Hornby Island Natural History Centre
Category: Exhibit
Summer 2017 Events Calendar
We are pleased to announce that the Summer 2017 Natural History Events Calendar is now available! This year’s topics include Hornby Island fossils, the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse (and what to expect on Hornby), a Helliwell Park Bird Walk, and Sea Otters!…
Read MoreFall – Spring Hours
From September-June, the Natural History Centre is open on Thursdays from 12:30pm – 3:30pm, excluding most holidays. Tours are also available by appointment. To book a tour, please email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com or phone Tina at (250) 335-2853.
Read MoreA Day of Taxidermy for New Songbird Display with Laurel Bohart
Laurel Bohart, the Natural History Centre’s long-time taxidermist, recently spent a couple days at the Centre helping us choose and prepare birds for the new small bird display. Laurel will take several birds back to her home on Cortez Island…
Read MoreMarvelous Moon Snail Collar
Although this may look like an old-fashioned shirt collar made out of sand, it is actually an egg case of the Moon Snail and contains around 300,000 eggs. From April to September, when the female Moon Snail is ready to…
Read MoreExhibit Display Upgrade
Changes are coming to the Natural History Centre! We are very excited to have received a British Columbia | Canada 150: Celebrating B.C.’s Communities Contributions to Canada grant for upgrading and developing our displays and infrastructure in the Exhibit. Thanks…
Read MoreUpcoming Events
Natural History’s Summer 2016 Events Calendar is now available! Join us for nature walks that explore Hornby’s diverse ecology ~ and illuminating talks on bats, whales, raptors, and native plants that inhabit our island and region! Our Thursday Expert Speakers Series is held in the Community School…
Read MoreClever Corvids: The Northwestern Crow
This month’s featured treasure is our Northwestern crow, pictured above. This species lives along the BC and Alaskan coast, while a similar species, the American Crow, lives in the BC interior. Crows are generalist scavengers, eating marine invertebrates, other bird’s…
Read MoreHerring Life Cycle Display
Each year the herring spawn turns the ocean a magnificent turquoise and announces that spring is around the corner. Birds and marine mammals are seen and heard lining the shores in anticipation of the bounty. Eagles soar from trees to fish the herring,…
Read MoreStudent Activity: What makes a good display?
In our exhibit, we are often brainstorming ways to capture the imaginations of our visitors and provide valuable education through well-thought out displays. This February we got to share this process with each class at the Hornby Island Community School, where we are located. The…
Read MoreFeatured Treasure: Dance of the Grebes
Happy Valentines Day! To celebrate this day of love, our featured treasure of the month is the Western grebe – a bird whose courtship dances are elaborate and spectacular! In one display, called “rushing,” the pair race across the water side by…
Read MoreChristmas Fair 2015
We had a wonderful time tabling in the entrance of the school during this year’s Christmas Fair. Congratulations to Christine Tamburri from Hornby Island, the winner of our 2015 getaway package draw! Our birds in holiday hats taken by Barb Biagi at…
Read MoreHornby’s Giant Ammonite
Occasionally people will inquire about whether ammonite fossils have been found on Hornby Island. Indeed, they have! Our featured treasure for the month of December is this giant ammonite that was found by Stevi Kittleson on the shore past the…
Read MoreNIDES Student Visit
This October a group of North Island Distance Education Students visited the Natural History Centre. The group participated in a tour followed by a variety of hands-on activities. We enjoyed their enthusiasm and look forward to see them again next…
Read MoreTiny Sea Star
Our featured treasure for October is a small ochre sea star, found in the tidal creatures display at the Natural History Centre. Also known as the purple starfish, sea stars have a special place in the heart of Hornby Islanders. They…
Read MoreRequest for Specimens
In order to develop our collection and educational displays, the Natural History Centre is asking locals for assistance in obtaining animals who have died of natural causes and are in good condition for taxidermy. How you can help If you…
Read MoreStudent Tours
Earlier this summer a class from Saltspring Island visited the Centre as part of a Hornby Island tour. The visit was organized by their teacher Sarah Bateman. Sarah kindly sent us these photos. Below, Natural History Centre Steward Tina Wai leads…
Read MoreNew Donations for Shell Midden Exhibit
This modified scraper was found by Mary Mackenzie in the Spring of 2015. It was in the midden at Little Tribune beach. Thanks to Mary for donating it to our shell midden display along with several other items that can…
Read MoreSummer Displays 2015
A gallery with some of our Summer 2015 displays. One week of summer hours still remains. Click on any photo to begin the slideshow.
Read MoreHairy Woodpecker Nest
Take a stroll through the woods on Hornby and there’s a good chance you will come across a hairy woodpecker, the most familiar and widespread woodpecker in North America, or hear their rhythmic drumming in the trees. Our featured treasure…
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Hornby Island Natural History Centre 