If you've spent any time in B.C.'s Sea to Sky Corridor or Lower Mainland, chances are you've visited the Britannia Mine Museum.
If you live in B.C., you have for sure driven past the Britannia Beach landmark, with its massive, white historic mill stealing views from the surrounding snowcapped mountains.
This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the museum, which is a National Historic Site and a non-profit organization.
(Can you imagine all the changes the museum has seen go by in that time? When it opened, Buick Electras, Chevrolet Novas, Triumphs and Volkswagen Kombis would have been the snazzy new vehicles driving by on the still rustic Sea to Sky Highway, which had just recently extended to Pemberton and Mount Currie.)
And even if you have been to the museum dozens of times, it never gets old, due to its regularly changing exhibits.
To celebrate its five decades of teaching and entertaining, the museum is launching a new exhibit.
A Museum’s Journey commemorates the many years of effort, by many, many people, preserving and sharing the unique history of Britannia’s mining legacy.
The exhibit launched on Saturday, May 17 and runs until Sunday, Sept. 21.
What will you see?
The idea behind the exhibit is that visitors can travel back in time to see how the museum has changed and developed since it first opened as a museum in 1975.
Guests will encounter interactive displays and never-before-seen archival photos and news clippings from the museum’s hearty collections, which have grown to include several heritage buildings, more than 7,000 artifacts, over 11,000 photos, and 3,000 archival documents.
“Our 50th anniversary exhibit is a celebration of five incredible decades of our museum, which started as a grassroots heritage site and evolved into an award-winning tourist destination that brings the rich history of Britannia’s mining legacy to life,” said Laura Minta Holland, senior curator of the museum, in a news release.
“We want to capture the spirit of the Britannia community, pay tribute to the people whose stories fill our galleries and honour the deep connections between history, place, and community.”
Once one of the world's largest copper mines, Britannia Mine, which began operations in 1904, closed on Nov. 1, 1974.
In the summer of 1975, the Britannia Beach Historical Society opened the BC Museum of Mining, which was re-named Britannia Mine Museum in 2010.
Each decade of the museum's history is highlighted in the exhibit.
"From the grooving 70s, retro 80s and Y2K right up to modern-day 2025," reads the release, which adds that the museum experienced its most profound changes in the 2000s.
From 2005 to 2007, with the help of the Provincial Government, the B.C. mining industry, and donors, the museum underwent a $5-million exterior restoration of its National Historic Site, the Mill No. 3 building.
In 2010, the museum took on the $14.7-million transformation and rehabilitation of the entire site in time for the Olympics.
Fun facts:
- The largest item in the museum’s collection is the 20-storey Mill No. 3 building, which is a National Historical Site.
- The smallest item in the collection is a 2mm diamond.
- In 1975, a special delivery of two 7,790-pound Bridgestone tires arrived at the museum and remain on site.
In addition to this anniversary exhibit, visitors can explore the rest of the sprawling site. There's the underground mine train, gold panning, the award-winning special effects BOOM! show inside the historic 20-storey concentrator Mill building, the minerals and gem gallery, the gift shop and the Beaty Lundin Visitor Centre.
A whole day is hardly enough to see it all.
Learn more or get tickets online at www.britanniaminemuseum.ca.
