Museums
Burnaby’s museums invite you to spend time with ideas, objects, and stories that stretch across time and place. Through permanent collections, rotating exhibitions, and hands-on experiences, these spaces explore art, science, and social history while making room for curiosity, conversation, and contemporary perspectives.
Burnaby Village Museum remains a community favourite. This 10-acre open-air site explores the many layers of local history, from the Indigenous Learning House to a 1920s village featuring heritage buildings and the iconic 1912 C.W. Parker carousel.
Yes, several are free or very affordable. The Burnaby Village Museum currently offers free admission (carousel rides are extra), while the Burnaby Art Gallery and the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre welcome visitors by donation, ensuring that heritage and the arts remain open to everyone.
Yes. The Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre honours the history, resilience, and living culture of Japanese Canadians. Exhibitions thoughtfully preserve the history of the 1940s internment and dispossession, honouring the community’s resilience and their dedicated path toward healing and social justice.
The Burnaby Art Gallery offers a unique experience. Housed in Fairacres Mansion—a 1911 heritage home on the shores of Deer Lake—it pairs contemporary and historical exhibitions with the character of one of the city’s most distinctive historic buildings.
The SFU Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology stewards significant ancestral belongings, including Northwest Coast carvings. Its displays offer insight into millennia of Indigenous presence and stewardship on these lands, stretching back over 10,000 years.
EXPLORE THE UNEXPECTED
Many of Burnaby’s museums cluster around Deer Lake Park, creating a walkable hub. You’ll find historic buildings alongside contemporary exhibitions, community-led storytelling, and spaces that reflect both long histories and the city as it is now.
OPEN AIR MUSEUM
Burnaby Village Museum
Experience the many layers of local history at this interactive outdoor museum. Beyond the 1920s heritage village and the 1912 carousel, you can visit the Indigenous Learning House to learn about the stories teachings of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh-speaking Peoples, whose connection to this land predates the village by millennia.
CULTURAL CENTRE
Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre
Celebrate the enduring spirit and vibrant heritage of Japanese Canadians through powerful stories of resilience and community. Explore evocative exhibits that honour Nikkei identity and the ongoing journey of justice and belonging.
MUSEUM
The Simon Fraser University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
Engage with global cultural histories and ancestral heritage in this university museum, where collaborative research and stewardship connect visitors with belongings and stories spanning diverse regions and periods.
