The Hornby students, their families, school staff, members of the community, and island guests created the Exhibit by donating naturally found specimens and by helping to raise the money to have them preserved for display. The collection is located in the Natural History Centre, at the corner of Sollans and Central Road in July 2022.

It all began with a horned owl and glaucous-winged gull in the nineteen eighties. With the arrival of the beaver in the early nineties, the Exhibit began in earnest to grow to the forty plus taxidermy specimens and other natural history artifacts and fossils. Until 2005 these specimens were either displayed in the school library or stored in boxes. Then the dream to share these natural treasures with the general public became a reality, gradually over time becoming the Natural History Centre which was located in a room of its own.

The following displays are part of the Exhibit: Forest and Mineral, Fossil and Bone, Insect, Raptor and Small Birds, Beaver, Shell Catalogue, Tidal Creatures, and Herring Life Cycle. Most of the specimens are local to Hornby Island. Our policy is to only accept animals who died from natural causes into the collection. The exhibit provides an opportunity to learn about some of the creatures with whom we share our island that reflect the biodiversity of Hornby Island.