The white, rustic old general store and the beige mechanic's shop, opposite one another on Harris Road, are continuously being added to.
There are many new projects occurring at both sites as the staff of the Pitt Meadows Museum and Archives reach the middle of the summer.
The general store located at 12294 Harris Road and the Hoffmann and Son Ltd. Shop across the street are in slow foot traffic areas, yet the people that do come into either site find themselves transformed back in time.
At a time when technology surrounds us and everything starts with a push of a button, the historical sites are a nice spot to rediscover how things operated before.
Right now work is being done on the outdoor exhibits, as the staff are identifying and labeling the different pieces of large farm machinery that decorates the general store site exterior.
With this project on its final stages of development, the hopes are that the new exhibit will help visitors learn more about what they see before they even venture into the museum or as they are waiting for the West Coast Express nearby.
Another project that is underway at the Hoffmann and Son Ltd. site is the engine discovery boxes, which should be highly engaging to all age groups.
The new exhibit will feature three new discovery boxes holding different types of model engines.
The museum will eventually have a gasoline engine, a steam engine and a Stirling engine discovery box.
The future plans are that the engine boxes will accompany model engines that will show the visitor how each of these engines work.
The gasoline engine is the first model being built and, along with its engine box, will be completed shortly.
The model engines fit perfectly with the large collect of antique stationary gasoline engines located in the shop.
The engine collection and many other pieces of farm machinery have been on display since the 1930s machine shop was donated to the museum by the Hoffmann family.
Many years ago, Hans Hoffmann displayed his stationary engines for the very first time in 1979.
The museum is proud to be able to accommodate all ages of visitors as we have a large selection of hands-on activities and summer events for children.
Fun and interesting volunteer options are available, as well, as students may need it for classes or extracurricular activities.
Adults are welcome to use our archives room in regards to local family history or other rural history.
For our summer hours we are open Wednesday through Sunday from 1-4 p.m.
Hope to see you soon.
Will George is a student working as a museum technician under the terms of a Government of Canada Young Canada Works in Heritage Institutions grant at the Pitt Meadows Museum.