Burnaby Village Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1971 |
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| Location | 6501 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada |
| Type | open-air museum |
Step back in time at the Burnaby Village Museum! This isn't a typical museum with exhibits behind glass. It's an open-air museum, which means you can walk through an entire village that looks just like it did in the 1920s. Located in Burnaby, British Columbia, near Deer Lake Park, the museum is a fun, interactive way to experience history.
The village is spread across 10 acres (4 ha) and has 31 buildings to explore. You'll see staff dressed in old-fashioned clothes who show you what life was like back then. Some buildings are real historic structures that were moved to the museum to be preserved. Others are careful copies built to show how people lived and worked. You can also see a restored 1912 electric tram and ride a beautiful vintage carousel!
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How the Village Grew
The museum first opened on November 19, 1971, and was called the Heritage Village. It started small but grew over the years into the large attraction it is today.
The Early Years (1970s)
When the museum opened, it had a few shops and a large house called the "manor house," which is now known as Elworth. There were even farm animals, and visitors could watch a blacksmith at work.
More buildings were added throughout the 1970s. A model railway was built, and a Chinese Herbalist shop opened. The museum also brought in a small house built in 1911 and a bank building from a nearby town. To honor the Japanese-Canadian community, a replica ofuru (a Japanese bathhouse) was built in 1977.
In 1979, the village became a movie set for the TV show Huckleberry Finn and His Friends.
Big Changes (1980s)
In 1984, the museum's name was officially changed to the Burnaby Village Museum. The museum also got more land to expand.
New exhibits were added, including a historic schoolhouse from 1922. An old farmhouse from 1893, which belonged to the Love family, was also moved to the museum.
A big event happened in 1989 when a historic carousel from 1912 needed a new home. A group called "Friends of the Carousel" raised money to buy and restore it, and the museum promised to build a special building for it.
Becoming a Modern Museum (1990s-Today)
In 1993, the restored C.W. Parker Carousel opened to the public in its new building. It quickly became one of the museum's most popular attractions.
A special gallery for temporary exhibits opened in 2000. This allowed the museum to show displays on different topics beyond the 1920s.
A 1912 British Columbia Electric Railway tram car, number 1223, was carefully restored over five years. In 2007, it was moved into a brand-new tram barn at the museum, where everyone can see it today.
In 2010, the museum was a proud stop for the Olympic Torch Relay. To celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2011, the museum offered free admission for the summer, which was a huge success.
What to See at the Village
The museum is set up like a real 1920s town. You can walk down the main street and visit all kinds of interesting places.
Homes and Community Buildings
- Jesse Love Farmhouse – See what a farmhouse looked like in 1893.
- Elworth – A beautiful home from 1922 that is still in its original spot.
- Tom Irvine's House – A small and simple house where a single man would have lived in 1911.
- Log Cabin – A copy of the type of log cabin Burnaby's first settler built in 1860.
- Seaforth School – A real schoolhouse from 1922. You can see what classrooms were like long ago.
- Church – A replica of a 1920s church.
- Japanese Ofuro – A replica of a traditional Japanese bathhouse.
Shops and Businesses
- Burnaby Lake General Store – A store that sold everything from food to tools.
- The Home Bakery – Based on a real bakery that once operated in Burnaby.
- Drugstore – See the kinds of medicines and products people used in the 1920s.
- McKay Barbershop – A classic 1920s barbershop.
- Bell's Dry Goods – A real store building from 1922 that sold fabrics and clothing.
- Way Sang Yuen Wat Kee – A replica of a Chinese herbalist's shop.
- The Burnaby Post – A working print shop that shows how newspapers were made.
- Royal Bank – This building shows what a bank looked like in the 1920s.
- Dow, Fraser & Co. Real Estate Office – An office where people bought and sold land.
Transportation and Industry
- C.W. Parker Carousel – Ride a beautiful, hand-carved carousel from 1912!
- Interurban 1223 Tram Barn – Home to a restored 1912 electric tram. Learn how it helped Burnaby grow.
- Vorce Tram Station – The original 1911 station for the tram line.
- Royal Oak Garage – Based on a car garage from 1925.
- Wagner's Blacksmith Shop – A working shop where you can see a blacksmith forge metal.
- Old Curly Locomotive – The oldest steam locomotive in British Columbia. It helped build the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s.
Museum Connections
The Burnaby Village Museum works with other museum groups, including the BC Museums Association and the Canadian Museums Association.
See also
- Burnaby Art Gallery in the same park
