"BOOM!" is coming to Britannia

A live-action, sensory-thrilling special effects adventure that brings the historic Mill building back to life – launching summer 2019

The Britannia Mine Museum is proud to reveal the name of our latest attraction, a theatrical show inside the historic Mill, BOOM!

Launching summer 2019, “BOOM!” is a live-action, multi-sensory special effects show that brings the historic 96-year-old Mill no.3 building back to life. The theatrical spectacle will transport visitors back in time to the 1920s when the Mine was one of the largest copper producers in the British Commonwealth. The show shares the magical story of the awe-inspiring 20-storey architectural marvel as one of North America’s last gravity-fed concentrator mills, as it processed precious minerals from the ore extracted from the mine.

“Millions of people have driven up the Sea to Sky highway throughout the years and wondered what is this giant building attached to the side of the mountain,” says Kirstin Clausen, executive director of the Britannia Mine Museum. “‘BOOM!’ is a compelling way for us to share the Mill’s authentic and heart-warming story, and its purpose and function as a historically significant community beacon to the more than 60,000 people who used to live and work here at the Britannia Mine. We can’t wait to launch the new show this summer.”

“BOOM!” is the culmination of a 10-year journey from inspiration to completion between the Museum’s staff and Board of Directors, the incredible collaboration between production company Vista Collaborative Arts and internationally renowned, Dynamic Attractions from Port Coquitlam.

Vista Collaborative Arts, BOOM!’s show designer and producer has produced themed attractions around the world including creating the immersive production The Sleeping Giant for the Museo del Acero in Monterrey, Mexico. Vista Collaborative Arts brought a team of talented film producers, lighting, sound and special effect experts from across Canada, many of whom work with IMAX and Cirque du Soleil.

Dynamic Attractions, whose projects include rides at theme parks such as Universal Studios and Disney, engineered and fabricated the Museum’s movable skip for the Mill show which demonstrates how mining equipment was hauled up and down the 20-storey Mill building. Their work involved moving the old original three-tonne skip, a rail car that was capable of transporting a 12-tonne load up and down a 45-degree incline to various levels of the Mill. They then built a new mock-skip out of raw steel to mimic the weight and movement of the original rail car, which was then set decorated by Bold Creative and 3DS and transformed to an authentic, vintage-looking Museum piece that fit with the atmosphere of the historic Mill building and engineered to thrill audiences.

“BOOM!” and the additional rehabilitation of the Museum’s infrastructure were made possible by a $1.4 million funding contribution by the Government of Canada under its New Building Canada Fund, alongside another $2.6 million the Museum has fundraised from a supportive BC mining industry.

More details about “BOOM!” including the grand opening date will follow in the weeks to come. 

Read Press Release (PDF)