[BCMA] The Britannia Mine Museum Wins Canadian Museum Association Award for Outstanding Achievement

Thu Apr 14 11:52:51 PDT 2011

For immediate release

April 14, 2011

The Britannia Mine Museum Wins Canadian Museum Association Award for
Outstanding Achievement
BC's mining heritage site voted Best in Facility Development & Design

Britannia Beach, BC - The recently transformed Britannia Mine Museum has
achieved yet another significant milestone in its treasured history, winning
the 2011 Canadian Museum Association (CMA) Award for Outstanding Achievement
in Facility Development and Design. The honour was received during the
awards gala held last night at the CMA's 64th annual national conference in
London, Ontario.

The Britannia Mine Museum was unanimously recognized for excellence in
function, vision, innovation, and architecture. The CMA chose the Museum
because of its national significance and ambitious vision in creating a
destination museum in a considerable short time frame. Each year the CMA
presents awards to celebrate and encourage excellence within the Canadian
museum sector. 

"This project has been the highlight of the century for us and it has been a
remarkable journey for everyone on the team," says Kirstin Clausen,
executive director of the Britannia Mine Museum. "To be unanimously
recognized and acknowledged by the Canadian museum sector gives us great
pride and is a true testament of the hard work and dedication put forth by
everyone involved." 

Located 10 minutes south of Squamish on the picturesque Sea-to-Sky highway,
the Britannia Mine Museum was reinvented in 2010 by a $14.7 million
three-phase redevelopment project that turned a mining legacy site into a
vibrant internationally recognized tourist destination. Made possible by
generous contributions from the mining industry, the provincial and federal
governments and private donors, the redevelopment project focused on
preserving the museum's heritage buildings and mining collections, while
creating an enhanced visitor experience with the new Beaty-Lundin Visitor
Centre and the Britannia A-Z Exhibit hall. 

The Museum's redevelopment and design approach was to keep as much of the
heritage sites and salvage and reuse as much of the existing buildings and
materials as possible. The diverse mixture of industrial buildings,
rehabilitated structures, remnant structures and restored heritage buildings
provide a connection to the storied Britannia community. Designers embraced
the eclectic nature of existing materials while utilizing modern design
structures to give the Museum's facilities a sense of modernistic
architecture while retaining its historic culture. 

Connections with the environment and nature can be seen in the creative use
of water, wood, stone and copper elements throughout the site. The new
Visitor Centre is clad in a combination of dark-stained local Douglas Fir
siding and pre-patinated blue-green copper panels made of recycled content
pay homage to the Britannia Mine's copper mining days, when it was once the
British Empire's largest copper mine. The complete restoration of the A-Z
Exhibit hall and the creation of new interpretive displays showcase what
life was like for the more than 60,000 people from over 50 countries who
lived and worked in Britannia between 1904 to 1974.

The Britannia Mine Museum celebrates 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. It
promotes mining awareness through entertaining, experiential education
programs, important historic collection preservation and insightful public
engagement about the environment and sustainability issues. The museum
provides a unique blend of entertainment and information that allows guests
to leave with a better understanding of mining in BC; past, present and
future.

"We couldn't have achieved this without the full support of our Board, the
mining industry, the Provincial and Federal Government, and everyone who has
been involved including our partners, contractors, suppliers as well as our
treasured visitors. We look forward to celebrating and sharing more of BC's
history with everyone who visits," says Clausen.

Partner organizations involved in the redevelopment of the Museum include
AldrichPears Associates, TRB Architecture, David Jensen & Associates,
Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg and Parkwood Construction Ltd. to name a few.
In addition, the Beaty-Lundin Visitor Centre recently received a North
American Copper Development Award from the Copper Development Association.

The Britannia Mine Museum is open seven days a week from 9:00am to 4:30pm
and offers guided tours. Visit  <http://www.britanniaminemuseum.ca>
www.britanniaminemuseum.ca for more information.

About the Britannia Mine Museum: 
The Britannia Mine Museum, which is both a National Historic Site and a BC
Historic Landmark, was established in 1971 to preserve the material and
social history of mining in British Columbia, and to educate the public
about mining. It is a premier, non-profit organization that promotes mining
awareness through fun experiential education programs. Governed by the
Britannia Beach Historical Society, the museum provides important historic
collection preservation and insightful public engagement regarding
environmental and sustainability issues.
<http://www.britanniaminemuseum.ca/> www.britanniaminemuseum.ca 

-30-

Note to editors: 
Caption for attached photo: Britannia Mine Museum's Kirstin Clausen
accepting the Canadian Museum Association award for Outstanding Achievement.
>From left: Phil Aldrich, Kirstin Clausen, Leonie Tomlinson, Mike Mammone.

Photos and footage of the new Britannia Mine Museum and other media
background info are available upon request.
*	Britannia Mine Museum Fact Sheet
*	History of Britannia Mines (since 1888)
*	The Remediation of Britannia

Media contact:
Yvonne Chiang, 
Britannia Mine Museum
604-880-5090 
yvonne at blueskycommunications.ca 

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