It's to be a new, more responsive museum in the Ladner civic precinct.
Called the Delta Cultural Centre, the facility, which will be operated by the parks, recreation and culture department, will be located on the main floor of the former courthouse. Recently unveiled at a council workshop, the preliminary concept for the exhibit layouts and activities aim to utilize the facility in a variety of ways, including having a new delivery model that’s more outreach-focused.
The modular and user-driven museum displays are to be driven by activity and interactivity, rather than by story, as well as provide a platform for content to change, as well as provide a template for community groups to tell their stories.
The theme of the new museum includes being a space that’s more inclusive, supportive and reflective, as well as honouring Delta’s unique roles of geography, ethnicity, culture and industry. The goals also include an integration of interactive and flexible technology, particularly relevant to youth, to support education.
The goals also include striving for ongoing innovations, as well as an opportunity to blend the relevant representations of the community, such as artifacts or expressions of oral history, with a flexible, interactive delivery method. The centre is to also ensure the community is supported in telling their perspective of Delta.
A previous report to council notes, “In the past 25 years, the science of museum development has lead towards the position that museums can be an active voice in reflecting and, in some cases, creating a community identity rather than acting as an extension of a repository for cast-off goods. There has been a movement to change museums to powerful educational institutions for developing community cohesion, civic pride and loyalty.”
The Delta Museum and Archives Society continues to own the collection and has a say in what the new museum will offer, but has relinquished day-to-day operational control to the City of Delta. The new museum is to be fully open next year.
