Beaty Biodiversity Museum — Attraction in Electoral Area A

The Beaty Biodiversity Museum is a natural history museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the campus of the University of British Columbia. Its 20,000 square feet (1,900 square metres) of collections and exhibit space were first opened to the public on October 16, 2010; since then it has received over 35,000 visitors per year.

Its collections include over two million specimens collected between the 1910s and the present, comprising the Cowan Tetrapod Collection, the Marine Invertebrate Collection, the Fossil Collection, the Herbarium, the Spencer Entomological Collection, and the Fish Collection. The collections focus in particular on the species of British Columbia, Yukon, and the Pacific Coast. The museum's most prominent display is a 25-metre (82-foot) skeleton of a female blue whale buried in Tignish, Prince Edward Island, which is suspended over the ramp leading to the main collections.

The centre is housed in a 11,520 square metres (124,000 square feet), four-storey building. The building was designed by Patkau Architects in 2009 and built by Scott Construction. It formed the final side of a landscaped quadrangle created by the 2006 construction of the Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory.

The Beaty Biodiversity Museum features several laboratories The museum includes a theatre and 20,000 square feet (1,900 square metres) of collections and exhibit space.[8] It is entered through the Mowafaghian Atrium, a glass-walled gallery two storeys tall which, in addition to the museum's gift shop and the Niche Cafe, houses the museum's signature piece: Canada's largest blue whale skeleton.[5] The display is a "see-through box" whose façade windows have "steel mesh brises-soleils". The museum lies parallel to one of the main walking routes of the university campus, was described in Exploring Vancouver: the architectural guide as "a perfect commission for architects known for creative restraint". The whale is suspended over a descending ramp by which the collections are accessed. The space also includes a "family zone" with juvenile reading materials and a teaching collection in a Discovery Lab. Most of the collections are displayed in cabinet windows and shadow boxes, although a few are shown through alternative displays like in-ground "excavations" that under glass that visitors can walk on.

The $50-million building was designed in the interests of sustainability. It has a green roof and a reed water garden to reduce pollutants and improve drainage of storm water from the building. The centre does not have air conditioning, except in some of its laboratories; instead, the temperature level is mediated by natural ventilation through the facility's concrete walls and by the use of sunshades on the outside of the building. Natural lighting is also optimized to reduce the building's use of electricity, which also assists in the preservation of some light-sensitive collections. Finally, the centre includes several "recycling hubs" and has facilities for the composting of organic...

Was extremely disappointed. This place has sooooo much potential and just didn't. The idea of 100s of thousands of species is amazing. Unfortunately walls and walls of black cabinets with labels telling you what you can't see is frustrating. What few displays there are (between 2 and 6 windows per aisle) are reinforced glass set at knee height or shoulder height. Some are well lit displays others are windows looking at stacked file folders or rows of glass jars. There is very little to interact with or touch. No computers to learn more. A small 2 bench reading area with science books for kids. The gift shop and the blue whale skeleton are the coolest part. (You can see those for free) This is not a great fun thing for kids. My husband and I love biodiversity and more adult museums and we were very very let down.The theater played dry boring videos from researchers talking on their field but they were each 1/2 long and you would have to be very dedicated to learn much from them. Seats are comfy. If you were a student involved in this field you might love it there. The stuffed taxidermy were interesting but out of 27 aisles there were 2 of easy to see/appreciate displays. Museum is accesible and level but make sure to ask about using the elevator as the ramp is steep and long. (We had to ask 3 staff before someone knew where it was and even when we paid admission and mentioned we used accessible parking it wasn't offered. Staff member simply sneered and complained that we got the only free parking on campus) Speaking of PARKING- all of UBC is pay parking. GPS will not get you anywhere near the museum. It tries to get you to turn down do not enter roads. Use it to get close and plan to walk. Watch the signs you will pass for the WALKING route to the museum which is tucked in between...

The museum is really good overall especially considering that most of it serves as long term storage for researcher(?). The specimens are all well done and the presentation is great. You have to love the giant whale skeleton hanging from the roof. We met two coordinators who just finished a school tour and they were very friendly, helpful, and informative. Unfortunately they weren’t really there for the general public. In the children’s corner (furthest corner of the building) the person there was not very enthusiastic and didn’t seem great with kids. The timeline of earth along one wall was really cool to visualize the history of our planet and the fossils inset into the glass cases in the floor were really nicely done. The theatre showed some very cool video clips of researchers and their projects which were very accessible. The biggest drawbacks are that the majority of the area of the museum is closed, windowless cases. About 1/5 of the cases has a display, at best. I understand the need for storage, but this is supposed to be a museum, not a warehouse. There were also many specimens which were hard to discern since they were in small or overly cramped jars. Overall, I suggest that everyone check it out at least once. It’s free for students and faculty. I don’t think it has much return potential for kids. If you’re interested in vertebrates, evolution, natural history, or just like seeing cool (preserved) animals, you may find this museum worth more...