Museums
Exhibitions at Alberta’s museums enlighten us about our prehistoric past, First Nations, pioneer times and beyond.
Edmonton and Area
ALBERTA AVIATION MUSEUM
albertaaviationmuseum.com
Located at the former Edmonton City Centre Airport, this museum showcases the evolution of flight in Alberta from bush planes to jets. The latest addition to the aircraft on display is a T-Bird jet—flown by the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1953 to 2005—to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the RCAF, formed in 1924.
ALBERTA RAILWAY MUSEUM
albertarailwaymuseum.com
Railway stations and shops plus over 75 train cars and locomotives are on display weekends from May 17 to September 1. The website has virtual tours. Locomotive 1392 has appeared in movies including Days of Heaven, Bye Bye Blues, Ribbons of Steel and Monte Walsh.
FORT EDMONTON PARK
fortedmontonpark.ca
The reconstruction of the fort began as a 1967 Centennial project. Different periods of Edmonton history–the fur trade, settlement, municipal and metropolitan eras–are on display, with recreations of architecture from 1885, 1905 and 1920, including a recreation of the Capitol Theatre.
JOHN WALTER MUSEUM
edmonton.ca/john-walter-museum
This site on the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River includes three early dwellings: two rustic cabins built of hewn logs and one Victorian-era residence—all once owned by John Walter, who built a ferry and several businesses. The museum interprets his life and the history of Walterdale from 1870 to 1942.
THE LOYAL EDMONTON REGIMENT MILITARY MUSEUM
lermuseum.org
This museum in the Prince of Wales Armouries, where the regiment was once based, has a large collection of uniforms, weapons, medals and many other items. These are specific to the history of the regiment, but also important to the military history of Alberta and Canada.
ROYAL ALBERTA MUSEUM
royalalbertamuseum.ca
RAM is the largest museum in Western Canada. Its current exhibition CONNECTIONS brings neuroscience and art together. This joint project of researchers from the University of Alberta’s Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute and the Faculty of Arts is comprised of art and images of brain diseases and mental health disorders. It runs until June 22.
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA MUSEUMS
ualberta.ca/museums
A recent addition to one of 30 registered museum collections on campus is Frank Shebageget’s screen-print Model for Canadian Indian Homes. The Mactaggart Art Collection’s recent exhibit Echoes of Thunder: Unveiling the Mythical Chinese Dragon depicted the origin and symbolic significance of the dragon in China.
FORT SASKATCHEWAN
THE FORT HERITAGE PRECINCT
fortheritageprecinct.ca
Tours of the NWMP fort and historical village, including a 1905 railway station, are available year round. Sheep are brought into the precinct in early June to trim the grass. They depart in a “sheep leaving parade” in early September.
LAMONT COUNTY
UKRAINIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE VILLAGE
ukrainianvillage.ca
Open from the May long weekend to Labour Day, this open-air museum uses costumed historical interpreters to recreate Ukrainian pioneer settlements east of Edmonton from 1900 to 1930, showing how Ukrainian immigration has influenced Alberta’s cultural identity and heritage.
LEDUC COUNTY
CANADIAN ENERGY MUSEUM
canadianenergymuseum.ca
As of June 2024, the museum is only open to pre-booked tours and is not accepting walk-up visitors. It was originally called the Leduc #1 Energy Discovery Centre to mark the 1947 discovery of oil at the site.
STONY PLAIN AND PARKLAND PIONEER MUSEUM
pioneermuseum.ca
Tens of thousands of objects of historical interest are preserved and displayed here to show what rural life was like for the people who built Alberta’s first settlements. The museum partners with Farmers Days and the Blueberry Bluegrass Festival. Programs are offered for students and seniors groups.
WETASKIWIN
REYNOLDS–ALBERTA MUSEUM
reynoldsmuseum.ca
This museum on an 89-hectare site celebrates machines, with a huge collection of vintage cars, trucks, motorcycles, airplanes and tractors from the 1890s on. Here you can drive a Model T on the museum test track and learn how to restore a vehicle, repair an engine and chassis, and prepare, paint and finish vehicle surfaces and maintain original materials.
Calgary and Area
THE CONFLUENCE HISTORIC SITE & PARKLAND
theconfluence.ca
Fort Calgary was recently rebranded in an effort to better represent the histories of Indigenous peoples, the North-West Mounted Police, settlers and newcomers. Now called The Confluence, it is undergoing its first permanent exhibit overhaul since 1997. A new exhibit, Ki’pait’apiiyssinnooni (Our Way of Life), about Blackfoot culture and history, is scheduled to open in the spring.
