 From the opening of the new museum building to 1981, the museum was branded as Centennial Museum; before reverting its name back to Vancouver Museum.In 1972 the city council relinquished its control of the museum and a joint Museum and Planetarium Association was formed as a descendant of the original AHSA which founded the museum.In 1977 the museum was designated a Category A cultural institution by the federal government and named in the Cultural Property Export and Import Act.