VICTORIA, BC
– In 1858. word of gold rang out in British Columbia’s Fraser Canyon setting off a dramatic migration of people and propelling this once remote region of western North America into the modern age.
Now comes Gold Rush! El Dorado in BC, a major new exhibition created by the Royal BC Museum, in collaboration with the Canadian Museum of History, to tell this fascinating story of adventure, heartbreak and social upheaval.
Gold Rush will explore how everything changed during this fevered era, as class and racial barriers were broken down and people seized the extraordinary opportunities that glittered before them.
Through original objects, archival photographs, interactive displays and more, Gold Rush! explores new perspectives on this thrilling chapter of history. From global trends to the points of view of those with their hands in the dirt, the exhibition offers a new and comprehensive take on the greed and grit that would come to shape a province and unite a nation.
Visitors can marvel at the Turnagain Nugget, the largest existing gold nugget from BC at 1,642g (52 oz.), see a real stagecoach on loan from the Historic O’Keefe Ranch, and
witness the cultural influences of gold with the Bill Reid gold box, just a sampling of the more than 400 objects on display.
Gold Rush! also includes Allure of Gold, a companion exhibition of pre-Hispanic gold art, featuring over 130 stunning artifacts on loan from the Museo del Oro in Bogotá, Colombia. This remarkable collection showcases the central role this sacred metal occupied in the life of indigenous people in Colombia. This exclusive exhibition marks the only opportunity to see these treasures in North America.
After its premiere presentation in Victoria, Gold Rush! El Dorado in BC will travel to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec. A version of the exhibition will also be displayed in Guangzhou, China, part of a series of cultural exchange activities to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the twinning relationship between BC and Guangdong Province.
Gold Rush! El Dorado in BC is made possible through the generous support of the Kermode Group, the Government of British Columbia, Tourism Victoria and the Royal BC Museum Foundation.
Gold Rush! El Dorado in BC runs until October 31, 2015.
For more information and a full calendar of exhibition-related events, visit
gold.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.
Learning activities
Museums and the World: Distinguished Lecture Series
Gold and Cosmology in Ancient Colombia
May 14, 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $20, 10% member discount.
The ancient gold work of Colombia is admired today for its beauty, high craftsmanship and technological achievements. But for early societies, these treasures had a much deeper meaning. Dr. Maria Alicia Uribe Villegas, Director of the Museo del Oro in Bogota, will explain the cosmology and symbolism in pre-Hispanic Colombian metal-working societies focusing specifically on the gold artifacts featured in the Allure of Gold gallery, part of the Gold Rush! El Dorado in BC feature exhibition. Following the lecture, an interactive session with Dr. Uribe Villegas and Professor Jack Lohman, CEO of the Royal BC Museum, will enlighten the topic further along with questions from the audience.
Dr. Uribe Villegas is the first guest lecturer in the Museums and the World: Distinguished Lecture Series at the Royal BC Museum. The new series brings international cultural leaders from around the world to present their experiences, research and insights on the importance and relevance of museums from the perspectives of the finest artists, authors, critics and scholars.
Night at the Museum: Gold!
May 23, 6:30 p.m. – 9 a.m., May 24 Tickets are $80 per person, 10% member discount.
At this year’s Night at the Museum, participants will step into the role of prospector and adventurer. The night will be filled with hands-on activities, games and interactions throughout the feature gallery.
On your adventure, you’ll create your own currency next to a million dollar gold coin, try your hand at gold panning, orienteer through darkened galleries searching for golden nuggets, you might even meet the infamous Billy Barker!
Regardless of whether you strike it rich, there will be early morning yoga and a hearty breakfast waiting for you.
Gold Rush Book Club
Online and In-person discussions. FREE.
The Royal BC Museum and the Greater Victoria Public Library have teamed up give British Columbians and readers from around the globe the opportunity to delve deeper into the life and times of the Gold Rush through books. Follow @royalbcmuseum for updates on the selected Book of the Month and then join other bibliophiles at #RBCMgoldenReads, on Goodreads (group RBCM Golden Reads) and Google Hangout for moderated events hosted by club members, curators, and special guests. The Book Club will meet in-person at the Royal BC Museum every month for a reading and lively discussion.
Friends of the BC Archives Lecture – Gold Nuggets and Silver Salts: The Photographic Legacy of Frederick Dally
May 24, 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 per person, FREE for Friends of the BC Archives members.
Victoria photographer Frederick Dally produced some of the most iconic images of early BC during the gold-rush era. Joan Schwartz is Guest Curator of the first major retrospective of Dally’s work, which will open at the Royal BC Museum in late 2016. She credits Dally with launching her career in Photography Acquisition and Research at the National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, and her current position as professor of the History of Photography at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario.
Discover Victoria’s Golden Secrets – Gold Rush Tales
June 1 – September 6, 2015, departs daily at 1 p.m. from the Royal BC Museum.
Cost is $15 per person, 10% member discount.
Presented in partnership with Discover the Past.
Join us on one of our lively, informative and entertaining walking tours about the stories and legends of British Columbia’s gold rushes. Victoria was the port of entry for all of them. Merchants, prospectors, card sharks, heroes and villains– even a herd of camels – found themselves in Victoria on their way to and from the goldfields. Their tales still echo around the wharves and streets of our capital city. Learn how to pan for gold, hear real anecdotes about people who were here long ago, see some of the city’s famous sites in Old Town, and create your own lasting memories. Tickets available online or in person at the Royal BC Museum box office.
Gold Rush Photographers: A Living History
June 2, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person, 10% member discount.
Don Bourdon, Royal BC Museum Curator of Images, has extensive knowledge about the people and places depicted in the photographs in our collection. Diana Millar and Quinton Gordon, photographers from Luz Studios, have a wealth of knowledge about historic cameras and process because they still use them. Put them all together with photographs from the Gold Rush period and watch what develops.
BC Gold Rush Fact Fest
June 13, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Tickets are $15, 10% member discount.
Learn about the provocative history of the BC gold rush. This lively event gives leading experts three minutes to reveal a fascinating insight in an interactive informal atmosphere. Topics will include multicultural and class struggles, women on the trail, arrival stories, and hardships. There will also be music and poetry from the times, and much more. Quench your thirst with gold rush-inspired beverages and sit back and enjoy the rounds.
Summer Camps: Gold Rush!
July 6-10 / July 20-24 / July 27-31 / Aug. 10-14 / Aug. 17-21.
Camps run 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Ages 7 to 11.
$244 per person, 10% member discount. Before and after care available for an additional charge.
Young prospectors will strike it rich at these interactive week-long summer camps. Go behind-the-scenes of the feature exhibition Gold Rush! El Dorado in BC to learn what it takes to be a successful gold miner. Campers will spend lots of time outdoors exploring for gold and tramping through Victoria’s Gold Rush past, and explore behind-the-scenes to learn how to pan for gold.
Gold Fever Trail Walking Tour
July 11, July 25, Aug. 8, and Aug. 22
10:30 a.m. – noon. Tickets are $15 per person, per tour. 10% member discount.
Talk about thinking on your feet! Walk in the footsteps of early gold rush personalities and see some of Victoria’s legendary and lesser-known sites that served the miners of ’58. Participants take on a real character from the Fraser River Gold Rush and make choices along the walking tour route that determine their fate. Tours depart from the Royal BC Museum. Pre-registration is required online or in person at the Royal BC Museum box office.
Gold-themed Wonder Sunday
Sept. 28, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. FREE with Museum admission or membership.
All events at the Royal BC Museum, unless noted otherwise. For more information and tickets, visit www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.
