Britannia Mine Museum hosts Family Fun Day as part of BC Mining Week

Britannia Mine Museum's Super Haul Truck.

The Britannia Mine Museum is hosting a special Family Fun Day as part of BC Mining Week on Saturday, May 4. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors of all ages can enjoy family friendly activities including gold panning races, pony rides and yummy cookie mining for kids, as well as learn how mining influences our daily lives through exhibits and educational resources. A blacksmith will also be on site demonstrating his craft as he forges and shapes metal into interesting objects.

BC Mining Week takes place April 28 – May 4 with events taking place all over British Columbia, recognizing and celebrating the importance of mining as one of BC’s largest and oldest industries.

The Britannia Mine Museum has an important role in educating the public about the contributions of mining and minerals to society, the history of the storied Britannia Beach community and the ideas and practices of environmental renewal and sustainability.

At the Britannia Mine Museum, visitors can not only enjoy the fun exhibits and crowd favourites like the underground mine train, the historic 20-storey concentrator mill and gold panning, they can also learn about Britannia’s history as one of the most productive copper mines in the British Commonwealth in the 1930s.

The Museum offers exciting venues for exploration, discovery and local arts and culture, featuring:

• Underground Mine & Train Ride — A memorable underground train that takes visitors deep inside a mining tunnel where they will experience what life was like for miners in the 70 years Britannia existed as a mine (1904-1974). They will learn about the drills and machines the miners used and understand the mineralization process and rich colours produced as minerals are exposed to water and air.

• Historic Mill Building — A National Historic Site and one of the last remaining gravity-fed concentrator mills in North America, the 20-storey Mill Building is an awe-inspiring cliff-side building that has been the symbol of Britannia throughout the years. Restored in 2007, each of the 14,416 panes of glass was hand-puttied into the frames to maintain its heritage and the building can be seen from miles away on the Sea-to-Sky highway.

• Beaty-Lundin Visitor Centre — The central exhibit hall that houses several theatrical mining displays and a mineral gallery, theatre space, gift shop, an interactive “Kids Playce” area and the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame where visitors can learn about Canadian mining pioneers.

• A-Z Administration Building — A fully restored heritage building that is now an exhibition centre to showcase the stories of the Britannia Beach community from 1904 to 1974. From love letters and antiques to historic photos and videos of former Copper Queens, the exhibits will show what life was like in the old mining town.

• Gold Panning Area — A scenic boardwalk and cedar-post covered area where people can spend hours panning for real gold or visit the restored heritage buildings nearby.

• Machine Shop — The 1908 Machine Shop is home to a number of historic machines and equipment donated by mining companies from across the country. The building also features several unique art exhibits throughout the year.

• Core Sheds — An immense archive of rock core samples drilled from the mountainside and collected throughout Britannia’s mining years.

• Family Play Area — Young and old alike can play in this expanded sunlit, protected, mining-themed play area where they can have fun in a Super Haul truck and imagine themselves as miners using toy diggers, trucks and hoppers.

The Family Fun Day activities are sponsored by Finning and Orica and are free for members or by regular admission.

The Britannia Mine Museum is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with guided tours throughout the day. Visit their website for more details or call 1-800-896-4044 for more information.

About the Britannia Mine Museum:

The Britannia Mine Museum is a mining legacy site and a vibrant, internationally recognized education and tourist destination located between Vancouver and Whistler on the Sea-to-Sky highway. It is a National Historic Site and a non-profit organization encouraging mining awareness through entertaining, experiential education programs and exhibits, important historic collection preservation and insightful public engagement that allows guests to leave with a better understanding of mining in BC; past, present and future.