Museum of Anthropology

Being here was a dream come true for me. Before changing my University major to Sociology, I had started my major in Anthropology. As many times as I had been to Vancouver in the past, I had never been here. So, I made it a priority to make it up to UBC to visit the museum on this trip. I was so excited the day I decided to head up to the campus. My aunt actually wanted to come with me, and I thought it would be fun to explore with her, but I quickly realized that it would have been better if I had gone myself, as she did not care for all the art and artifacts. There was some of it that she didn’t mind, but, overall, it just wasn’t her cup of tea. I, on the other hand, could have spent hours on end there. I was in heaven. I found it all so fascinating. Here, you are able to see totem poles and other wood carvings, masks, clothing, weapons, dishes, jewellery, newspaper articles, transportation, and other things. The major focus is on First Nations and BC‘s cultural communities, however, you will find other cultures, from all over the world being represented. In fact, there are over 535,000 objects in the museum.

I took pictures of many of the masks, which I hope will help me in my career. I’m thinking that I’ll be able to use my pictures as examples when teaching different units, or as examples for different art projects. If not, they’re great conversation pieces, as the masks are amazing. They are bright, vibrant works of art, sometimes a little disturbing or scary, but beautiful just the same.

Outside the museum there are numerous totem poles as well as two Haida houses. It is quite interesting to see real totem poles and see how tall they are. We often see totem poles in textbooks, but seeing them in real life is always quite amazing.

School wasn’t in session while I was here, but it was quite busy anyways. The museum is on the grounds of the University of British Columbia and is beautiful. The campus is huge, with own little university town. The museum is set back amongst trees, and it’s a beautiful spot. It has an almost rustic feel to it. Behind the museum is a big open field, and it is there that the Haida houses, along with about 10 totem poles, can be found. Around the whole exhibit is a path that makes it easier to view the totem poles up close.

After talking to some of the employees of the museum, I learned that there was quite an array of visitors there the same day I was. There were many tourists in there that day, along with some students taking summer courses, and then, of course, said the employee, there were the regular people that visit once a week. Everybody seemed to be enjoying the exhibits (except my aunt) as much as I did. I found this a great attraction to see.

Cost: $9.00