Museums

In 1985 the Oil Sands Interpretive Centre opened in Fort McMurray, providing visitors with a rare glimpse into the development of the Athabasca Oil Sands, the world's largest single deposit of oil sands.

At the centre, exhibits illustrate the geology, human history, technology, and upcoming expansions of oil sands development.

Royal Alberta Museum

The Edmonton museum takes visitors on a journey through time and space to explore the human and natural history of Western Canada.

The new Natural History Gallery is home to exquisite minerals and gems, astonishing dinosaurs, sabre-toothed cats and Canada's only complete Columbian Mammoth skeleton—the largest land mammal to have lived in North America.

Reynolds-Alberta Museum and Canada’s Aviation Hall

The museum features a collection of more than 5,000 artifacts, both static and operating. Ride in one of the vintage cars, thrill to a 1930s midway ride or experience the excitement of flying in one of the restored biplanes.

Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame is an on-site partner with the Reynolds-Alberta Museum. The contributions of Canada’s flying elite are presented through biographical panels, records and flight memorabilia. Together with vintage aircraft on loan from the Reynolds Aviation Museum, this is one of the most significant aeronautical exhibits in the country.

Whyte Museum of The Canadian Rockies

The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff introduces visitors to the history and culture of this unique mountain area. The museum offers a glimpse of the “spirit of the wilderness” through displays, programs and services. An active program of changing art exhibitions reflects the culture of the region, and of mountain regions around the world. The heritage exhibition depicts mountain activities over the past century. The renowned archives offer researchers and browsers opportunities to further explore Canadian Rockies’ history.

Glenbow, one of the largest museums in Canada, is full of treasures, precious artifacts and poignant stories. Glenbow’s art collection combines the fresh visions of contemporary Alberta artists with historical works by many of Canada’s noted early artists.

The comprehensive Archives contain more than two million images and pages upon pages of unpublished manuscripts, records, papers, journals, letters and diaries that form part of Western Canada's heritage. An unparalleled Reference Library comprises over 100,000 books, periodicals, newspapers, journals, catalogues and rare maps focusing on Western Canada.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

As one of the world’s leading palaeontological museums and research centres, the Tyrrell captivates visitors with hundreds of fossils that show how life on our planet began and how its life forms evolved into the animals and plants we know today. Part of the saga is told through an extensive display of dinosaur skeletons, computer simulations, and multimedia exhibits. A window into the laboratory lets you watch technicians at work on recently unearthed specimens.