Upcoming Events

Aliens Among Us is a travelling Royal BC Museum exhibition on British Columbia’s invasive species.  The exhibition runs from February 17 until the end of April at the The Exploration Place and invites visitors to interact with some of the province’s best-known and least-loved invasive species.

The Exploration Place would like to invite its members and sponsors for a special exhibit opening event on Friday February 17th at 6pm.  We welcome Pauline Rafferty, outgoing CEO of the Royal British Columbia Museum who will join us for the evening's festivities.

“There are over 4,000 alien species in the province and that number grows each year” says Gavin Hanke, Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Royal BC Museum.  “Some of these aliens are invasive – they spread quickly, threaten native wildlife and are hard to control.”

American Bullfrogs, Scotch Broom, Smallmouth Bass and Purple Loosestrife are just a few of the species featured in Aliens Among Us.  The exhibition tells the stories of how the invasive species arrived in the province, what individuals can do to protect their communities and how these aliens fit in – or don't fit in – with their environments.

Aliens Among Us has been created by the Royal BC Museum and is travelling throughout British Columbia between 2011 and 2013.  The exhibition will be available in Parksville, White Rock, Kelowna, Prince George, Kitimat, Penticton, Nelson, Richmond and New Westminster.  For a full listing of dates and locations please visit:  http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Exhibit_Gall.  

A companion website and a mobile application have been created to accompany Aliens Among Us.  Both allow visitors to track species using Google Maps. Visitors can upload the location of an alien sighting, images and field notes. The website also offers the opportunity to ask questions of one of the Royal BC Museum curators or collection managers.  You can access the web and mobile app here:  http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/TravellingExhibitions.

Support for the Aliens Among Us exhibition has been provided by BC Hydro and the Royal BC Museum.