attractive addition to your holiday swag but also makes the berries highly visible and enticing to birds that assist in spreading the seeds. It's festive and fertile.