The former Britannia Mine has over 100 years of social and mining history, and a Museum that has been educating, informing and entertaining tens of thousands of students for over 35 years. New for 2011-2012, we have remodeled our education programs to allow you to focus on the grade and curriculum theme you want. Our exciting, new, comprehensive field trip program explores mineral formation and extraction, environmental remediation and social history in our immersive, authentic, historic and fun setting.
Formation: examining earth's mineralogy and our mineral uses.
Extraction: exploring the history of mining.
Remediation: looking at the changing attitudes towards the environment as well as how both the mining industry and we can reduce our environmental impact.
Social History: examining life in 20th century BC towns through the archives and stories from Britannia Beach, and comparing and contrasting these experiences to their contemporary equivalents.
Click here for an overview of our 2011-2012 Education Programs
Click here for details of our 2011-2012 Education Programs
Click here for 'Meeting Your District's Field Trip Policy'
Click here for 'Field Trips - Meeting Learning Objectives'
Click here for 'Field Trips - Curriculum Links & PLOs'
Click on the links below for booking, planning, rates and policies
| Social Studies |
K - 7 |
Earth Science |
11 |
| Science |
K - 7 |
Geology |
12 |
| Science |
10 |
Sustainable Resources |
11 & 12 |
| Science & Technology |
11 |
Geography |
12 |
The Britannia Mine Museum was established in 1971 to preserve the material and social history of mining in British Columbia and to educate about mining. Take your school group underground at this National Historic Site. You'll get great value for money and your students will have fun while learning.
- Join your Interpreter on an exploration of the Britannia story
- Journey through our 400m long 1912 haulage tunnel
- Discover what it's like to be underground when the drills are working - and when the lights go out!
- Explore the buildings we've lovingly restored and preserved
- Get a feel for life in the early 20th century from our exhibits and displays
- Step inside the cathedral-like space of Mill 3 - we challenge anyone not to be 'wowed' by it (program dependent)
- Pan for, and keep, REAL gold (program dependent)
The EPCOR Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant opened in 2005 to treat the mine's acid-rock drainage problem. Since then, it's turned a very serious environmental issue on its head. The Discovery Centre, opened in 2008, lets you understand the environmental issue and then explore the solution.
- Join your Interpreter on a 1 hour exploration of the Britannia environmental legacy and reclamation story
- Learn about the history that caused the mine's acid-rock drainage problem
- Check out the Water Treatment Plant from the dedicated viewing platform, while your Interpreter explains what you are seeing
- Get hands-on with real science - fascinating interactive sessions mimic the science behind the actual treatment process
| THE MINE AND THE MILL |
1.5 hrs, Grades 4 - post secondary |
| Your class will travel underground aboard our train and discover the working conditions Britannia miners faced as well as visit our historic Mill 3 to learn how rock from the mine was processed to separate the minerals from the waste. |
| EPCOR DISCOVERY CENTRE (travel subsidies Sep, Apr) |
1.5 hrs, Grades 5 - post secondary |
| Visit the EPCOR Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant to learn about the environmental impact of the mine, and how the pollution problem has been cleaned up. The visit includes an overview of the water cleaning process as well as hands-on activities related to the plant's operation. |
| THE MINE, THE MILL, & EPCOR DISCOVERY CENTRE |
3 hrs, Grades 5 - post secondary |
| The above two programs combined. |
| SHIFT START (start time 9.30am) |
2 hrs, Grades 5 - post secondary |
| Welcome to Britannia, your shift is about to start! Your visit will introduce you to life at Britannia Beach through a look at our historic buildings, a train ride into the underground to discover what work was like here and a visit to our A to Z of Britannia exhibit to learn more about our history. |
| THE SOCIAL SIDE OF BRITANNIA |
1.5 hrs, Grades 5 - post secondary |
| Discover what life was like above and below ground as your interpreter reveals the history of Britannia through a comprehensive site tour and a trip underground. |
| MINING: IS IT WORTH IT? (Dec-Jan) |
1.5 hrs, Grades 7 - post secondary |
| Your class will engage in our underground experience and examine our Britannia and Visitor Centre mining exhibits to debate the cost of mining vs. the reward. |
| ENVIRONMENTAL LEGACIES: EXAMINING ACID ROCK DRAINAGE |
3 hrs, Grades 10 - post secondary |
| Your class will take a walk through our historic tunnel to learn about Acid Rock Drainage, tunnel mineralogy and the working conditions of a miner at Britannia. While visiting the EPCOR Discovery Centre, your students will learn how the impact of Acid Rock Drainage is being successfully remediated. |
| BORN OF THE EARTH: BRITANNIA'S TREASURE (Oct-Mar) |
1.5 hrs, Grades 10 - post secondary |
| Discover how Earth came to have such mineral diversity. Examine ongoing mineral formations first-hand with a walk through our historic mine tunnel. |
| BORN OF THE EARTH: MINING AND SOCIETY (Oct-Mar) |
3.5 hrs, Grades 10 - post secondary |
| Our most in-depth program on mining and Britannia looks at mineral formation, extraction, uses and the environmental impact of mining, with an eye cast on how Britannia reflects the relationship between man and mineral. |
| LIVE, WORK, PLAY |
2 hrs, Grades 3 - 5 |
| Travel underground to discover the working conditions of Britannia miners. Enter historic Mill 3 to learn how mined rock was processed to separate minerals from rock. Engage in an interactive storytelling exercise to learn what life in this coastal resource town was like and how it compares to life today. |
| BORN OF THE EARTH: WHAT GOOD ARE MINERALS TO ME |
2 hrs, Grades 3 - 4 |
| Your class will engage in our underground experience, discover the mineral recovery process of Mill 3 and participate in our Mineral Detectives exercise to discover the variety and importance of minerals. |
| WEE-ONES |
0.5 hrs, Grades K - 2 |
| Half-hour programs designed specifically for younger audiences. |
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