January has been so busy behind the scenes it has just slipped by and with it all thoughts of getting our monthly update out on time! On the bright side, we just received some funding for Family Day weekend activities so I’m able to promote these in our update.
Family Day Activities & Heritage Week
2021 BC Family Day Then & Now Scavenger Hunt & Open House
Saturday, February 13, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday, February 15, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Connect the past and the present through the Fort St. John North Peace Museum’s Then & Now Family Day Weekend Scavenger Hunt and Open House. Search for historic artefacts grouped around four themes, discuss similarities and differences between the past and present, and win fun prizes. Free admission. Come tour our exhibits as part of this Open House if the family-oriented scavenger hunt isn’t your cup of tea. It’s a great time to check out of new railway exhibit for free. For more information, contact the museum at 250-787-0430. Masks are required. Attendance will be limited to seven family groups (30 people) in the museum at once. Please follow public health guidelines. This activity is made possible thanks to the support of the B.C. government.
2021 BC Family Day Then & Now Scavenger Hunt AT HOME Version
February 13 - 15
Connect the past and the present through the Fort St. John North Peace Museum’s Then & Now Family Day Weekend “At Home” Scavenger Hunt. Match historic artefacts from the museum with the equivalent item in your home, discuss similarities and differences between the past and present, and win fun prizes. Download the scavenger hunt via a link on our Facebook Page and submit your completed hunt by email or in person (Feb. 16-20) for a prize! This activity is made possible thanks to the support of the B.C. government.
Heritage Week
The theme for this Heritage Week is “Where do YOU find heritage?” Heritage is all around us from family stories and mementoes to natural heritage to museums. To celebrate Heritage Week, we will be offering free admission February 16-20. The museum is open Mon-Fri 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
New Permanent Exhibit
A Rough Journey: Railways and the North Peace Exhibit: “The Whistle’s Blowing and Here She Is!” read the headlines in the Alaska Highway News on October 9, 1958. The paper was celebrating the arrival of the first railway – the Pacific Great Eastern – to Fort St. John. Even though trains didn’t run to Fort St. John until 1958, they still played an active role in how people got part way to this region and how farmers got crops to market.
This new permanent exhibit looks how the Edmonton, Dunvegan, and British Columbia Railway (pictured right), the Northern Alberta Railway, the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, the British Columbia Railway (later BC Rail), and CN Rail played a role in the history of the North Peace. This exhibit displays several railway artefacts in our collection from a souvenir spike to our railway lantern and lamp. Try out some hand lantern signals using our hands-on lantern.
Archives & Collections
2021 is off with a bang on several behind the scenes projects. We’re off to the races on responding to inquiries with 25 so far this year. At this pace, we’ll be setting a new record for archives this year. (Our record is 144 set in 2016. Our second best year was last year with 130).
On the newspaper-scanning front, our volunteers are doing an awesome job. Three years are scanned and work is beginning on the fourth. We’ve applied for a summer student to help with the scanning this summer as well. If you’d like to help with this project, please contact the museum at fsjnpmuseum@fsjmail.com or 250-787-0430. It only takes about 30 minutes of training to get you set up and then you set your own hours.
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 how things are different such as your holiday celebrations in 2020. 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.
