About Collections

The Vancouver Maritime Museum houses a world-class collection of maritime artifacts.

As the primary local repository for maritime history, the Vancouver Maritime Museum houses over 15,000 artifacts either in storage or on display. The collection has been built principally by artifact donations from the community.

Our holdings reflect the maritime history and heritage of Vancouver, the Pacific Northwest and the Arctic, and the collection represents European, Asian, North American and Indigenous sources. We strive to represent these communities and their connections to the sea through the acquisition of cultural and scientific objects relating to countries on the Pacific and the Arctic Oceans.

COLLECTIONS FAQ

The Vancouver Maritime Museum’s object and archival collection can be accessed online at https://vmmcollections.com/

The VMM’s library collection can be accessed online at https://chunglibrary.slls.online/.

Both databases are maintained by the VMM Curator of Collections. If you have any inquiries, please e-mail Curator.collections@vanmaritime.com. Recommendations for fixing descriptions or identifying individuals in photographs are greatly appreciated.

No. The collections, including the archives and library, are not accessible without an appointment. The reading room and storage is a workspace for staff. Time is needed to prepare the space and make the requested materials accessible for viewing.

To make an appointment, please contact the Curator of Collections by phone: 604-257-3099 or by e-mail: curator.collections@vanmaritime.com.

To request an appointment, please contact the Curator of Collections.

There are no fees for viewing items in the collection.

Fees are charged for reproductions, publication and commercial use fees, as well as research fees for detailed reference inquiries that require the Curator of Collections to spend more than 30 minutes working on that specific request.

Note: No fees apply for Indigenous and repatriation researchers.

Three items or archival boxes maximum can be viewed at a time, including archival boxes. If you wish to view more items and/or archival boxes, an additional appointment will be required.

No. Browsing the collection can pose a security and safety risk. The VMM’s collection is available online at vmmcollections.com. If you have any inquiries about collections items, please contact the Curator of Collections.

The VMM’s collection mandate focuses on the histories of three geographic zones:

Vancouver and Lower Mainland
British Columbia
Inuit Nunangat and Canadian Arctic

The VMM has over 9,000 objects in its collection. The VMM library collection contains over 11,000 books, including 500 special and rare books, 538 journals/periodicals, 45 meters of archival materials, and over 100,000 images.

The VMM has a small collection of taxidermized Arctic animals and other animal by-product items such whale oil, narwhal tusks, and fur winter clothing. These items were donated to the museum or on loan from Parks Canada.

If you would like to request an artifact for loan, please contact the Curator with the details of your request (reason for request, name of company/institution, duration of loan request). Email these details to curator.collections@vanmaritime.com.

Donating to the Vancouver Maritime Museum

Have an item you’d like to donate to the Vancouver Maritime Museum? We appreciate your interest in helping us preserve and share our maritime heritage.

All potential donations go through a review process to ensure that each object supports the museum’s mission and can be properly cared for in our collection.

Here’s how the process works:

Donation Form – Complete and submit a donation form with details about your item.
Review – Our staff conducts an initial assessment to determine if the item fits within our collecting priorities.
Collections Committee Review – A formal committee evaluates your donation and decides whether to accept or decline the item.
Acquisition – If accepted, legal documentation is completed to transfer ownership of the object to the museum.
Accession – The item is officially accessioned into the museum’s permanent collection.