Royal Alberta Museum new building. Photo by Mack Male on Wikimedia

Top 10 Facts about Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton


 

The Royal Albert museum is a human and natural history museum in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The museum is located in Downtown Edmonton north of city hall and is the largest museum in western Canada.

The government of Alberta established the museum in December 1967 as the provincial museum of Alberta.

The museum continued with its operation from its original building in Glenora Edmonton until December 2013, when it was closed to the public.

A number of the museum department continued to operate at Glenora Edmonton, some preparing the museum collections for the move or conducting fieldwork.

The museum is more than a thoughtful, beautifully designed space with a reflection of Alberta today. It features an expansive gallery chronicling Albert as a natural and cultural world.

Here are the top 10 facts about the royal Alberta Museum

1. The government of Alberta established the museum

Royal Albert Museum Front. Photo by Ken Eckert on Wikimedia

In 1950 the government of Alberta and the Canadian federal governments confederation memorial centesimal program began planning for the museum.

Raymond O. Harrison, an Australian architect, was hired in 1962 to direct the construction of the planned museum.

Raymond O. Harrison was given $5 million to house and staff the museum and build the collection.

On December 6, 1967, the museum was opened to the public as the provincial museum of Alberta.

Royal Alberta Museum is the largest in western Canada. The exhibition space occupies 82,000 sq. ft and 419,000 sq. ft in total

2. The renaming of the museum

The museum added “royal” after receiving its royal patronage name from queen Elizabeth II in 2015.

The queen gave it the title when she visited Alberta to mark the province’s 100th anniversary of its entry into the confederation.

During the queen’s first visit, she reassigned the provincial museum of Alberta as the Royal Alberta Museum.

3. Royal Alberta Museum’s new building

In April 2011, new plans for building a new building for the Royal Albert museum were announced.

The new building would be built in Downtown Edmonton north of the city hall and law courts and east of the CN Tower on the land previously occupied by Canada’s posts Edmonton station.

The Alberta government said the new building location could be used for the terminal of an Edmonton- Calgary high-speed rail line. In contrast, the old location will be a residence for the lieutenant governor.

The new building was completed on August 16, 2016, and opened on September 12, 2018.

4. Explore the museum collection

Photo by Mike on Wikimedia

The Royal Alberta Museum collection is divided into four main categories; life science, human history, and collection service.

The life science category has 577,745 objects of botany, zoology, ichthyology, invertebrate, mammalogy, and ornithology program.

Earth science has 9,224,075 objects of archeology, geology, anthology, paleontology, and quaternary environment.

Collection services have 70,103 objects consisting of collection management, conservation, information 

resources management, and resources library.

5. The natural history hall

Natural history exhibit at the Royal Alberta Museum. Photo by IQRemix- Wikimedia

The hall honors the diversity and wonders of the living world, from the tiniest lichens to the mighty mammoths that one’s roamed the province.

The hall has a collection of fossils, animals’ dioramas, and plants representing Alberta wildlife.

The hall contains four main sections; ice age Alberta, ancient Alberta, gem and mineral, and wild Alberta.

Ice age Alberta has plants and animals that lived in Alberta 1,00 years ago, while ancient Alberta displays Alberta Rocky Mountains formation, Edmonton Saurus, and diversity of rocks.

Wild Alberta hall holds animals and plants found in Alberta as three ecological zones and the world landscape, while gems and minerals contain diamonds, rubies, minerals, crystals, and meteorites.

6. Royal Alberta Museum learning programs

The museum programs are tailored to empower you to lead your own experience, ask your questions, and inspire you to share remarkable stories about the museum.

The programs are committed to creating and offering programs that foster wonder and a new understanding of Alberta and its history.

The museum programs adapt to new realities, and the goal is to provide a safe and engaging experience for visitors on site.

The programs offer a historical, educational experience at the historic site, interpretive center, and museum.

7. The human history hall

Indigenous diorama at the Royal Alberta Museum. Photo by Kevin M Klerks on Wikimedia

The human history hall shares stories of humans from the earliest people to the Alberta of today.

The hall consists of six sections: ancestral lands, worlds meet, after buffalo, Alberta’s forms, Alberta transforms, and what makes us strong.

The ancestral land section displays the history and lifestyle of indigenous people who lived in parts of Alberta. At the same time, the world meet shows perspectives of cultural and economic exchange between indigenous and European newcomers from 1680-1880.

What makes us strong section shares knowledge and values of Alberta as various indigenous communities while Alberta transforms is about stories in post-laws Alberta, population growth, oil, and healthcare.

Alberta forms are stories from the 1880s about Alberta becoming a province looking into economics, culture, political and spiritual beliefs. At the same time, after buffalos are stories between 1889 and 1990 about resistance, suffering, and hope in Alberta.

8. Explore children gallery

This section is created for young children. It aims at celebrating the importance of play and learning for the children.

Here children can engage in an authentic exploration of natural objects, materials, and tools and are free to play with them.

The activities at the children’s gallery are created for children of age eight and under to give them an excellent environment to learn and explore.

Parents accompany children in the toddler area. As a parent, you can play with your children, explore and enjoy.

This space has enormous floor-ceiling windows, vibrant graphics, and colorful exhibits to create a rich, welcoming environment that will engage the sense and curiosity in a fun way.

9. Mammoth pass

The Royal Alberta Museum mammoth pass provides unlimited admission to the museum.

The mammoth pass allows you to visit the galleries as often as you would like for an entire year and feeds your curiosity all year.

With the mammoth pass, you get a 10% discount at the museum shop and fulfill your shopping fantasies.

10. Royal Alberta Museum virtual experience

The virtual experience is a 45-minute experience that consists of an up-close exploration of objects from the human to natural history.

The op close exploration is accompanied by engaging discussion and activities.

The virtual experience may be customized to cater to group needs and areas of interest.

 The educators of the virtual experience are passionate about giving exciting and unique experiences.

Whether you are a group, family, or team of colleagues, learn about the Alberta Museum’s history. The charade for the virtual experience is $100 per session.

 

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