The Royal BC Museum, in partnership with BC Hydro Power Smart, is taking the Free Spirit Conservation Tour across the province. This one-of-a-kind travelling exhibition combines elements from Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and BC, regional content, interpretative theatre, and a conservation theme into an interactive and educational experience that will appeal to adults and youth of all ages.

"The Free Spirit Conservation Tour celebrates our home and the colourful history in British Columbia in this special 150th anniversary year," says Pauline Rafferty, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal BC Museum. "BC Hydro Power Smart and the Royal BC Museum are working together to share Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and BC and encourage all British Columbians to embrace energy conservation."

By focusing on the role of energy conservation in the home - past, present, and future - the tour inspires people to take action now to ensure that our province can be sustained for the next 150 years, and beyond.

"This tour is a great opportunity," says Lisa Coltart, Director, Power Smart. "It allows us to engage communities and have conversations about conservation and energy efficiency leading to more sustainable communities."

Read on to learn more about the tour exhibit and programs or click here.

The tour will visit six communities across BC in 2008. To learn more about the tour in each community, including local programming and events, please click below.

Dates	Community	Venue
Wed Oct 1 - Sat Oct 4	Fort St. John	Totem Mall
Wed Oct 8 - Sat Oct 11	Prince George	The Exploration Place at the Fraser - Fort George Regional Museum
Wed Oct 15 - Sat Oct 18	Kamloops	Kamloops Museum and Archives
Wed Oct 22 - Sat Oct 25	Revelstoke	Revelstoke Museum and Archives
Wed Oct 29 - Sat Nov 1	Courtenay	Courtenay and District Museum and Archives
Wed Nov 5 - Sat Nov 8	Fort Langley	St. George´s Anglican Church

Visit each Community Page regularly for current information about tour dates, locations, events, and programs.

The exhibit features

• The Party - a display of characters, past and present, that typify BC´s free spirit.
• Spice of Life - an interactive presentation reflecting the mix of cultures that make up British Columbia today through sights, sounds, and foods of the feast.
• Arrival Stories - most British Columbians have come from somewhere else, or their families have. An electronic scrapbook animates the stories of these arrivals and what they brought to our province.
• Postcards From the Road - there is always something to write home about when you´re on the road. Collections of postcards, video clips, and photographs capture historic tales of travel in BC with workshops that invite you to share your experiences.
• A Place Called Home - a profile of environmentally sustainable homes in BC with unique activities that illustrate the importance of adopting a conservation culture in all that we do.
• The Land: A Celebration - a menagerie of images that pay tribute to the beauty and fragility of the land that is British Columbia with a conservation message for each region.
• The Wall Project - a community wall allowing visitors to post their stories about the environment and their contribution to protect it.
• Theatre - an interpretive theatre program where two actors use songs, stories, and historical vignettes to entertain and inform audiences of all ages.

Special local programs include

• Opening receptions at each of the Tour venues, hosted by BC Hydro Power Smart.
• Organized tours for local school children.
• Talks presented by Royal BC Museum Natural History Curators.
• Opportunities for people to share their stories online under the Helping the Environment section of the Free Spirit People´s History Project: www.freespiritbc.ca/peopleshistory
• Energy Conservation Workshops and training targeted to support municipalities, business and the community in their efforts to moving towards a conservation culture in our province.
• Other local community events and programs.

We want your stories about conservation. Share them at the People´s History Project under Helping the Environment.

For more information, please contact:
Tami Tate, Tour Promotions Manager
(250) 595-8381
Tour@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca