Tours

Tours will be offered on and near the UBC campus on Thursday, May 12 between 1:30 and 4:00 pm. The following guided tours are available to ASEE registrants free of charge.

Please register for tours here. Note that there are a limited number of spaces on each tour, and there is also a minimum number of participants required. Tour offerings are therefore subject to change based on the number of people who register.

Belkin Gallery Decolonization Tour

A guided tour of select works from UBC’s outdoor art collection. The Decolonization Tour highlights Indigenous artists and raises questions around issues of place, space and identity. Ideas of settler colonialism, decolonization, reconciliation and the history of UBC’s Vancouver campus will be discussed during this walking tour. Situated on the ancestral and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. For more information, see https://belkin.ubc.ca/events/outdoor-art-tours .

This tour can be taken individually or paired with the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) tour.

Tour registrants can meet a tour leader at 1:10pm at Isabel McInnes room in Walter Gage Residence (5959 Student Union Blvd.). We will then walk to the Belkin Gallery.

Museum of Anthropology (MOA) 

MOA has an extensive collection of ethnographic objects from around the world and is known for their special emphasis on the First Nations peoples and other cultural communities of British Columbia. This tour will be led by curator Dr. Fuyubi Nakamura who specializes in the anthropology of art, museum studies and visual cultures.  

There will be an accompanying exhibition, Shake Up: Preserving What We Value, that explores earthquakes through the lens of science, art, cultural and traditional knowledge. While the Great Hall is undergoing seismic upgrades, the tour will include the rare opportunity to witness the poles in temporary storage undergoing conservation.

This tour can be taken individually or paired with the Belkin Gallery Decolonization tour.

Tour registrants (not already on the Belkin Gallery Decolonization tour) can meet a tour leader at 2:40pm at Isabel McInnes room in Walter Gage Residence (5959 Student Union Blvd.). We will then walk to the Belkin Gallery.

Online tour of the Museum of Anthropology

An online tour of the Museum of Anthropology can be found here: https://moa.ubc.ca/2020/06/moafromhome-stay-connected-online/

UBC Aquatic Centre – CANCELLED due to low interest

The University of British Columbia is a global leader in sustainability, and the Aquatic Centre is one of UBC’s many innovative green buildings. While providing leading aquatic programs and services, the Aquatic Centre serves as a demonstration project for water-saving and water-recycling strategies. It supplies 85% of its pool water through rainwater harvesting, saving approximately 2.7 million litres of water annually, and it uses a hydronic heating system connected to UBC’s District Energy System (DES). A certified LEED Gold building, the Aquatic Centre is part of the university’s Green Building Action Plan, which aims to make net positive contributions to human and natural systems by 2035. Participants on the tour will learn about the Centre’s innovative water-harvesting, water-recycling, and low-carbon heating systems. Read more about the sustainability features of the Aquatic Centre here.

This tour can be taken individually or paired with the Sustainable Buildings tour.

Sustainable Buildings Tour – CANCELLED due to low interest

The Green Building Action Plan, approved in 2018, outlines the pathway for UBC to advance to net positive contributions to human and natural systems by 2035. The plan has 8 component areas that focus on different goals. The sustainable building tour will focusing on features from a number of different buildings that address the goals of Biodiversity, Climate Adaptability, Energy and Quality. More details on UBC’s sustainable buildings, including a self-guided walking tour, can be found on the sustainability campus tours website.

This tour can be taken individually or paired with the Aquatic Centre tour.

False Creek Energy Centre

A guided tour of the False Creek Energy Centre, also known as the False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility (NEU). Learn about how the utility functions, its history, and building design. Notably, the NEU re-captures/recycles waste heat from sewage and waste water to provide heating and hot water to buildings in False Creek. With expansions to neighbouring communities, and a target of 70% of the energy supply coming from renewable sources, this NEU utilizes cutting edge technology that is sure to interest engineering educators. Participants must wear closed-toed shoes and masks to tour the facility. Personal protective equipment (i.e. hard hats, safety glasses, and ear plugs) will be provided.

Tour registrants can meet a tour leader at 12:45pm at Isabel McInnes room in Walter Gage Residence (5959 Student Union Blvd.), public transit will then be used to head to the Energy Centre to arrive for 2pm. Note that public transit accept tap credit card for fares. You can also meet us directly at the tour site at 2pm (1890 Spyglass Pl).