School Program: Museum Tour

An in-depth look at the history of Vancouver through the eyes of its city police force.

For groups interested in visiting the museum, we offer guided tours of our museum. These tours are more comprehensive than the "mini-tours" offered at the beginning of our other educational programs, allowing us to go into more depth or at a rate more appropriate to beginner ESL groups.

The Vancouver Police Museum houses displays about some of Vancouver's most famous criminals and the men and women who enforce our laws. There are also special displays on some of the 'squads' that make up the VPD, including the Mounted Squad, the Dog Squad, the Marine Squad, etc. Also popular are displays on counterfeit currency, confiscated weapons and drugs.

In addition, the building in which the museum now resides also holds some interest to touring groups. Built in 1932, our building has housed both the Coroner’s Court and the City Analyst’s laboratory; it is also a municipally designated heritage structure. The basement and main floor were home to a forensics lab and related facilities. The museum is housed on the top floor of the building and encompasses the original Coroner’s Courtroom, offices, morgue and autopsy room. All of these facilities on the top floor are included in our guided tour of the museum.

This program is led by a museum educator and is 1 hour in length; the cost for this program is $5.50 per student. (One chaperone will be admitted at no charge for each five participants. Additional chaperones will be charged $5/person.) ESL activity and vocabulary sheets are available upon request.

Please contact the museum or use our online booking form to book a visit.