Events and News
// News and Events
Hours
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
Closed on Mondays for research.
The museum will be closing early at 2:00pm on February 15, 2012 for a special function.
Be sure to check out our full online calendar of daily and special events!
Ongoing Daily Programs
Create biodiversity crafts, learn at activity stations, explore the discovery lab, participate in biodiversity themed scavenger hunts, and watch films in the auditorium.
Weekday Schedule
11:00 a.m. Story Time
12:00 p.m. Museum Tour
2:00 p.m. Museum Tour
3:00 p.m. Story Time
All day: Crafts and activities
Weekend Schedule
11:00 a.m. Puppet Show
12:00 p.m. Museum Tour
2:00 p.m. Museum Tour
3:00 p.m. Story Time
3:30 p.m. Museum Tour
All day: Crafts and activities
Way Cool Biodiversity Series
Come listen to a family-friendly lecture each month as a different biodiversity researcher competes for public affection for their groups! At the end of the year, cast your vote for the coolest organism.
First Sunday of every month at 1:00 p.m., included with museum admission or membership.
Wild guppies are way cool because...
Sunday, March 4, 2012, at 1:00 p.m.
They launched the fish-keeping hobby of millions of people around the world. Every male has a unique colour pattern and remarkably (for a fish) the females give birth to live young. Few males in the animal kingdom spend as much time in acrobatic courtship displays. But where did these fish originate, and who developed all the fancy domestic strains? Why have so many biologists adopted this species as a model system for studying evolution and the origin of biodiversity? For the answers to these questions, join fish biologist Ben Seghers on a virtual voyage to the Caribbean Island of Trinidad in search of the wild guppy.
Bird heads are way cool because...
Sunday, April 1, 2012, at 1:00 p.m.
Do you know how to visually take apart a bird head and guess what kind of food it eats? Come see some of the way cool adaptations found on the inside and outside of bird heads. Ildiko Szabo, Honorary Assistant Curator of the Cowan Tetrapod Collection, will take you on an avian magical mystery tour to look at the form and function behind many birds' bizarre and colourful head shapes.
FestEVOLVE 2012
Evolution explains how amazing organisms came to be and links us all together on one giant tree of life. But how does evolution happen? How long does it take? And how does it help us better understand and explore the biodiversity that we see today? Get hands-on with museum specimens in the lab, learn about Darwin’s adventures in our weekend lectures, and participate in daily programming that highlights relationships among species.
Daily Programming: February 11 to March 9, 2012:
Museum Tours: Tour the museum through the lens of evolution, and hear stories that reveal what we know about past biodiversity, change, heritage, and adaptation.
Evolution Activities: Explore the collections as you search for evolutionary stories, and complete a scavenger hunt for a chance to win a museum prize. Crafts, games, trivia and other fun activities are waiting for you!
Weekend Programming: February 11 to March 9, 2012:
Puppet Shows: Darwin's great-great-granddaughter finds some mysterious boxes in the attic. Help figure out what these specimens taught Darwin about how organisms change over time to better survive in their environment. Weekends at 11:00 a.m.
DNA Extraction Demonstrations: During FestEVOLVE, join us on weekend afternoons at 12:45 p.m. for a DNA extraction demonstration. Learn more about our genetic blueprint and how it is passed down from generation to generation.
Bake a Cake for Darwin contest
Friday, February 10 at 3:30 p.m.
Prizes for the best evolution-themed cakes celebrating
Darwin’s 203rd! Bring your decorated cake to the Beaty Biodiversity Museum as early as 3:30 p.m. Judging by special guests from the research community will begin at 4:00 p.m., you are welcome to participate or watch.
The first place cake may be held for public viewing in the museum. The rest will be eaten. Call it natural selection.
Please note that these cakes are prepared by volunteers, therefore, the Beaty Museum has no control over contents or food-safe handling procedures.
The Life and Times of Charles Darwin
Saturday, February 11 at 1:00 p.m.
A presentation by Greg Bole as Charles Darwin
Come hear from a young Charles Darwin himself about his life and family, his adventures on the Beagle and the development of his most important ideas.
Darwin’s Shadows
Sunday, February 12 at 1:00 p.m.A lecture by Greg Bole about Charles Darwin
Exploring the family and friends who influenced the life of Charles Darwin. What is the origin of On the Origin of Species?
Greg Bole received his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from Stony Brook University. For the past nine years he has been teaching with the Biology Program at UBC and was awarded the 2007/08 Faculty of Science Killam Prize for Excellence in Teaching. He is now an Instructor teaching Evolution, Ecology, Genetics and Biostatistics in the departments of Zoology and Botany. Greg started acting when he was 12 years old and continues it as a hobby. He has been portraying and speaking about Charles Darwin for the past seven years on the radio, to public groups, classes and conferences in a wide variety of locations.
Stranger than fiction: virus outbreaks in the movies and the world
Sunday, February 19, at 2:30 p.m.
Learn about the evolving world of viruses in contagious diseases. Outbreak, Contagion, and other films will be featured as we learn about the fact and fiction behind these disaster film diseases, and discuss some recent real-world outbreaks. Emma Shelford is a PhD student and Tyler Nelson is a Bachelors student, both working in virology in UBC’s Oceanography department.
Raising Big Blue Documentary
You can now watch our featured film in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum Auditorium!
Mark Miller Productions and the Discovery Channel present this documentary feature following the story of our blue whale skeleton from PEI to Victoria to Vancouver. See the behind-the-scenes drama involved in recovering, cleaning, and restoring the skeleton of the largest creature on earth. Find more information about the film, along with a teaser here.
Run time is approximately 45 minutes. Parental accompaniment is required; please note that some imagery may be overwhelming for sensitive or squeamish visitors.
Weekends at 11:15 a.m., 1:15 p.m., and 2:45 p.m.
Biodiversity Research Seminars
Wednesdays 12:00 p.m.
Beaty Biodiversity Museum Auditorium
The Biodiversity graduate students, faculty, and their guests present current projects and recent work to the UBC research community in this series of hour-long seminars. Museum visitors are welcome to attend.
Raising Big Blue aired June 5 on Discovery
Now you can watch it at the Beaty Museum! Mark Miller Productions and the Discovery Channel presented this documentary feature following the story of our blue whale skeleton. Check the Discovery website for information on this special.
Single-Cell Marine Predator’s Unique Survival Mechanisms Revealed
UBC researchers have painted a portrait of the microscopic dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina, a tiny marine organism that is such an efficient predator it has even acquired a gene from its prey. Patrick Keeling, director of the Centre for Microbial Diversity and Evolution and a member of the Biodiversity Research Centre at UBC, was one of the study's authors.
UBC Researchers Part of Panel that Calls for Bold Vision in Biodiversity Research
UBC professors Wayne Maddison and Sarah Otto were part of an expert panel calling for Canada to advance a bold new vision to fully understand its biodiversity resources. “Taxonomists are critical for identifying and protecting species at risk,” said Otto. “We can only protect that which we know about and we only know a small fraction of the species on earth.”
Mowafaghian Foundation Gift
The djavad mowafaghian foundation has contributed $3 million to the new Djavad Mowafaghian Atrium, a two-storey glass gallery that showcases the Beaty’s flagship exhibit, the skeleton of a blue whale. The exhibit and the Museum’s educational programming are expected to be a major draw for the region's schoolchildren.
