Vancouver Maritime Museum - It's Actually Fun

OK, I admit it: Even though I've lived in Vancouver for years, I'd never been to the Vancouver Maritime Museum before last week (when I went to write about it for the site). Unless you're a genuine boat lover, the words "maritime museum" probably don't inspire a "that sounds like fun!" enthusiasm. (Or am I totally projecting?) I wasn't all that enthusiastic, anyway.

But colour me pleasantly surprised by this little museum. Not only was it way more fun than I thought, it was...kinda cool. There's a 1928 RCMP schooner there, the beautifully restored St. Roch, that you can tour and climb all over (literally--there are ladders), a mock tug boat bridge, a mock Pirate Ship interior, and several other interactive displays, plus incredibly detailed model boats of all types.

It may be scandalous--or possibly just weird--to say this, but I enjoyed the Maritime Museum more than the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre (which, except for the planetarium, seems a little sad). And the two little girls who were clambering all over the St. Roch, pretending to pilot the ship, made me think a lot of kids might agree with that assessment, too.

So, the Maritime Museum? Actually fun, and very much worth a trip.

_{On the deck of the St. Roch. Photo by Dana Lynch}