Edmonton Royal Alberta Museum
Where can you go in Edmonton that tells over two million stories of Alberta’s people, its natural environment, and cultural heritage? The Royal Alberta Museum, with over 419,000 square feet of western Canadian culture and history in downtown Edmonton.
Edmonton is the capital city of Alberta and is located in central Alberta. The city’s economic forces included fur trading, 1897-1898 Klondike Gold Rush, the cross-Canada Railway, the Alaska highway, and gas and oil extraction, have had a significant influence on the city. Edmonton has invested some of its economic success in culture and art pf western Canada. The Royal Alberta Museum showcases the rich history of the Alberta culture and its people.
The museum is Western Canada’s largest museum. It houses many permanent natural and cultural exhibits as well as new and contemporary exhibits. There is an impressive collection of fossils from the ice-age and dinosaurs, a bug room with live invertebrates, and a 7,000 square-foot interactive children’s gallery. The vast number of exhibitions and artifacts makes the museum an excellent place for everyone to explore for a day.
The collections are divided into four main groups. The first is the Life Sciences, which contains Botony, invertebrate Zoology, Mammology, Ornithology Program, and Ichthyology/Herpetology. the Botany gallery has over 35,000 herb specimens. The Ichthyology collection shows the most extensive fish collection in western Canada. The Invertebrate collection is amazing and expansive, featuring bees, wasps, ants, moths, butterflies, and beetles just to name a few. The Ornithology Collection holds the most extensive collection of birds in the province. Also, it displays various birds and materials from out of the province and other areas of the world. The museum maintains an Official List of the Birds of Alberta and documents reported rare bird sightings in the province.
The second collection is The Earth Sciences, which features displays of Archeology, Geology, Quaternary Paleontology, and Quaternary Environments and contains over 9,224,000 objects and artifacts. The geology collection showcases over 23,000 minerals, rocks, gems, and meteorites. The Quaternary Paleontology exhibit provides dynamic Ice Age fossil displays. They are always on the lookout for more Ice Age fossils discoveries. If you are into soil, seed, sediment, or pollen samples, the Quaternary Environments collection is for you!
The third collection belongs to the Human History Collection. Cultural studies, Military History, Political History, and western Canadian history tell the story of the people of Alberta and the founding of western Canada. Six sections make up the Human history hall, starting with the Ancestral Lands of the indigenous people of Alberta; next is World’s- meet showing European newcomers exchanging with the indigenous. The third section after Buffalo- 1859-1900 tells stories of resilience and hope, and the fourth is Alberta forms-1880’s, which shows Alberta becoming a province. Next is the fifth section, Alberta transforms-post 1945-oil, exhibiting city and population growth, and the sixth section, What makes Us strong-sharing knowledge of varied indigenous groups.
The fourth collection houses a reference library, Collections Management, Conservation of artifacts and exhibits, and Information Resource Management. The museum has many traveling exhibitions, which include:
International Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Syria-Land of civilizations, Genghis Khan, Bugsworld, Camosaurs, and Sharks: Facts and Fantasy.
The Natural History hall houses plants, animals, fossils, and dioramas, representing significant periods in Alberta’s history. The Children’s Gallery is an interactive learn while they play zone. It has Alberta Naturally, Dig pit, Makerspace, Chautauqua, Toddler area, and a community gallery. The bug gallery displays insects and spiders of all kinds and not just from Alberta but all over the world.
The Indigenous Studies Collection has great meaning to the originating communities. The museum works to ensure the cultural experiences and artifacts are cared for and presented in a respectful way. The collection has a strong presence from the Metis, Dene, Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), and Nehiyawak (Plains Cree). The gallery is rich with a vast assortment of indigenous artifacts that give a glimpse of early life in Western Canada.
The Royal Alberta Museum is a place to spend the day immersed back in the time of the dinosaurs. Or to see how the First Peoples of Canada lived and worked. It is also a place to experience what it was like for the first immigrant settlers. These are only but a few of the many adventures that await at the RAM.
Check out the Fort Edmonton Park which is in Edmonton AB too.
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