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Looking to set your family tribe up for adventures and learning through the many portals of time? Set them loose in The Exploration Place in Prince George.
Like Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr. says in his older years – get out of the library and into the field to learn – but you don’t need a time machine like Marty McFly or HG Wells at The Exploration Place.
The action starts with Gaia right out of the gate - showcasing the science and sustainability of aquaponics is what it’s all about.
Faced at entry with a wall of ancient forest, you look around and realize you are not alone in this strange landscape. A world of remnants of prehistoric ocean life, as reptilian creatures lurk in the underbrush.
Trace a trail of giant footprints leading you to enormous, armoured giants that once ruled these lands.
Exploration Place’s Assistant curator Chad Hellenius says the foyer area alone traces British Columbia’s ancient past from 565 million down to a mere 66 million years ago. Talk about a new leaf.
“It lets kids know that plant and foliage recovery is important.”
Trace time from when the planet and British Columbia was covered in water, to greenery, to sea life, to eventually, life on land.
The touch and feel, interactive and hands-on! nature of Exploration Place allows kids to experience first-hand, he says.
Slide out from underneath a mammoth skeleton, get your hands dirty with all kinds of touch and feel, interactive, science for kids.
“It’s that tactile ability to grab hold of these items that kids love,” says Hellenius.
Meet animals of the past as well as of the here and now in both the Nature Exchange and Biome. Youth learn about the past, and the life and the times of creatures long gone, to earn points to trade in for their own museum treasures.
“To be able to pick up a beaver skull to look at teeth, and see not only those big ones they know about, but hey, what are these molars for?”
More recent histories are there to be explored, and discovered, deepening understanding and knowledge.
“Sturgeons are a connection to this ancient past – they are truly living fossils.”
With Prince George located on the unceded ancestral territory of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, the facility’s Hodul’eh-a: A Place of Learning brings together the streams of knowledge, quite literally.
The word Lheidli means “where the two rivers flow together” and T’enneh means “the People”
Long lost maps on the floor, and a priceless ceremonial headdress are on majestic display. Treasures.
Did you know lands of central British Columbia is divided into keyohs by the traditional property laws of the Dakelh (the Dene people of the central interior of British Columbia). True story. History.
“Keyohs are not be confused with “Indian Bands,” also known as First Nations, a form of government created by colonial governments.
This exhibit showcases a 200-year-old human hair headdress on loan from the Royal Ontario Museum. This regalia was worn on ceremonial occasions by the Keyohwhudachun (chiefs) of the Maiyoo Keyoh.
The last 100 years.
Catch the Women of the War display in the touring area of the museum – see the Western Canadian connections to, and impacts of world wars on Canada.
Thursdays in the Park are absolute hits at Exploration Place – as are feeding times – for the animals. Kids can catch a 10:30am daily animal ambassador feeding, as well as daily 2:30pm meet the keeper and 4:30pm feed the black-billed magpie times.
If you are looking to feed the kids after a day of exploration and adventure though time – set them down in the Origins Kitchen where you can engage the tastebuds more than everywhere else in Exploration Place.
Prince George’s Exploration Place is open every day this summer – 9 to 5pm.
Discover the Dino Trail this summer, join ZenSeekers as we travel across Northern Alberta and Northern BC to link together paleontology experiences. Start or end in Prince George – home to The Exploration Place, take this Trackway Tour in Tumbler Ridge, camp in Wembley Alberta to experience the Philip J. Currie Museum and go virtual in Grande Cache with their VR dinosaur track experience. We’ve made it easy for you to do it all, just visit https://www.zenseekers.com/campaign/dinotrail
Let us know what you uncover, use the hashtag #dinotrail so we might be able to feature you!
