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Museum of Anthropology at UBC
Best time to visit
Visit on a weekday morning just after opening to experience the Great Hall with fewer people. The shifting afternoon light creates stunning reflections on the glass wall, so aim for a sunny day if photography is your goal.
Budget tips
Entry is CAD $18 for adults, but it's free on Thursday evenings from 5-8 pm during summer months. Your admission also grants same-day access to the nearby UBC Botanical Garden and Nitobe Memorial Garden.
Recommended for
Art and culture enthusiasts, Photography lovers, Indigenous history seekers, Architecture fans
Plan your visit
2-3 hours
About
Quick facts: Housed in a dramatic concrete and glass structure that seems to float above the ocean, the museum holds over 50,000 ethnographic objects spanning cultures from around the Pacific Rim. Its massive glass wall looks out across the Salish Sea toward the mountains, changing the artwork's appearance with every shift in weather and light.
Highlights: The Great Hall is home to towering 12-meter-tall totem poles and house posts carved by Indigenous artists like Bill Reid and Mungo Martin, arranged beneath a soaring 15-meter glass wall that frames the coastal landscape behind them. On a clear day, the reflections of the carved figures mingle with the actual view of sea and sky, creating a layered experience where culture and nature visually merge.
Insider tips
- Head straight to the Multiversity Galleries on the upper level where you can pull open hundreds of drawers filled with small treasures like carved masks and jewelry.
- Visit the Visible Storage gallery to see thousands of objects organized not by culture but by material type (wood, stone, metal) giving a fascinating behind-the-scenes perspective.
- Stand at the far end of the Great Hall to capture the full effect of the totem poles framed against the coastal view through the glass wall.
- Arrive when the museum opens on weekdays to have the best chance of a near-empty Great Hall for photos.
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