Pender Islands Museum

Pender Islands Museum The museum is in a 1908 home that was once home to the Roesland Resort. Located on North Pender Island in the Gulf Islands National Park.

Location:
2408 South Otter Bay Road
North Pender Island, BC V0N 2M1
(250) 629-6935
email: [email protected]

Admission is by donation. Hours:

Open Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, all summer long. Open outside these hours for groups of usually 6 or more by special request.

It’s National Indigenous Peoples Day. At the museum, see ancient sinker stones and an authentic dugout canoe. Learn abou...
06/21/2026

It’s National Indigenous Peoples Day. At the museum, see ancient sinker stones and an authentic dugout canoe. Learn about the Coast Salish reef net fishery, a technology unique to the Salish Sea. Appreciate the intricacy of ancient tools unearthed from the 1984-86 archaeological excavation at the Pender Canal Site. More time? Have a seat on our comfy couch and read the Indigenous historical material we’ve set out for you.

If you have mobility challenges, there are accessible parking spots down the lane by the museum ramp.

Open 10-4 (Admission by donation)
www.penderislandsmuseum.ca

June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada. W̱SÁNEĆ oral history tells of the Creator (XÁLS) who cast ancestor...
06/20/2026

June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada. W̱SÁNEĆ oral history tells of the Creator (XÁLS) who cast ancestors into the waters and commanded them to “Look after your relatives”. They became islands known as ṮEṮÁĆES, literally translated as "relatives of the deep”.

The Pender Canal archaeological site unearthed evidence of a W̱SÁNEĆ way of life deeply connected to land and sea over thousands of years. The museum is privileged to share these important objects with our visitors.

Open 10-4 Admission by donation ($5/person or $20/family)
www.penderislandsmuseum.ca

The museum is open this weekend from 10-4pm. As part of National Indigenous Peoples month, objects from the Pender Canal...
06/19/2026

The museum is open this weekend from 10-4pm. As part of National Indigenous Peoples month, objects from the Pender Canal Archaeological Site are back on display. Islanders may recall visiting the canalsite in the mid-1980s. It’s enlightening to see how W̱SÁNEĆ oral history and ancient technologies are connecting past and present.

Admission by donation
www.penderislandsmuseum.ca

The museum is now open Saturdays and Sundays from 10-4. If your visitors would like to know more about the island, a mus...
06/06/2026

The museum is now open Saturdays and Sundays from 10-4. If your visitors would like to know more about the island, a museum visit is a great place to start. Like the very first organized cycling group to visit the museum this past week. They wanted to add a “cultural“ dimension to their 2-day adventure, so they came to the museum right off the ferry.

We met them in the parking lot, welcomed them to S'DAY,ES, and talked about the reef net fishery, a technological marvel unique to the Coast Salish. Then we walked down the laneway to the museum, stopping at exactly where old photos had been snapped more than a century earlier. As good luck would have it, the next day they kayaked to the reef net fishery site from Poets Cove, with insight they might never have known otherwise.

Admission by donation.
www.penderislandsmuseum.ca

The museum is open this weekend 10am - 4pm. We appreciate it when visitors leave online reviews, and this one from “Riya...
05/30/2026

The museum is open this weekend 10am - 4pm. We appreciate it when visitors leave online reviews, and this one from “Riya“ from a few days ago made our day. “For a small community museum, it punches well above its weight, with exhibits that are thoughtfully arranged rather than just crammed into display cases. Give yourself an hour here--it's the kind of place that quietly earns your respect.“ If you're a “local“, we'd love to welcome you back to discover new displays that, as “Chloe“ said, "really makes the history of the island come alive!“

To accommodate tourists and locals, we've extended our weekend hours to 10-4 on Saturdays and Sundays right through June...
05/23/2026

To accommodate tourists and locals, we've extended our weekend hours to 10-4 on Saturdays and Sundays right through June. All thanks to our wonderful volunteer hosts!

Since late April, we've also guided bus tour groups around the island and welcomed them to the museum. Again made possible by volunteers who host our lovely visitors outside of regular weekend hours. If you happen to have friends or family who love small museums but can't make it on a weekend, please get in touch.

www.penderislandsmuseum.ca

And we're open this fine Victoria Day from 10-4. Once again we turned to the Victor Menzies memoir where he recalled the...
05/18/2026

And we're open this fine Victoria Day from 10-4. Once again we turned to the Victor Menzies memoir where he recalled the birth of his youngest sister, Ruth, on May 24, 1897, which was Queen Victoria's actual birth date. Until Victoria Day moved to the closest Monday before May 24, Ruth would always have had a holiday and a community picnic on her birthday. That's Ruth between her parents in 1901 at their Valley Home Farm, opposite where the Pender Cemetery is today.

Museum admission by donation. More info at www.penderislandsmuseum.ca

The museum is extending its hours to Saturdays, Sundays & holiday Mondays from 10AM to 4PM, thanks to our wonderful volu...
05/15/2026

The museum is extending its hours to Saturdays, Sundays & holiday Mondays from 10AM to 4PM, thanks to our wonderful volunteer hosts who welcome visitors from far and wide. So, come along and enjoy that walk down memory lane. From the parking lot down to the museum, it really is the same century-old laneway that led to Roe family home in the 1920s. Admission by donation ($5/person or $20/family suggested)

If you or your guests need accessible parking, please drive down and park by the museum.

www.penderislandsmuseum.ca

Museum volunteers hosted 58 guests on three bus tours this past week. They visited the museum and we also provided an on...
05/02/2026

Museum volunteers hosted 58 guests on three bus tours this past week. They visited the museum and we also provided an onboard guide for their island tours. The new Indigenous interpretive signage at the Community Hall is a welcome addition! And a stop at Hope Bay for chocolates, art, and nature is always a treat.

We hope YOU, too, visit soon for your own tour down memory lane. Now open Saturday and Sunday afternoons 1-4pm. Admission by donation.

www.penderislandsmuseum.ca

The museum is OPEN and the lilacs are starting to bloom. We're open today and tomorrow 1-4pm for that special walk down...
04/25/2026

The museum is OPEN and the lilacs are starting to bloom. We're open today and tomorrow 1-4pm for that special walk down memory lane. Add in a stroll on the trail to Roe Islet for a perfect afternoon exploring a place where human and natural history come together.

www.penderislandsmuseum.ca

Address

2408 South Otter Bay Road
Pender Island, BC
V0N2M1

Opening Hours

Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+12506296935

Website

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