Storyeum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Storyeum

Established	2000-2006
Location	Vancouver, British Columbia Gastown's Water Street in Canada.

Storyeum was a special place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was a tourist attraction that brought history to life. Located in the popular Gastown area, Storyeum offered an exciting, interactive show. This show used special effects and actors to recreate British Columbia's history. The whole experience lasted about 65 minutes.

Storyeum closed its doors on October 17, 2006. It stopped running because not enough people visited. After it closed, the City of Vancouver, which owned the building, rented out parts of the space. It was used for events like Vancouver Fashion Week and parties for the Juno Awards. The Vancouver Film School also used the space for its projects.

The large area where Storyeum once was is now divided. Part of it is a furniture store. Another part is used by W2 Community Media Arts. This group runs a big conference and festival venue called W2 Storyeum. It now has a media lab, a cafe, art studios, and meeting rooms for the community.

The basement of the old Storyeum building is very large. It is currently used by the Vancouver Film School. Students use it for filming sets, including green screens for special effects.

Discovering Storyeum's Past

Storyeum's main entrance on Water Street in Vancouver's Gastown neighborhood.

The idea for Storyeum started in 2000. It was created by Danny Guillaume and architect Al Waisman. They formed a company called Historical Xperiences Inc. (HXP) to build and manage Storyeum. The attraction officially opened in June 2004.

Many local business people and the City of Vancouver invested a lot of money. They put over CAD $22 million into the project. However, not enough visitors came to see the shows. Storyeum eventually closed down because it couldn't make enough money.

Amazing Facts About Storyeum

• Storyeum was huge! It was bigger than six professional NHL ice rinks. The entire space covered about 104,000 square feet.
• It was one of the biggest new tourist attractions built in Vancouver since Expo 86.
• The special lifts used in the show were some of the largest in the world.
• These lifts could carry 200 people or up to 25,000 pounds at once.
• A replica of the Canadian Pacific Railway Locomotive#374 was part of the show. This was the first train to carry passengers across Canada.
• Storyeum was built very quickly, in just 6 months.

The Storyeum Show: A Journey Through History

The Storyeum show was a theatrical adventure that mostly happened underground. The entire experience lasted about 65 minutes. Unlike a regular play, guests moved from one set to another. There were eight different sets in total. This included two special lifts with 360-degree visual displays.

The journey began when guests entered the first lift. It took them down below the streets of Gastown. From there, guides led them through each historical scene.

1. GOING UNDERGROUND — This was an introduction to Canada and Vancouver. It showed important moments like the Terry Fox run and Expo 86. It also highlighted Canada winning Olympic Gold Medals in hockey. Guests learned about Vancouver hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics. Safety rules were also shared here.
2. ANCIENT TRAILS — This was the first real set with actors and special effects. It told the story of how people were created. This was shown from the viewpoint of the Tsleil-Waututh native people of British Columbia. The setting looked like a rainforest.
3. THE BIG HOUSE — Here, guests saw a love story unfold over many years. It was about the first descendants of the man and woman from the previous set. This story completed the idea of the Great Circle of Life.
4. NEW ARRIVALS — This set had two versions that changed with the seasons. Both versions showed the "first contact" between Europeans and indigenous people. Guests either saw a ship arriving from the shore or experienced being on the ship itself. The story talked about the Hudson's Bay Company and the fur trade. It also mentioned the introduction of small pox.
5. GOLD SEEKERS — This scene took place around 1862 in Barkerville, British Columbia. It focused on the Gold Rush in the Pacific North-West. Guests learned about the Barkerville fire and the challenges of law and order.
6. NATIONAL DREAM — In this set, guests experienced how Canada became united. This happened through the building of a national railway across the country. The show also touched on Women's Suffrage (women getting the right to vote). It also showed the role of Chinese workers in building the railway and the Head Tax they faced.
7. LAST STOP — This set was a railway station, likely in Vancouver. It featured a replica of the Gastown Steam clock. The story was set around 1944. A Canadian soldier was waiting to go to Italy for reconstruction efforts. A wife was waiting for her husband, a Canadian Forces soldier, to return from Europe. A replica train arrived, bringing the husband home. The set ended with a musical performance celebrating multiculturalism.
8. BC SPIRIT — In the final set, guests entered a lift to go back to street level. As they went up, a visual display celebrated individuality and community. This marked the end of the Storyeum experience.

Amazing Facts About Storyeum

• Storyeum was very big! It was larger than six NHL ice rinks. It covered about 104,000 square feet (9,660 square meters).
• It was one of the biggest new tourist attractions built in Vancouver since EXPO 86.
• The special lifts used in the show were some of the largest in the world.
• These lifts could carry 200 people or 25,000 pounds (11,340 kg) at once.
• Storyeum had a copy of the Canadian Pacific Railway Locomotive#374. This was the first train to carry passengers across Canada.
• The entire project cost CAD $22 million and was built in just 6 months.