GLENBOW
glenbow.org
Reconstruction here includes 34 new exhibition spaces and a 13,000-square-foot rooftop terrace designed by architect Maya Lin. Upon its reopening in 2026, Glenbow will feature exhibitions on Canadian fashion icon Jeanne Beker, exhibits on Ethiopia, Mexico and Indonesia and a four-storey installation created by Kainai sculptor Faye HeavyShield.
THE HANGAR FLIGHT MUSEUM
thehangarmuseum.ca
The museum’s collection features over 30 military, commercial and civilian aircraft, housed in a drill hall that was built as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in the Second World War. School programs allow students to sit in a variety of cockpits.
HERITAGE PARK
heritagepark.ca
With a collection of over 50,000 historical artifacts, the park documents the history of the early West, from the 1860s fur trade to the rise of the automobile and petroleum industries in the 1950s—showcased at the Gasoline Alley Museum. The staff on site wear period-appropriate replica attire.
LOUGHEED HOUSE
lougheedhouse.com
Originally the home of Senator James Lougheed and his wife, Isabella Hardisty, this sandstone mansion is now a National Historic Site. The current exhibition, Restore and Revive, on until Apr 13, tells the story of the building’s meticulous restoration and marks its 20th anniversary as a museum. Self-directed or guided tours include the three acres of surrounding gardens.
THE MILITARY MUSEUMS
themilitarymuseums.ca
The largest tri-service (Navy, Army and Air Force) military history museum in Western Canada houses a total of eight museums. The permanent exhibits feature tanks, jets and a recreated prisoner-of-war hut complete with tunnels and a rolling cart.
NATIONAL MUSIC CENTRE
studiobell.ca
The NMC’s permanent exhibition spaces include the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Rolling Stones mobile recording studio, and interactive music-making activities. A backstage pass tour allows visitors to see many of the 2,000 instruments in their collection, including TONTO, a massive and historically significant synthesizer. The NMC recently launched its first international partnership with the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music.
NICKLE GALLERIES
nickle.ucalgary.ca
Their permanent collection, owing in large part to donations by Sam and Carl Nickle, has 30,000 artifacts, including coins, rugs and textiles, and Western Canadian art. Leesa Streifler: The Performance of Being / La Performance de l’être, a retrospective exhibit of the celebrated feminist artist, runs until April 26.
YOUTHLINK CALGARY
yycyouthfoundation.ca/youthlink
An interpretive centre educating youth about crime prevention and forensic science. A new exhibit brings to light the role and history of canines in the Victim Assistance Support Team, while another is an award-winning immersive exhibit focused on the modernization of criminal identification through mugshots.
AIRDRIE
NOSE CREEK VALLEY MUSEUM
nosecreekvalleymuseum.com
This museum features a collection of over 25,000 artifacts ranging from First Nations tools to antique cars.
M.D. OF FOOTHILLS
LEIGHTON ART CENTRE
leightoncentre.org
The last residence of A.C. and Barbara Leighton exhibits fine art, craft, artifacts, furniture and archival materials created or owned by the Leightons.
OKOTOKS MUSEUM & ARCHIVES
okotoks.ca/museum-archives
This relocated historic home has a collection of artifacts and archival resources from the 1870s to today.
ROCKY VIEW COUNTY
PIONEER ACRES
pioneeracres.ab.ca
One of the largest agricultural and industrial history museums in Alberta, this collection features a restored farmhouse built in 1914, a truck museum and the Grain Academy formerly found on the Stampede grounds.
North
COLD LAKE MUSEUMS
coldlake.com/museums
The former site of 42 Radar Squadron houses four museums: the Indigenous Museum, the Heritage Museum, the Oil and Gas Interpretive Museum and the Air Force Museum. Together they tell the history of the region, including that of the Denesuline and Cree nations, European settlements and the development of the oil sands.
DEBOLT PIONEER MUSEUM
spiritofthepeace.ca/debolt-and-district-pioneer-museum
Open from May until mid-September, this museum focuses primarily on pioneer experiences and features heritage buildings donated from the 1970s to 2006. Exhibits are dedicated to the Bickell Fossil Collection, First Nations and Métis artifacts and the history of the 1930s Ridgevalley Co-op Cheese Factory.
FAIRVIEW PIONEER MUSEUM
spiritofthepeace.ca/fairview-pioneer-museum
The pioneer village is made up of the restored MacDonald school, Hull house, John Sweeney cabin and Fairview Agencies buildings. Permanent exhibits document the history of the RCMP and Alberta’s first Legislative Assembly.
