October 22, 2004

 

 

The Maritime Museum of B.C. in Victoria has recently been honoured with the Award of Merit from the B.C. Museums Association in recognition of its Virtual Museum of Canada exhibition “Graveyard of the Pacific: Shipwrecks of Vancouver Island”.  The Award of Merit is given to an individual, institution, or agency for an outstanding, innovative, or creative achievement in the museum, gallery, archives or heritage field in British Columbia.

 

The Maritime Museum of BC created pacificshipwrecks.ca coordinating a team and resources that included the Museum at Campbell River, the Maritime Museum of Vancouver and the Underwater Archaeological Society of BC.  Zero One Design of Victoria produced the interactive website that combines evocative graphics with historical footage, artifacts, and information in unique ways to educate the public on BC’s submerged cultural resources.  Video clips of interviews and shipwreck dives, often tragic stories from people involved in these disasters, and critically important findings are now compiled for the first time at one location to the public at large.

 

At the Awards Banquet during the 48th annual B.C. Museums Association Conference held this past weekend (October 13-16, 2004) in Nanaimo, B.C., the Maritime Museum of B.C. was honoured with this prestigious award.  Accepting the award was Jamie Webb, MMBC President.  Joining him were Jacques Marque, President, Underwater Archaeological Society of B.C. and Nick Tuele, Associate, Zero One Design.

 

The website is well organized and user friendly - allowing the visitor easy access to the mysteries of shipwrecks of 1868 to 1972 that now lie submerged along Vancouver Island’s legendary notorious coastline.  The interactive shipwreck map has a slider for scrolling shipwrecks through the decades.  The Wrecks Game requires steering a vessel through the sometimes-treacherous waters of Vancouver Island’s outer coastline.

 

The Maritime Museum of BC is to be commended for increasing public access to its vast and significant collection of archives and artifacts and to those of its partner institutions.  This collaborative project demonstrates the creative excellence that can result from partnerships between a regional group of museums and a special interest organization.  The virtual exhibition sets a high standard and extends the boundaries of accomplishment for museums seeking to communicate over the web.