[BCMA] The Aliens Have Landed at the Okanagan Heritage Museum!

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

[cid:image001.jpg at 01CC9EDA.3C5515D0]                                                                              [cid:image003.png at 01CC9ED5.5D968530]

For Immediate Release

November 9, 2011



The Aliens Have Landed at the Okanagan Heritage Museum!



Did you know the American Bullfrog arrived in British Columbia to supply a frog leg industry that never took off?

Or that approximately 200 million European Starlings in North America are here thanks to a Shakespeare fan?



Aliens Among Us is a travelling Royal BC Museum exhibition on British Columbia's invasive species.  The exhibition runs from Saturday Nov 19 2011 to Monday Feb 6 2012 at the Okanagan Heritage Museum and invites visitors to interact with some of the province's best-known and least-loved invasive species.



"There are over 4,000 alien species in the province and that number grows each year" says Gavin Hanke, Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Royal BC Museum.  "Some of these aliens are invasive - they spread quickly, threaten native wildlife and are hard to control."



American Bullfrogs, Scotch Broom, Smallmouth Bass and Purple Loosestrife are just a few of the species featured in Aliens Among Us.  The exhibition tells the stories of how the invasive species arrived in the province, what individuals can do to protect their communities and how these aliens fit in - or don't fit in - with their environments.


"Kelowna Museums is proud to welcome this interesting and timely exhibit from the Royal BC Museum." says Associate Director Patti Kilback. "With over 4000 alien species in BC, this exhibit will be informative for all ages and will not only teach people how to identify invasive species, but will help our community to keep this number from growing. Kelowna museums strive to connect people and place - having fun while learning is an added bonus. So join us at the Okanagan Heritage museum for your chance to get up close and personal with an alien!"

Aliens Among Us has been created by the Royal BC Museum and is travelling throughout British Columbia between 2011 and 2013.  The exhibition will be available in Parksville, White Rock, Kelowna, Prince George, Kitimat, Penticton, Nelson, Richmond and New Westminster.  For a full listing of dates and locations please visit:  http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Exhibit_Gall.

A companion virtual exhibition has been created to accompany Aliens Among Us.  The website - http://alienspecies.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca - allows visitors to track species using Google Maps. Visitors can upload the location of an alien sighting, images if they have them, and field notes. The website also offers the opportunity to ask questions of one of the Royal BC Museum curators or collection managers.  The website was funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage for the Virtual Museum of Canada.

The Kelowna Museums Society is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to a greater awareness of the agricultural, wine-producing, military, and cultural heritages of the Okanagan. The Kelowna Museums Society operates four museums in three facilities in the heart of the Cultural District. For more information please visit www.KelownaMuseums.ca<http://www.kelownamuseums.ca/>.

Support for the Aliens Among Us exhibition has been provided by BC Hydro and the Royal BC Museum.


-30-

Media contact:    Lindsay Canning
Marketing & Special Events Coordinator
Kelowna Museums
(250) 763-2417 ext 22
Events at KelownaMuseums.ca


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