We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience for all visitors at the Pacific Museum of Earth. Below, you will find information about the various accessibility features and services available at the museum.
Physical Accessibility:
All entrances, galleries, and facilities within the museum are wheelchair accessible. The front entrance to the Main Gallery in the EOS building is equipped with a power-assist door, as are the front and rear entrances to the ESB galleries in the adjacent building. The museum itself is located on the ground floor.
There is a single stall accessible washroom near the ESB galleries, equipped with a grab bar. In the Main Gallery, there is a single stall accessible washroom equipped with a grab bar, as well as a grab bar in the women’s washroom. The men’s washroom does not have a grab bar.
Getting here with mobility in mind:
The nearest parking facility to the museum is the West Parkade, which has accessible parking spaces for visitors with a SPARC or equivalent decal. The parkade is one block west of the museum. There is a slight uphill to reach the museum.
For visitors arriving via public transit, the route between the UBC bus loop and the museum is wheelchair-accessible.
The Accessibility Shuttle offers free transport between shuttle stops for any visitors with conditions that impact their mobility, and designated attendants. The shuttle operates Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. The closest shuttle stop to the museum is #12 – Earth Sciences Building. Rides must be reserved in advance at this link.
Virtual Access:
We’re making it easier to explore our museum from your home! We offer a Matterport virtual tour of the Pacific Museum of Earth. This immersive experience allows you to navigate through our exhibits and explore the geological wonders at your own pace. The virtual tour can be accessed on our website.
You can also access our collections through our online database, or browse our Flickr page to get up close and personal with our mineral collection.
For school groups, we offer virtual workshop packages through Zoom—inquire here.
Low Vision Visitors:
For individuals with low vision, we have implemented the following accessibility features:
Clear Signage: Our signage utilizes large, high-contrast text and clear symbols to aid in navigation of exhibit areas.
Tactile Displays: Some exhibits incorporate tactile elements to provide a multisensory experience, enabling visitors to engage through touch.
Audio tours: Pick up the audio wand at designated cases to listen to an audio tour covering the highlights of each exhibit.
D/deaf and Hard of Hearing Visitors:
We strive to ensure that individuals who are D/deaf or Hard of Hearing can fully engage with our museum. This area has been identified as a priority for improvements—this page will be updated as more accessibility measures are added.
Closed Captioning: We are in the process of adding closed captioning to videos and multimedia presentations throughout the museum. Currently, there are three visual presentations lacking captions—please bear with us as we upgrade them!
Visual Alerts: The emergency system in the ESB gallery includes a visual alert, which will flash in case of a fire alarm or evacuation. The emergency system in the Main Gallery is unfortunately not equipped with a visual alarm.
School Groups:
The Pacific Museum of Earth welcomes school groups of all abilities. We offer educational programs and resources designed to support inclusive learning experiences. Our offerings include:
Customized Field Trips: We can tailor field trips to accommodate specific accessibility needs, providing educational experiences aligned with curriculum requirements.
Inquiry-based learning: Our staff are trained to provide engaging workshops that centre curiosity at all levels of learning. No prior knowledge is expected in order to participate in our programming.
Pre-Visit Resources: We offer pre-visit materials and resources to help educators and students prepare for their trip.
Visual Schedules: We also offer a visual schedule template to help explain what the museum visit will look like for individual and group visits. [Example] [Example]
Our workshop pricing is per class—teacher aids and/or support staff can always accompany students taking a class workshop at no extra cost.
Low sensory and voice-off visiting hours:
Every Monday from 10-2 pm, we offer low sensory visiting hours. Sound effects are turned off and the lights in the museum are dimmed. While children may still be present and excited about the museum during these hours, there are no school groups booked during low-sensory visiting.
Washrooms:
The ESB building has two accessible gendered washrooms, plus a universal (non-gendered) accessible washroom. The Main Gallery in ESB has multi-stall gendered washrooms, plus a universal accessible washroom.
Language:
Exhibits at the Pacific Museum of Earth are in English. If you have a smartphone, apps like Google Translate or Baidu Translate can now use your camera to detect text and translate it into your preferred language.
Other accessibility needs:
Please feel free to contact our staff if you require further assistance or have specific accessibility questions. We are dedicated to continually improving our accessibility features—you deserve a safe and comfortable visit, just let us know how we can help!