The Royal B.C. Museum is giving you a chance to help pick its big travelling exhibit for 2015.
The five choices are fascinating. And anyone who is a Facebook friend of the museum - and
there are about 4,600 friends - can take an online survey and help with the selection.
What's your pick for best blockbuster visiting exhibit? You can choose between Creatures of Light, a travelling show on bioluminescence, or Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns and Mermaids, both from the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The British Royal Armouries are offering Dangerous Arts, an exhibition of weapons and armour.
The Oregon Museum of Science and the Museum of London have collaborated on an exhibit around Sherlock Holmes and the Science of Deduction.
And London's Victoria and Albert Museum has offered a David Bowie exhibit, with costumes, sets, instruments and lyrics from the performer's extraordinary four decades on the artistic edge.
The idea of involving the museum's supporters is clever. In his book The Wisdom of Crowds, James Surowiecki makes a compelling case for the consistent quality of decisions made by a diverse group. It's a heartening read for anyone believes in collaboration or democracy.
But when friends of the museum fill out the survey, they might not be aware of just how important a successful travelling exhibit is for the Royal B.C. Museum.
These shows are expensive. And if they don't attract big crowds, the museum is hurt. The 2009 travelling show of pieces from the British Museum failed to lure visitors, barely covering its $3-million cost. The museum lost $491,000 that year, and cut spending - even on areas like maintenance - as a result.
And the wrong choice isn't just costly for the museum. The successful 2007 Titanic exhibit resulted in $30 million in additional spending by visitors, the museum reported.
So the decision matters. If David Bowie, or unicorns and krakens, can get people to make a trip from Portland or 91原创, the museum and the local economy benefit.
It's good the museum is being creative and entrepreneurial.
But it's troubling the museum is increasingly reliant on such exhibitions to cover the basic costs of preserving our history and heritage and sharing it with British Columbians and the world.
Museum visitors pay their share. The adult admission is up to $21.60, sometimes more for the special travelling exhibits.
But the provincial government has cut its support. Government support to the museum was reduced by four per cent in 2009, to $12.2 million. That was understandable, given the global economic downturn.
Funding has remained at that level since then, and the government expects the freeze to last at least until 2016.
Despite cost increases and the need to maintain the collections, provincial support will be lower by that year than it was a decade earlier.
The Royal B.C. Museum is world-class. It's important not just for the exhibits, but for its conservation and exploration of our shared heritage.
And, equally, as a critical attraction for the region's tourism industry.
So take the opportunity to help pick the winning exhibit for 2015.
But also take the time to let the provincial government know the museum deserves adequate funding - including increases to cover rising costs.
