Beside the gift shop and just inside the entrance to the museum proper, about the first thing one may see is a beautiful little brass bell. Still in its yoke, the bell was cast around 1910 and saw service on a Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive. The sign accompanying the bell tells us that it was used primarily to warn pedestrians of the oncoming train as the engineer would ring the bell on approaching a pedestrian crossing. --- Don't stop here, though, as the museum has much more to offer.
With already a large number of artefacts in their collection, the museum has added something like 300 more in the past few years. A very well laid out museum, it has even won awards for its exhibitions, most recently for its
Land of Thundering Snow exhibition. In 2012 the museum was asked to create a
special exhibit on snow research and avalanches for the
Virtual Museum of Canada.
As well as displays of artefacts relating to the history of the town, the museum offers exhibits on the cultural origins of Revelstoke, both from the perspective of the native population and from that of the later settlers of Revelstoke and area. Artefact displays encompass the various industries which gave rise to the town, such as the railway, mining and lumbering, as well as affording a peek into the day to day life of the ordinary citizen.
In the well stocked gift shop, one may even buy a book written by the museum, as it has published a few on aspects of local history, the exact number unknown to the writer.