New museum off to historic start

RAM exhibits mammoth numbers in first four months of operation

More than 127,000 visitors, 13,000 annual mammoth passes issued and 9,613 cups of Alberta-roasted coffee sold in the cafe.

These are just a few of the record-setting numbers in the first four months of opening for the new downtown Royal Alberta Museum.

The $375.5-million attraction at 97 Street and 103A Avenue opened to much fanfare from the public on Oct. 3 with about 42,000 people visiting during the first six days of operation when free admission was offered.

“I am delighted. I am entirely pleased with what we’re seeing for attendance and for reaction,” museum executive director Chris Robinson said.

“We were dark for two and a half years and it’s nice to see faces in the museum again.”

About 85,500 people have walked through the museum doors in the 112 days since the opening weekend, averaging about 765 visitors a day, Robinson said.

“I’m really pleased with the way this is trending,” he said of the public’s response to the museum. “We’ve exceeded our expectations.”

The museum totalled more than 20,000 visitors in each of the first four months, including 24,183 visitors in November — more than double the monthly total in any of the 10 years during Robinson’s tenure at the old museum.

“Before we closed in Glenora, I had 10 years of data of our attendance and in each of those previous 10 Novembers we never got more than 10,000, 11,000 visitors,” he said.

Just this past snow-filled weekend, the museum hosted more than 1,200 visitors each day, which Robinson said was a great sign because extreme weather conditions could have a significant impact on public facilities.

The museum has welcomed 4,500 Indigenous people. Entrance to the galleries is free to anyone who self-identifies as Indigenous, Robinson said.

Already 13,000 annual passes have been sold — towering over the average 1,400 annual passes sold at the previous location.

Gift shop products from local companies such as the Alberta Pin Co. and The Violet Chocolate Company have proven to be the most popular, Robinson said. Visitors were keen on buying Alberta-branded pieces as well as the flagship mammoth stuffed toys.

“The gift shop and food service have been really strong performers. We’re really happy with the fact we’ve got a lot of local product in both,” said Robinson.

The first exhibit to take over the feature gallery will travel across the Atlantic Ocean to Edmonton in April and includes a 37-metre Viking warship.

Vikings: Beyond the Legend will run April 18 to Oct. 20 and includes 650 artifacts and the Roskilde 6, the longest Viking warship recovered. Including the opportunity to row a Viking ship, this will be the Canadian premiere of the exhibit, on loan from the National Museum of Denmark.

The local Mustard Seed has partnered with the museum to provide the greeter program as well as assistance and referrals to people in need, an initiative Robinson said has been another big success.

“(It’s) giving people who have had challenges this opportunity to gain skills and to offer services to visitors who come through the door,” he said. “They’ve really taken to heart trying to understand the museum and help visitors.”