On the edge of Kitsilano, near Vanier Park, is the Vancouver Museum, one of Canada's largest civic museums, which houses collections in natural history, archaeology, ethnology and Asian Arts. The exhibits include re-creations of Edwardian rooms and some interesting toys from the same era. Visitors should be able to find this place quite easily if they walk along the seawall westwards from Granville Island.
It also helps that there is a large metal crab outside the front entrance and the shape of the building is really distinctive, as it resembles a woven basket hat made by Northwest First Nations people. The Museum also houses temporary exhibitions such as one on Bhangra Music from around the world with a heavy Vancouver flavour.
The Vancouver Museum building also contains the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre where visitors can experience the Ground Station Canada demonstration theatre and visit the Cosmic Courtyard hands-on exhibit gallery. Most people come to the Space Centre to experience the Virtual Voyages simulator, which whisks them from outer space to the deep ocean in a few short minutes.
Julian has written articles on Middle Eastern and European architecture for the US magazine Skipping Stones. He has written travel articles that were published in The Toronto Globe and Mail, Fate Magazine, National Catholic Register, and Northwest Travel. Julian has also written articles for the In The Know Traveler, Go Nomad, InTravelmag, and Go World Travel websites. He has also taken many photographs that have appeared in travel guides by National Geographic, Thomas Cook and The Rough Guides. Examples of his work can be found at http://www.photographersdirect.com/sellers/details.asp?portfolio=13734