30 Things To Do at the Museum!

1. Listen to the music that was played at the roller skating rink in days gone by.

2. Turn the crank on an old wringer washer.

3. Browse the photo albums about former businesses or the warden service.

4. Chat with a knowledgeable guide in the shack tent to learn about what it was like to live in these vacation homes.

5. Compare a shack tent to a portable cabin – a larger successor to the shack tent.

6. Enter the cupola of a fire tower and imagine spotting a forest fire.

7. Buy postcards featuring heritage photos of Waskesiu and Prince Albert 

National Park.

8. Ask the guide to show you the “dog house” and invent a story how it got this popular name.

9. See the old projector that showed huge film reels at the Twin Pine Cinemas until 2012.

10. Sit in the shack tent during a rain shower and listen to the raindrops drumming on the canvas roof.

11. Learn to tell time on a sundial that used to be on the Main Beach.

12. Guess the weight of the huge fish hanging in the museum and check the plaque to see if you estimated accurately.

13. Study the model of how ice was cut from the lake and stored in sawdust to be used in shack tent iceboxes in the summer.

14. Sit at the table that was used in the home of the Pease family – commercial fishermen in the early days of PANP.

15. Learn to sing The Song of Waskesiu.

16. Compare the antique sports equipment: golf clubs, fishing tackle, water skis, and tennis rackets – with what you use now.

17. Check out the fashions of former times – siwash sweaters and lively print bathing suits.

18. Salute the fine work of the warden service while admiring its handsome uniform.

19. Admire the Métis beadwork on the fringed leather jacket.

20. Learn about forest fires and fire fighting at the fire tower cupola on the Museum site.

21. Pretend to row yourself out on the lake in a bright red rental boat from Brayford Boats.

22. Buy a ticket on the annual kayak raffle and have a chance to paddle it away.

23. Try your luck at Bingo Wednesday evenings in July and August at Terrace Gardens. All proceeds support the Museum. Families welcome. Community Bingo at 7:00.

24. Stroll the townsite to learn about the historic places and people using our new map and guide Heritage Moments .

25. Enjoy a snack, drink a coffee, or lick an ice cream cone at one of the picnic tables in our replica camp kitchen.

26. Purchase a book, The Stories behind the Benches of Waskesiu, to read about the people honoured through the Memorial Bench program.

27. Design your own Cowichan sweater after learning about them from our display and books. 

28. Taste old-fashioned treats on Heritage Day, the second Saturday in August.

29. Learn about the connections between Waskesiu and hockey from our display about Gordie Howe and Johnny Bower.

30. Devour a stack of pancakes prepared by Museum volunteers at the annual Three Island Paddle and Music Festival in July.