COLLECTIONS
What We CollecT
Heritage not only celebrates our past accomplishments but also rejoices in the values, achievements, and experiences of the people all around us today. Coquitlam Heritage is actively collecting objects, stories, and digital material from our local community to celebrate what makes us who we were, who we are today and who we will become in the future.
Coquitlam Heritage aims to preserve, honour, and promote our local heritage. We began collecting items focussed on life in Coquitlam from the period 1890 to 1930 to fit with the displays at Mackin House. In the early 2000s we branched out into the wonderful world of toys and other collectibles with the hopes of creating a toy museum.
Today we have expanded our mandate. We collect a wide variety of material to enhance our current collections while expanding into other areas to document and preserve the experience of our community members for future generations. We also collect items for our education collection so that our guests can interact with, and touch pieces of the past.
What Is Heritage?
Heritage is the stories, knowledge, customs, social practices, objects, rituals, places, performing arts, songs, designs, and festive events handed down between generations that define or contribute to a person's or a group's identity, history, worldview, and wellbeing. Heritage is safeguarded through transmission.
ACCESS OUR COLLECTIONS ONLINE
Explore our unique collections through our online database! We have enhanced our object records with important historical information in an intuitive, easy to use, online resource. Featuring items from our important local history collection, our extensive toy collection, and much more. Curate your own collections or contribute to shared community knowledge of individual records in this hub for our community heritage.
ACCESS OUR COLLECTION FOR RESEARCH
Do you need to access an artifact in our collection for a research project? From collecting information for a research paper, to researching your family history, you can come explore our collections in-person to aid in your research. Complete the form below to make an appointment with our Collections Manager today!
Donate To Our Collection
Our collections consist of different artifacts from photographs, maps, and newspaper articles to furniture, houseware, sports equipment and more. We also collect stories from community members through oral histories.
Do you have an item that you would like to donate? Do you have a unique story to share? We are always looking to add to our collections. Please fill out the questionnaire below so we can see if we are the right home for your beloved objects and stories!
Please note that we strongly encourage you complete the form below as we do not accept artifacts at the door without the questionnaire submission. If you are still unsure about your donation and would like to speak to us, please make an appointment with our Collections Manager, Chantelle Huard to learn about next steps.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Please fill out the Donation Questionnaire under the "Make a Donation" section of this page. We will reach out to you based on your answers to let you know if we are the right fit to house your item. If we are, we will schedule a time and date for you to drop off the item to the museum.
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We greatly appreciate the donations from all community members but we unfortunately cannot accept all donation inquiries. While we are growing our collection, we aim to accept items that have a connection to Coquitlam or the people who live/lived in the area.
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If an item is dropped off at the museum without prior agreement, we unfortunately cannot legally accept it. If you donate an item and sign a temporary deposit form, the donation will be subject to the following criteria:
Approval of acceptance is dependent on meeting the acquisition criteria as outlined in the Museum’s Collection Policy. All attempts will be made to notify donors of acceptance or rejection within 60 days of the offer of donation. If an object is not accepted into the collection as per the Museum’s Collections Policy, donors shall be given a further 30 days to retrieve the items or make arrangements for their return. Any items not picked up 30 days after notification will be considered abandoned items and will be disposed of by the Museum as it sees fit.
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We display artifacts on a rotating basis. Even objects in our permanent collection will be given rest periods where the object will be moved to our collections room temporarily. This step is important to ensure the object is properly cleaned and cared for. During this time, the object will also be protected from sun, and dust exposure.