FORT MCMURRAY
HERITAGE VILLAGE AND SHIPYARD
fmheritage.com
The buildings in the village, some a century old, include the Catholic Mission, the Ryan Brothers warehouse, a schoolhouse, a trapper’s cabin and the house of First World War flying ace Wop May. The nearby shipyard preserves the history of Fort McMurray as a transportation hub for ships carrying goods up the Athabasca River in a variety of historic vessels.
GRANDE PRAIRIE MUSEUM AND HERITAGE VILLAGE
cityofgp.com/museums
The museum’s four permanent exhibits include a replica paleontological dig site unearthing an Edmontosaurus, an old train station replica, pioneer artifacts and murals by Tim Heimdal. The adjoining village is open May to September and features almost 20 historical and replica buildings.
HIGH PRAIRIE & DISTRICT MUSEUM
spiritofthepeace.ca/high-prairie-district-museum
The museum tells the story of the area from early natural history, through paleontology and up until the Second World War,
using artifacts and historical documents. The Burley collection, discovered locally, includes two chert macroblades believed to be more than 9,000 years old.
LAC LA BICHE MISSION
laclabichemission.com
Now a National Historic Site, this mission established in 1855 had Alberta’s first printing press, commercial wheat crops, flour mill and sawmill. The Oblates and Grey Nuns here ran a federally funded residential school for Indigenous children for five years from 1893 to 1898.
MUSEUM OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLES’ ART AND ARTIFACTS
portagecollege.ca/Museum
This Portage College museum includes foundational and contemporary Indigenous artists alike. It houses the world’s only permanent collection of Professional Native Indian Artists Inc., which includes the work of the late Alex Janvier and Daphne Odjig among others. Another exhibition features Kent Monkman, Jane Ash Poitras and Joane Cardinal-Schubert.
LA CRETE MENNONITE HERITAGE VILLAGE
lacretemuseum.com
Open from May until September, the village is made up of 15 heritage buildings including a flour mill, school, sawmill and several homes. The former Tompkins Landing ferry is also on display alongside farm equipment and other artifacts.
MANNING
BATTLE RIVER PIONEER MUSEUM
spiritofthepeace.ca/battle-river-pioneer-museum
A post office, church, blacksmith shop and other historic buildings house a large collection of agricultural equipment, artifacts and taxidermy including a Hudson’s Bay calendar collection and a two-headed calf. A parade of 60 antique tractors takes place on Heritage weekend in August.
PEACE RIVER MUSEUM, ARCHIVES AND MACKENZIE CENTRE
peaceriver.ca/museum
Opened in 1967 to celebrate Canada’s Centennial, the museum focuses on the area’s history and includes artifacts from Fort Fork, where Sir Alexander Mackenzie wintered en route to the Pacific coast.
WEMBLEY
PHILIP J. CURRIE DINOSAUR MUSEUM
dinomuseum.ca
The museum is located near one of the densest fossil sites in the world, where a paleontology team recently unearthed a 72-million-year-old Pachyrhinosaurus skull, nicknamed “Big Sam”—expected to be on display by late 2025 or early 2026. The museum’s namesake was one of the inspirations for paleontologist Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, for good reason.
Central
ALBERTA BEACH MUSEUM
albertabeachmuseum.ca
A popular summer destination, the village is made up of 11 restored buildings including a teacherage, Grasmere School, Adam’s “Honey” house, Ayerbank “Orr” Cottage, Trinity Chapel, the Red and White Store, the jail and the CNR station. Special events take place on all long weekends and throughout the summer.
BANFF
LUXTON HOME
banfflakelouise.com/historic-luxton-home
This home of Eleanor Luxton and her parents offers a glimpse into Banff from 1900 to the 1970s. It is filled with photos, artwork, beadwork and paintings. The nearby gardens are one of three Arts and Craft style gardens in western Canada.
WHYTE MUSEUM
whyte.org
A cultural history museum exhibiting materials relating to the Rocky Mountains of Canada. MELTDOWN, a current exhibition mounted in honour of the 2025 United Nations International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, features large-scale photographs of glacial landscapes from the Columbia Icefield. It runs until April 13.
DRUMHELLER
ATLAS COAL MINE
atlascoalmine.ab.ca
This site preserves the last of the Drumheller Valley’s 139 mines and includes the last wooden tipple (coal- sorting structure) in Canada. Tours are available beginning in May.
