Current Exhibits

2023

A History of Lacrosse in Port Coquitlam

With support from the City of Port Coquitlam and the Port Coquitlam Community Foundation, PoCo Heritage is taking a deep dive into the history of lacrosse in our city. From the rough and tumble field lacrosse games of the 1910s and the first PoCo women’s box team of the 1970s to the all-star players of today, come learn about one of PoCo’s favourite sports!

Exhibit open until August 2024

2023

The Story of the Bottles

Explore the history of the Chinese community in early Port Coquitlam through our collection of glassware and ceramics!

This exhibit was made possible by donors and sponsors of our 2022 Moon Festival event, organized in Partnership with the Tri-City Chinese Community Society and Canada Vietnam Society.

Permanent Exhibits

2022

Port Coquitlam’s F Words – Digital Museums Canada (Online)

An online exhibit exploring PoCo’s disasters beginnings through the illustrations of local artist Brad Nickason, archival images, and interviews. Available in both French and English with closed captioning, transcripts, and alternate text.

View the exhibit online today!

2018

Port Coquitlam’s Historical Continuum

This series of interpretive panels runs along the public Port Coquitlam’s Traboulay PoCo Trail, from Lions Park to Gates Park, and invites you to explore the natural and cultural history of Port Coquitlam in a series of beautiful locations along the Coquitlam River.

This Continuum series was created in collaboration with Kwikwetlem First Nation, with the support of the City of Port Coquitlam, as a Canada 150 Building Lasting Legacies project.

While you are travelling along the Continuum, check out our Geocache! This is a family-friendly FREE activity, and a great way to learn more about Port Coquitlam.

This display series was made possible with funding from British Columbia Canada 150: Celebrating B.C. Communities and their Contributions to Canada grant.

2013

The Story of Port Coquitlam

Explore the history of our community, Indigenous and settler, through our permanent Story of Port Coquitlam Exhibit. Featuring art, archival photographs, historic maps, and more!

Past Exhibits

2023

100 Years of May Day

These two exhibits in the Port Coquitlam Community Centre and Port Coquitlam City Hall explore the history of May Day in the city of Port Coquitlam. Using archival photograph and artifacts, the history of May Day in our city is traced back to the beginnings.

See our smaller scale exhibit today!

These exhibits were made possibly by the City of Port Coquitlam and the Downtown Port Coquitlam BIA.

2023

Nowruz in Port Coquitlam

Produced in partnership with the organizer of Port Coquitlam’s annual Sizdah Bedar event, this exhibit explores the origins and traditions of Persian New Year and how it is celebrated today in our city.

2022

The Coquitlam River: A Fishy Story

This Carol Hubbard Memorial Natural History Exhibit explores the Coquitlam River for which our city was named. Produced in partnership with Stream of Dreams, the Maple Creek Stream Keepers, Our Lady of the Assumption School, and Art Focus Artists’ Association, this exhibit features some of the history of our namesake watershed brought to life with art from the community.

From a river teeming with salmon to the brink of destruction and back again, our river has been through a lot and it’s up to the community to make a difference!

This exhibit was made possible with additional funding from Telus.

2022

How Heritage Happens

An online exhibit exploring behind-the-scenes of our Chinese glassware collection, highlighting the diversity and collaboration required to properly understand and share heritage.

View the exhibit online today!

2021

Pride in PoCo 

An online exhibit exploring the history of Pride within our community, and highlighting the stories of those individuals who have helped shape public perception and politics surrounding LGBTQ2+ issues in Canada.

View the exhibit online today!

2021

Photograph Restoration 

An online exhibit showcasing a number of digitally restored photographs.  Scroll through the photos to see the restoration and read the descriptions to learn a little bit about their history.

View the exhibit online today!

2020

Quaran-Tales

An online remote program engaging and connecting you to your community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

View the Exhibit online today!

2020

The “F” Words: Flu, Fire, Flood and Financial Fears

This exhibit explored four ruinous events – Spanish Flu, a raging downtown fire, a devastating flood, and an economic financial crash – which occurred very early on in Port Coquitlam’s history.

Any one of these events could have spelled the end for the newly created City of Port Coquitlam, but the city’s resilient spirit and persistence in the face of adversity carried them through these troubled times into a prosperous future.

2019

Naturally PoCo

This exhibit will explore Port Coquitlam’s natural beauty through the lenses of community photographers.

Every year the residents of Port Coquitlam submit their photos to our exhibit collaborators, the City of Port Coquitlam, for publication in the City’s “Naturally PoCo” Community Calendar. In our Naturally PoCo exhibit we will be exhibiting a selection of the hundreds of photos that do not make it into the calendar. Come explore Port Coquitlam’s beautiful seasons with us!

2018

Port Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame

An interactive kiosk installation highlighting the stories of inductees to the Port Coquitlam Sport Hall of Fame. Produced as a partnership between the City of Port Coquitlam, PoCo Heritage,  NGX Interactive, and the Port Coquitlam Sports Alliance.

2018

Carol Hubbard Memorial Natural History Exhibit: The Secret Life of Trees

Join us for an exciting journey of discovery and learning about the complex, vibrant, and surprisingly chatty life of our surrounding rural and urban forests. The exhibit includes an enchanting indoor forest, and many fun and engaging activities including a woodland scavenger hunt, leaf colouring, and a take-home tree seed planting activity!

The secret life of trees exhibits, created in partnership with PoCo Heritage Trees, presents a close up and intimate look at the magnificent community of giants that we live amongst.

This exhibit was made possible with additional funding from Telus, the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, and the Friends of Leigh Square Society.

