THE FUTURE OF ALBERTA’S PAST
After seven years, province’s $375.5-million museum throws open its doors to the public
The first visitors to walk through the doors of the new Royal Alberta Museum Wednesday stood beneath the massive curved tusks of an ice age mammoth replica, observed a live Madagascar hissing cockroach and checked out a 1,700-year-old roasting pit excavated from Head- Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.
The $375.5-million downtown facility also showcases an iron lung, overhead biplanes and lifesize dioramas of Alberta wildlife in action, from bison and bears to burrowing owls.
“We have taken the approach that it is our objects that should tell the story,” said museum executive director Chris Robinson during a media tour on Monday, joking that a pickup truck on display in one gallery highlights the “enduring love affair” Albertans have with their vehicles.
The museum is made up of several sections — the natural history hall, human history hall, bug gallery, children’s gallery, a feature gallery to host visiting exhibits and an area dubbed the museum zone to give the public a peek behind the scenes.
There is also a stand-alone area displaying the Manitou Stone, a meteorite which holds spiritual significance for Indigenous people.
The exhibit — where no photography or video is allowed — is one of the many ways that Indigenous belief systems were integrated into the museum, said Lubicon Lake Band Chief Billy Joe Laboucan, a member of the museum’s Indigenous advisory committee.
“We were here first, so I think it’s important to be able to portray that ... (and) all the different things that have happened along the way since contact,” he said.
Indigenous advisers highlighted the importance of including Indigenous languages in the galleries, said director of cultural studies Alison Parry.
In one section, What Makes Us Strong, Indigenous culture exhibits are surrounded by a 360-degree video banner that includes images of seasons changing across Alberta.
The collection, curated in a round wooden structure, is at the heart of the human history hall, said Parry, who added that the cases were built so that exhibits can be changed out.
“While we were using our collections, we had an opportunity to see gaps ... we don’t have an urban Aboriginal story and it’s something I would like to explore,” she said. “That is one of our priorities.”
In the natural history hall, visitors can take in a wildlife diorama such as the near escape of a snowshoe hare from the clutches of a lynx, or they can check out the skeletons of prehistoric behemoths.
“We have a wonderful ice age fossil collection here,” said director of natural history Alwynne Beaudoin, standing beside a replica of a mammoth skeleton.
“This is a cast of a specimen from Utah. It’s very rare to find a complete specimen.”
She added she hopes visitors are floored by artifacts both large and small.
“When they walk into the gems and minerals gallery and they see the incredible beauty and diversity and colours ... I think people are going to be amazed.
“I’m fully expecting to find people sitting in that area of the gallery, just contemplating.”
The museum’s new location at 97 Street and 103A Avenue has double the exhibit space compared to the former Glenora location. Alberta Infrastructure hasn’t announced plans for the old facility, and has said the province is considering its options.
Donna Clare, lead architect with Dialog, said the downtown museum reflects the history of Edmonton.
“The museum is open, inviting and inclusive,” she said. “We have incredible light here so the design of the building plays with that light ... the building is going to change from day until night, from season to season.”
NATURAL HISTORY HALL
Visitors will immediately notice impressive skeleton replicas of towering ice age animals such as the American mastodon and the Jefferson ground sloth (it’s much larger and more terrifying than today’s sloth).
Across the four galleries in the natural history hall, exhibits range from the formation of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains to a large collection of gems and minerals from around the world.
Life-size dioramas also come alive in this section, including a lynx hunting a hare, grazing bighorn sheep and a mother bear with her cubs.
There’s also a tank showcasing Alberta’s only species of turtle, live.
HUMAN HISTORY HALL
This area includes six galleries spanning history from Indigenous ancestral lands pre-contact to post-1945 Alberta. Exhibits range from a 1,700-year-old roasting pit used for food preparation and excavated from Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump to an explanation of the fur trade and the importance of canoes for navigating water routes.
Other displays focus on the formation of the Métis Nation and the story of a polio patient who depended on an iron lung to survive. The gallery dubbed What Makes Us Strong focuses on Blackfoot, Nakoda, Dene, Cree and Métis traditions in Alberta and a celebration of Indigenous culture.
BUG GALLERY
A hive-shaped information centre dedicated to paper wasps greets visitors as they walk into the gallery that holds thousands of invertebrates. The exhibits — which are themed around four landscapes including tropical forest, coral reef, arid land and Alberta — include tarantulas, cockroaches and beetles.
The new gallery includes about 200 different species and up to several million critters at any given time — there are fresh hatches almost daily.
CHILDREN’S GALLERY
The museum’s youngest visitors have the opportunity to take part in activities such as uncovering fossils in a dig pit, or reforming a sand table that doubles as a topographical map. Children can learn about tree varieties, check out a collection of bird eggs or create a musical symphony with sounds from nature.
MANITOU STONE
The Manitou Stone holds spiritual significance for Indigenous people. It’s on display in a standalone space within a circular room accented by a starry sky panorama. Visitors aren’t allowed to take photos or film the stone. There is no admission fee for this section.
FEATURE GALLERY
The museum plans to bring in international exhibitions to the feature gallery. It’s not accessible yet and the first exhibit is slated for spring 2019.
MUSEUM ZONE
This area gives visitors a chance to observe work happening in conservation labs behind the scenes.
TICKETS
A one-day visit will cost $19 for adults, $14 for seniors, $10 for youth and $48 for a family. Children aged six and under are admitted free. Two-day tickets and annual “mammoth passes” are also available at a higher cost. To mark the museum’s public opening, admission will be free from Wednesday to Monday. Visitors need to book a timed ticket online for entry during those dates.
The opening hours for the first six days are as follows:
■ Wednesday: Noon to 5 p.m.
■ Thursday: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
■ Friday to Monday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Normal hours and admission prices will commence next Tuesday.