City of Burnaby - Burnaby Village Museum
Volunteering at the Village is educational, rewarding, challenging and fun! There are many areas for which you can volunteer. Costumed interpretation, school programs, special events like Haunted Village and Canada Day, or working with artifacts are just some of the opportunities we offer. Our current volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds and range in age from 14 to over 70.
Discover all the benefits of volunteering at the Burnaby Village Museum: make new friends; increase your knowledge of history and heritage; gain valuable work experience in a new field and connect with your community. Our Volunteers:
Deliver exciting educational programs to the public.
Get up close and personal with historical costumes, heritage buildings and artifacts.
Work side by side with experienced museum professionals.
Work in our exhibits, collections or library.
Volunteers here at the Village also enjoy complimentary lunches, special discounts and promotions, ongoing professional development opportunities, and invitations to volunteer recognition and VIP events. Costumed Interpretation and School Program Volunteers are also provided with historical costumes while working on site.
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General Interests
Working as part of the Burnaby Village Museum camps team, volunteers ensure that children ages 5-12 gain an appreciation of the Museum and local history. Camps usually run at Spring Break and during July and August. Camp Volunteers meet and greet participants and interact with children throughout the day. Camp Volunteers prepare and assist with crafts and participate in games and other heritage activities. Volunteers may be asked to work with individual participants or with groups of children.
Collections volunteers help the Museum to continually digitize our ephemera collection (brochures, certificates, postcards, paper records) and refine information in our database. This work involves using a scanner and editing Excel spreadsheets. This work is best suited to volunteers with attention to detail, passion for accuracy and an temperament for repetition. Volunteers receive direction from the Assistant Curator.
Under the direction of the Conservator, volunteers repair, maintain and sometimes operate vintage cars from the Museum's collection. This category also includes volunteers who repair, maintain and sometimes operate steam equipment and mechanized musical instruments.
Costumed Interpretation
Costumed Interpreters assist on site when the Museum is open to the general public, usually from May-September and November through to early January. Volunteers dress in costume and are usually stationed in homes and businesses in the Village. They make visitors feel welcome and engage them in learning through informal conversations. These volunteers may also lead interpretive activities for the general public.
Under the direction of the Assistant Curator, research volunteers conduct collections-based research online, related to objects in the collections storage and in the Village.
School Program Volunteers are trained to give specific set programs, which are designed to complement the BC curriculum. School programs generally run September-November and January-April. School Program Volunteers dress in costume, lead school children and ESL
Working under the direction of the Costume Coordinator, Sewing Circle Volunteers use a sewing machine and a Serger to perform tasks related to the museum's costuming department. This may include but is not limited to hand sewing, ironing, needle work, mending and other tasks as required.
Special Event Volunteers may be asked to lead children's crafts, run heritage games, and welcome and orient visitors to the site. Special Event Volunteers also work behind the scenes to prepare craft and heritage activities.
The Burnaby Village Museum is the primary historical resource for the City of Burnaby. It encourages understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of and participation in Burnaby's unique history. The Museum fosters a shared sense of community and identity for the citizens of Burnaby and visitors.