The Exploration Place is welcoming locals and visitors alike to see a new exhibit — and its renewed family focus — this summer and fall.
As Prince George’s only museum and science centre, The Exploration Place has been making changes based on local community feedback over the past year.
“We know that not everyone connected with the museum right after the renovations, and that’s fair,” said executive director Alyssa Leier. “We’ve been listening to what our community has been asking for, and we’re working hard to bring back the hands-on, family-focused experiences that so many people told us they missed.”
The museum stated in a press release that admissions and the overall visitor experience have improved since The Exploration Place reopened in 2022.
One of the biggest pieces of feedback the museum received was about the removal of the Children’s Gallery, which had been offered for 20 years before being taken out.
The Exploration Place said the removal of this important feature without a replacement was a “misstep,” and that the community’s response drove the creation of a new “Explorations Gallery.”
“It was a misstep when we took out the children’s gallery,” said Robyn Curtis, manager of development at The Exploration Place. “We didn’t replace it with anything. It’s bringing back a lot of the favourites that were in the old children’s gallery — there are quite a few things that people are gonna remember from before — and then we’re bringing in a bunch of new fixtures as well, which people are really excited about. We have three that are gonna be arriving any day now.”
The Explorations Gallery is a new space for families that directly addresses concerns and suggestions raised by the Prince George community. The museum also noted that many of its recent improvements came from public consultation conducted during The Exploration Place’s 2023 strategic planning process.
The new gallery currently features exhibits for children that encourage creativity and experimentation through play.
“We’re actively working on bringing all the hands-on fun back,” said Leier. “We hope people who haven’t visited in a while will come see the difference for themselves.”
The gallery is currently open to the public and is looking to expand as additional funding becomes available. The science centre noted that three surprise fixtures will be installed soon.
“We’re asking people to give us a second chance,” said Leier. “If you haven’t been in the last year, you haven’t really seen what we’re doing now. And if you miss the nostalgia of what The Exploration Place used to be, we get it. But we’re building something new, and we want the community to help shape it.”
As a non-profit, The Exploration Place relies on donations, grants and contributions from locals and businesses. The science centre said that recent improvements were made possible thanks to support from the Y.P. Heung Foundation, the Prince George Community Foundation, Canfor, TELUS, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George and BC Hydro, which helped the museum meet its fundraising goal for the project.
“Not a lot of people realize that we are a non-profit and we are a registered Canadian charity,” said Curtis. “So we do get some funding from the regional district and we apply for a lot of grants, but that doesn’t cover all of our operations, so we need community support to keep our doors open, essentially. We need to raise probably more than $2,500 per day above and beyond all that grant funding just to keep operating the way that we are.”
Curtis added that many of the family-focused programs locals missed are also making a return.
“We brought back our Homeschooler Monday program and we also developed a program for preschool-aged kids, which is something that we didn’t have before — and that’s been received really well. Also, our school programs have been free since 2023, thanks to a grant from the Drax Foundation. We have just recently learned that they are going to continue that support in this next school year, and we’re also going to extend the free programming to our homeschoolers and the preschool program as well — and probably other community programs too. We’re excited about that.”
The Exploration Place is now offering admission by donation every Thursday, all day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Curtis told The Citizen that The Exploration Place holds a special place in the community, and its presence is important in education and the preservation of history.
“We wear many different hats, I would say,” said Curtis. “Not only are we the regional museum, but we’re also preserving all of the region’s historical treasures and archaeological specimens and all of that. We’re also the science centre. We’re also just a community gathering place. I think if we weren’t around, I think people would miss us — because we’re pretty unique, and not every community our size has something like this.”
Besides the new family-centred Explorations Gallery, the science centre will soon feature a new travelling exhibit, which will be offered to locals starting in September.
Extreme Sports: Beyond Human Limit promises an inside look at the high-adrenaline world of extreme sports.
The interactive exhibition, developed and produced by Science North in partnership with the Ontario Science Centre, will explore the minds, bodies and motivations of extreme sports athletes — with a focus on wingsuit flying, ice and rock climbing, parkour, free diving and more.
The exhibit will include physical, multimedia and creative challenges for all ages and will feature voices from athletes who persevere through adversity. Perspectives from researchers who study extreme athletes — and those who rescue them when things go wrong — will also be featured.
“We’re really excited to bring in something high-energy and hands-on that families can enjoy together,” said Leier. “We know the past few exhibits have skewed more adult, so it feels great to launch something that gets kids moving, thinking and having fun — and is also fun for parents, too. And being able to add in stories from the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame makes it even more special. It’s a chance to connect science with local pride.”
The new exhibit opens Sept. 30 and will be on display until Jan. 15.