2017

PoCo Stories: Sports

This PoCo Stories series explored the proud and prolific history of sports in Port Coquitlam, and featured a selection of the many notable athletes, coaches, and teams that have contributed to this community and helped shape the place it has become.

2017

Terry Fox: Running to the Heart of Canada

This nationally travelling exhibit was produced by the Canadian Museum of History in partnership with the Terry Fox Centre, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Terry Fox’s heroic Marathon of Hope. This exhibit featured panels exploring Terry’s inspirational journey across Canada and the impact his unflagging spirit has had on Canadians, and the rest of the world.

This exhibit was made possible with additional funding from the City of Port Coquitlam’s Community Cultural Development Investment Program.

Terry Fox: Hometown Legacy

This exhibit, created as a complementary exhibit to the nationally travelling exhibit, “Terry Fox: Running to the Heart of Canada”, explores Terry’s vision and lasting legacy. This exhibit explores the relationship between the young Terry Fox growing up in Port Coquitlam, and how Port Coquitlam was in turn transformed by Terry and how the city has continued to rally around Terry’s cause. This exhibit is a testament to the very deep connection this city has maintained to its hometown hero.

This exhibit was created in collaboration with the Fox Family and The Terry Fox Foundation B.C. Yukon.

Journeys and Connections

As Canada celebrated our 150th Anniversary this year, this exhibit took a look back and explored where in the world we came from, how we journeyed here, the challenges we faced along the road, and how we communicated with those we left behind. This exhibit also included the production of a heartwarming video highlighting local resident’s personal stories of “Journeys and Connections” which was filmed during Port Coquitlam’s sesquicentennial celebration.

2016

Carol Hubbard Memorial Natural History Exhibit: (Un)Natural Selection: Adapting to an Urban Environment

The second Carol Hubbard Memorial Natural History Exhibit* explored local population growth over the last 150 years, and what impact this growth has had on local wildlife and their complex ecosystems. With help from local photographers whose photos were included throughout the exhibit, and our fishy mascot Redd the salmon, this display was a fun, interactive community-focused exhibit.

This exhibit was made possible with additional funding from Telus.

PoCo Stories: Buildings – The Changing Face of Port Coquitlam

This segment of the PoCo Stories series featured the iconic buildings of Port Coquitlam. From City Hall, to the businesses that put down roots and changed with the years, to the city’s heritage homes, this exhibit explored the buildings that make Port Coquitlam unique.

PoCo Stories: Arts & Culture

This PoCo Stories exhibit explored the who’s who of the names and organizations involved in Arts and Culture in Port Coquitlam. The exhibit included those who encourage the arts, music, creative writing, and performing arts, as well as well-known and up-and-coming names to watch for in the Port Coquitlam Arts & Culture scene.

PoCo Stories: Events

This addition to the PoCo Stories series looked at the special events and festivals that have brought the people of Port Coquitlam together over the years. This exhibit explored one-time special events, celebrations that are no longer held, and those community celebrations that are still going strong like the Downtown Car Show, May Days, and the Terry Fox Hometown Run.

PoCo Stories: People

This PoCo Stories exhibit featured stories about people, past and present, who give Port Coquitlam its multifaceted character. All were, and are notable in their own way and have contributed something special to Port Coquitlam. Lois McCready was specially featured, as she was instrumental in making PoCo Heritage what it is today.

2015

Carol Hubbard Memorial Natural History Exhibit: That Cold Crushing Feeling

This inaugural exhibit of the newly created Carol Hubbard Memorial Natural History Exhibit series focused on the local impact of the last ice age, which lasted approximately 100,000 years and ended only 15,000 years ago. The exhibit examined human migration, species loss, and the ice age’s effects on our local landscape such as rivers, lakes and hills. The exhibit illustrated this information with a variety of hands-on display elements, in addition to multimedia displays which included an entertaining video quiz.

This exhibit was made possible with additional funding from Telus.

Main Street: The Heart of Our Community

This exhibit was a look at Port Coquitlam’s old downtown. The centre of downtown was originally built around the train station, and “Main Street” was on Dewdney Trunk Road, now known as Kingsway Avenue. The exhibit took visitors on a nostalgic trip down memory lane, with décor, music, and photos from the 1950s when the centre of city downtown life was at “Pop’s Café” in downtown Port Coquitlam.

2014

Westminster Junction to the Western Front

To commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the start of World War I, this exhibit featured stories about the Port Coquitlam men and women who were involved in the war effort, and how the conflict affected our city. While the contributions of all community members were part of the story, those of Thomas and Harold Routley were a specially featured. The Routleys played prominent roles in Port Coquitlam, and as members of the Railway Battalion they were instrumental in getting essential goods to the front. This contribution to the war effort underlined the importance of the railway in Port Coquitlam’s history.

Heritage Afloat in Port Coquitlam

This exhibit was adapted from Heritage BC’s Heritage Week theme for the year. Port Coquitlam is surrounded by rivers, and so this exhibit featured stories about the men and women who worked the rivers, and the business that developed along the waterways and their importance to the community.

This exhibit was made possible with additional funding from Harken Towing.

The Carol Hubbard Memorial Natural History Exhibit

The Carol Hubbard Memorial Natural History Exhibit (CHMNHE) series was created to honour our long-time friend and Secretary who passed away in 2013. Carol had a strong interest in nature and would have loved to be remembered with an annual natural history exhibit.

The PoCo Heritage Museum and Archives is supported by the City of Port Coquitlam’s grant funding and in-kind support contributions. We would like to thank the City of Port Coquitlam for their continued support!