Take transit to these family-friendly activities in Metro Vancouver

August 8, 2022
|In Explore
|By Vincelen Salvaloza

Take transit to these family-friendly activities in Metro Vancouver

August 8, 2022
|In Explore
|By Vincelen Salvaloza

A cyclist, two children with two adults are waiting on the bus stop at Fraser Highway and 188 Street

Looking for family-friendly activities in Metro Vancouver? Well, here are several amazing attractions suitable for the whole family.

Whether you like exploring the outdoors and heading out to regional parks or trails, attending festivals, or visiting museums and exhibitions, taking transit is an easy, safe, and reliable way to travel.

Thinking about where to go for your next family activity? Visit these family-friendly activities in Metro Vancouver:

VanDusen Botanical Garden

The VanDusen Botanical Garden is a 55-acre garden that consists of over 7,500 plant species and varieties from around the world. You can go on a self-guided tour and explore all kinds of plants and trees at your own pace. Make it fun for the kids and challenge them to find their way out of the Elizabeth Hedge Maze. A cookie for the one who gets out first!

Make sure to grab a map to make the most of your experience.

H.R. MacMillan Space Centre

Want to go somewhere that is out of this world? Come to the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre. It’s a fun place for the kids where they can immerse themselves into a space-themed gallery and digitally morph their faces into aliens. How cool is that?!

There are also cool space artifacts to see up-close including the suit that astronaut Michael Collins wore while training for the Apollo 11 mission or one of the Saturn V rocket engines that took the Apollo spaceflight to the moon in 1969.

Museum of Vancouver

Explore Vancouver like never before at the Museum of Vancouver, just next to H.R Macmillan Space Centre. Immerse yourself in the history of the city with feature exhibitions that will take you back to Vancouver in the 1900s – 1970s. It also features contemporary art that reflects the cultural, political, environmental, and social perspectives of today. Check out the latest exhibitions!

Science World

It’s endless fun and exploration at Science World with interactive exhibitions like Eureka!, Tinkering Space: The WorkSafeBC Gallery, and the Wonder Gallery. While you’re there check out the limited-time feature exhibitions like T.rex: The Ultimate Predator exhibition featuring realistic-looking dinosaur models and interactive stations where the kids can create their own virtual T-rex.

B.C. Sports Hall of Fame

Located at BC Place, B.C. Sports Hall of Fame is the only attraction you need to visit if you are a sports fan. It features everything from the province and Metro Vancouver’s sporting history. Galleries on the Vancouver Canucks, BC Lions, the 2010 Winter Olympics, Terry Fox, Rick Hansen, Indigenous sport, and so much more.

Vancouver Art Gallery

Let’s turn it over to the folks at TripAdvisor to tell you all about Vancouver Art Gallery: “Discover the power of art on your next trip to Vancouver with a visit to the Vancouver Art Gallery, one of North America’s most exciting and innovative visual arts institutions.” In North America! Enough said.

Vancouver Aquarium

What better way to spend a day with the family than meeting and learning about marine mammals, fish, invertebrates, and birds at Vancouver Aquarium. They can’t wait to SEA you!

Museum of Anthropology

Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia’s Point Grey campus is a traveller’s choice on TripAdvisor and for good reason! Its galleries showcase arts and cultures from around the world, but what the museum is most well-known for is its showcase of First Nations peoples and other cultural communities of British Columbia.

Beaty Biodiversity Museum

Beaty Biodiversity Museum is the other museum at the University of British Columbia’s Point Grey campus. It’s a hidden gem. This natural history museum features more than 500 exhibits across 20,000 square feet of space. Explore the university’s spectacular biological collections and go on a journey to discover the interconnectedness of all life on Earth, and our role in preserving these delicate systems.

Bill Reid Gallery

A hidden gem amongst the skyscrapers in downtown Vancouver, the Bill Reid Gallery is one of a kind. It is the only public gallery in Canada that’s dedicated to contemporary Indigenous Northwest Coast art – making it a can’t miss attraction in Vancouver. It’s the permanent home of Simon Fraser University’s collection of works from Bill Reid, a Haida master artist.

Vancouver Maritime Museum

Ahoy mateys! All aboarddddd. When you think of Canadian cities with maritime history, Vancouver doesn’t come to mind — but our history actually has quite the history. We are a region surrounded by mountains and water after all. And you can see it all at the Vancouver Maritime Museum. Permanent exhibitions explore Vancouver’s fireboats, lighthouses and shipwrecks, as well as the Canadian Arctic. This museum is truly a hidden gem in Kitsilano.

Gulf of Georgia Cannery

Did you know that we have a National Historic Site right in our backyard? We sure do. The Gulf of Georgia Cannery is located in the ever-popular Steveston Village — it’s two experiences in one! First, discover the stories of Canada’s fishing industry and learn about the significance of the canning industry. Then, finish your day exploring Steveston.

Roedde House Museum

You don’t need to head into Victoria to see a late-Victorian home. Roedde House Museum is the only one of its kind here in Vancouver built in 1893. Get to know life when technology isn’t as advanced as it is today, when doing household chores isn’t as easy as pressing a button, and when the laundry room and the kitchen are not separate rooms. Compare and contrast and you might find yourself appreciating a few things about the convenience of today.

Your Compass Card can literally take you anywhere in Metro Vancouver this summer, so load it up, invite the fam, and explore Metro Vancouver car-free.

What are your favourite family-friendly activities in Metro Vancouver? Have one that didn’t make the list, share it in the comments below!

 

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