Latest News
An online exhibit at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery helps people access the historic resources from home.
Photo courtesy Gulf of Georgia Cannery
Online exhibit keeps Cannery history accessible
By Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Published 3:23 PDT, Wed April 29, 2020
Last Updated: 3:42 PDT, Wed April 29, 2020
—
While a visit to Steveston’s Gulf of Georgia Cannery is currently impossible, the national historic site is engaging visitors from the safety of their own homes.
The online exhibit, From Tides to Tins, is made possible by a Virtual Museum of Canada grant. This program is managed by the Canadian Museum of History and aims to build digital resources based around museums and heritage organizations.
“The idea for the online exhibit took root in the work of a dedicated Cannery Society volunteer named Helena,” says audience engagement manager Shannon King.
Helena worked with Society collections manager Heidi Rampfl to research more than 200 salmon canneries in BC. The project combines Helena’s research with the answers to some of the common requests and questions Heidi receives.
Volunteer editors helped write the website and a team of volunteer teachers assessed it from an educator’s perspective. The team also included a web design company, researchers, a translator and summer students.
“The Society also wanted to address the need for online resources for secondary students that meet the requirements of the BC Ministry of Education curriculum,” King adds. “So we designed a website that contains the history but also makes it fun and interesting for students and the general public to explore.”
The site has multiple interactive elements including an educational game, historical canning videos, and a map of West Coast canneries.
“We are developing more on-line resources all the time, not only for while the museum is temporarily closed, but also to provide fun and educational materials for people who cannot visit the Cannery in person or who want to extend their visit by enjoying related activities from their homes before or after they visit the Cannery,” says King.
While Cannery staff look forward to being able to reopen, they intend to keep the From Tides to Tins exhibit running online for the foreseeable future.
“As more and more people discover it, we are hoping they will send us even more information about BC’s historic salmon canneries that we can add to the resource in the years to come,” says King.
To visit the From Tides to Tins site, click here.
To view other online resources from the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, visit their website.
2 Hours of free financial consulting
Jai Xin Planning Ltd.
C$120.00 C$0.00
Use any of our home staging service and get a second month rental for free!
MiiX Interiors
C$500.00 C$0.00
Get 10% off any order
Phantom Screens Lower Mainland
C$200.00 C$180.00
