Sharing the history of local hops production at the BC Hop Fest 2015.
It’s been just over two months since I arrived at the Chilliwack Museum and Archives. I’ve been digging through the files of my predecessor, long time museum educator Brenda Paterson, learning about the museums past programming and starting to develop new ideas.
When planning a new program, it’s always important to ask why. Why is a city museum an important place for its residents? How can it be a valuable place of learning and community building? As a new resident to Chilliwack, the museum has been an invaluable place for me to learn about my new community. On my second weekend here, I represented the museum at the BC Hop Fest to share the local history of hops. The people I met and the stories visitors shared helped me start building a sense of my new home.
A city’s museum is a place to hear local stories and gain a sense of community where you live, whether you are new to Chilliwack or have lived here all of your life. My job is to help open the museum and archive’s doors a little wider, to share our collection and its stories and to invite you in to engage with our community’s history. Creating opportunities like those at the BC Hop Fest, to both share our knowledge of Chilliwack’s past and learn from your stories in return, is an important part of my work.
Panels from the ‘Chilliwack’s Great War at Home and Overseas’ Exhibit on display for Remembrance Day 2015 in our Chambers Gallery.
What’s on the agenda for 2016?
We’re planning on opening our beautiful Chambers Gallery to use for a variety of programming based on our exhibits and current research. We would like to bring the museum into the community, exchanging stories and engaging with the public about Chilliwack’s history outside of our museum doors as well.
Programming for our newest exhibit, Game On! The Evolution of Sports in Chilliwack, is being developed for 2016. Our museum Calendar will be updated with what’s going on each month. Wondering what you can do at the museum with your family? Check our Family page – we’ll be updating this regularly with any special events and activities. Join us Dec. 21-23 for Christmas Crafts!
These are just some of our plans for the future at the Museum and Archives. I’m looking forward to continually building our programming to create an engaging and fun place of discovery and learning for all ages!
What would you like to see happening at the Chilliwack Museum and Archives? Have an idea for an event or program? Feel free to get in touch with me at stephanie@chilliwackmuseum.ca.
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