Vancouver's Museum of Anthropology combines earthquake science with Indigenous knowledge

CAROL EUGENE PARK
VANCOUVER
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL
PUBLISHED 2 DAYS AGO

When you walk past the lobby and down the ramp toward the Great Hall at the Museum of Anthropology, you may hear the voices of knowledge holders, or the steady, rhythmic beating of drums filling the space around you.

The most recent exhibition at the museum at the University of British Columbia titled Shake Up: Preserving What We Value, features different ways of understanding earthquakes. It explores the convergence of earthquake science and technology with Indigenous knowledge.

The museum is undergoing structural upgrades to help protect the Great Hall in the event of an earthquake, and this provided an opportune time to launch an interactive exhibit of these natural disasters. The museum is preparing for a full shutdown of the hall this spring.

The upgrade is part of the museum’s preparation to preserve the building and cultural heritage. The exhibit’s co-curator, Jill Baird, says this is what inspired the curation of Shake Up.

Once the Great Hall officially shuts down next year, a virtual-reality installation will be available for museum visitors to see and experience the space it once was.

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