Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
In 1958, as part of celebrations for British Columbia's Centennial, construction began on the Vancouver Maritime Museum, which formally opened in 1960. In 1959, the City of Vancouver created the Civic Museums Board to oversee the operations of the Vancouver Maritime Museum and the City Museum. The Art, Historical, and Scientific Association was represented on this Board, and otherwise served as the City's official museum membership organization.
In 1967, as part of celebrations for Canada's Centennial, construction began on a new museum building in Vanier Park. At this time, the name of the City Museum was changed to the Centennial Museum. The new building was completed in October of 1968, and housed the Centennial Museum, as well as the H.R. MacMillan Planetarium (now the Pacific Space Centre).
In 1972, the City relinquished its direct management over the Museums. At this time, the Art, Historical, and Scientific Association changed its name to the Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association, and took over the management of the Centennial Museum, the H.R. MacMillan Planetarium, and the Maritime Museum. Previously, the short form name also used was the Vancouver Museums Association. By 1979, the Association began experimenting with having some degree of autonomy for the institutions it administered on behalf of the City. In 1987, a resolution was passed to have all the operations of the Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association evolve into three separate legal entities. Later that year, the Vancouver Museum Board of Trustees chose to retain the Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association as its operating society, with a change in name and constitution. The Vancouver Museum also undertook to be responsible for transacting all matters relating to the timely and orderly conclusion of the affairs of the Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association in 1988.