It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the museum these days. A masked crew of volunteers hung garlands, decorated trees, and put out many of our Christmas artefacts. Looking for a quiet festive activity?
The museum is open for self-guided tours Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. These reduced hours give us a chance to clean and prepare the museum for the visitors the next day. While you’re here check out the great selection of books, gifts, Christmas ornaments, and stocking stuffers in our gift shop.
Christmas Activities
• Santa to Visit Museum
November 28, 2020 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Bring your own camera and take your family’s photograph with Northern Trails Heritage Society’s life-sized Jolly Old St. Nicholas in front of the snowy historical buildings at the Fort St. John North Peace Museum. After posing for your photo, pickup a postcard to send to Santa at the North Pole. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated. Pre-registration is mandatory and we ask that you follow Covid-19 safety procedures and wear masks before and after your photographs with Santa. Please call 250-787-0430 to reserve your visit with Santa.
• Christmas Scavenger Hunt
December 1 – December 24, 2020
Want a low-risk Christmas activity to do as a family? Try our photo-based Christmas scavenger hunt. The museum is decked out for the holidays. Come search our historic decorations and match them to exhibits you find them in. Scavenger hunts are included in the price of admission or are free for our members. Please do this activity within your family group according to health guidelines.
Upcoming Exhibits
Our new railway exhibit and outdoor equipment signs have been graphically designed and are off to the printers. Look for news of our railway exhibit in our next update!
• In Their Shoes: This free exhibit at the North Peace Regional Airport looks at five pairs of shoes and their four owners (or makers). Discover the stories these shoes can tell about Nurse Anne (Roberts) Young, softball player Freda Murphy, BC Police/RCMP Constable Robert Miller, and moccasin maker May Dominic Apsassin.
Archives & Collections
Do you have a reversible City directory? We are looking to add more directories to our museum collection. The reversible ones (where you can search by street as well as by name) are particularly helpful for answering inquiries. If you have a copy, we’d love to add it to our collection or at least scan the street section and return it to you.
We’ve received 120 requests through our archives so far this year – more than twice the number of requests received in 2019. Volunteers have started using our new large-scale scanner to scan the Alaska Highway News. If you’re interested in getting involved, contact the museum at fsjnpmuseum@fsjmail.com or 250-787-0430. It only takes about 30 minutes of training to get you set up.
A Northern Heritage Christmas Website
Need something Christmassy to do from the comfort of your warm home? Check out A Northern Heritage Christmas website: anorthernheritagechristmas.ca. Discover great local Christmas stories, heritage recipes, Christmas activities, and more. You can share your own Christmas stories, recipes, and favourite Christmas light displays as well.
Share Your Covid-19 Experience
How has Covid-19 had an impact on your life? The Fort St. John North Peace Museum is looking for your stories and photographs of living in a much different world than what we were used to. We’re looking for things like photographs of how daily life has changed or a short write up on what it’s like to go to the barber or the grocery store these days. Items, stories, journals, photographs, etc. that connect to the Covid-19 pandemic can be dropped off at the museum or submitted by email to fsjnpmuseum@fsjmail.com.
Heather Sjoblom is manager and curator of the Fort St. John North Peace Museum.