ROYAL TYRRELL MUSEUM
tyrrellmuseum.com
One of the world’s largest collections of dinosaur bones attracts more than half a million visitors a year. Tyrrell programming includes simulated bone digs, fossil casting and hikes in the badlands.
EVANSBURG
TIPPLE PARK MUSEUM
tippleparkmuseum.ca
A recent exhibit at Tipple Park was Extraordinary Ordinary, an art show by Madison Sharman. Located on the site where the infrastructure for the coal mine stood, this museum has exhibits in the main building and in a collection of historic buildings. It is the first of five museums in a network called Route to the Rockies. Next are the Galloway Station Museum and the Red Brick Arts Centre and Museum in Edson, the Northern Rockies Museum in Hinton and the Jasper–Yellowhead Museum.
INNISFAIL HISTORICAL VILLAGE
innisfailhistoricalvillage.ca
The village’s 17 buildings are furnished to interpret the history of the area up to the 1930s. The log home “The Spruces,” donated by the W. Gibson family, is the only remaining original stopping house between Calgary and Edmonton.
LACOMBE MUSEUM
lacombemuseum.com
A recent exhibition, This Just In, presented new acquisitions of artifacts and archival material relevant to Lacombe history donated by the public.
MILLET MUSEUM
milletmuseum.ca
Programming for children, adults and seniors includes a heritage cooking class, a slow stitch workshop and “Not Falling for You,” a fall-prevention course.
PONOKA
FORT OSTELL MUSEUM
fortostellmuseum.com
The exhibition The History of the Care of the Mentally Ill in Alberta is rare, as few collections of mental hospital artifacts exist in Canada. This museum also displays aspects of Ponoka’s history from the time of Fort Ostell. Its website has biographies of and tributes to 120 pioneer women.
RED DEER
ALBERTA SPORTS HALL OF FAME
albertasportshall.ca
The exhibit Legends of the Ice: Celebrating Edmonton Oilers’ Greatest Players showcases the Oilers’ meteoric rise in the 1980s to their lasting impact on the game with rare artifacts, iconic jerseys and photographs of unforgettable moments.
RED DEER MUSEUM + ART GALLERY
reddeermuseum.com
Current exhibitions are Sandra Sawatzky’s The Age of Uncertainty, which uses embroidery to explore modern worries, until Mar 8, and Breathe, the work of fibre artist Vicki Sullivan and Connections of Isolation, both until Mar 15. The MAG’s collection consists of more than 70,000 objects, including 15,000 items of clothing and textiles.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE
ROCKY MUSEUM
www.rockymuseum.com
This museum showcases the history of local homesteaders. Resident artist Sarah Greenwood can be observed weaving on a traditional loom. Other programs include biscuit- and butter-making and a demonstration of spinning fleece into yarn.
South
CARDSTON
REMINGTON CARRIAGE MUSEUM
remingtoncarriagemuseum.ca
With over 330 vehicles, this museum has the largest collection of horse-drawn transportation (carriages, wagons and sleighs) in the world.
CLARESHOLM AND DISTRICT MUSEUM
claresholmmuseum.com
On the grounds is a sandstone railway station, Claresholm’s first schoolhouse,
a 1920s log cabin and a CPR caboose. The exhibit hall includes photos of those who trained as pilots at RCAF Station Claresholm during the 1940s and 1950s.
CROWSNEST PASS
CROWSNEST MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES
crowsnestmuseum.ca
The museum is housed in the 1936 Coleman high school and includes a nearby underground mine and the barracks, where Constable Lawson was murdered. The site was the recipient of a 2024 Alberta Heritage Award for Outstanding Achievement from the department of Alberta Arts and Culture.
DIAMOND VALLEY
TURNER VALLEY OILFIELD NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
turnervalleygasplant.ca
Turner Valley is the site of Alberta’s first commercial oilfield, discovered in 1914.
FORT MACLEOD
THE FORT MUSEUM OF THE NWMP AND FIRST NATIONS INTERPRETIVE CENTRE
nwmpmuseum.com
Made up of eight buildings and 11,000 artifacts, this historic site tells the story of Fort Macleod, the NWMP and the First Nations people in southern Alberta. The NWMP Musical Ride and the Groom-a- Horse program are popular attractions.
HEAD-SMASHED-IN BUFFALO JUMP
headsmashedin.ca
At this dramatic site near the Oldman River, Blackfoot people practised a form of group hunting for over 5,000 years. Trained “buffalo runners” drove their quarry over a cliff to be finished and butchered by the rest of the group in the camp below. The UNESCO World Heritage Site includes an interpretive centre depicting the life, myths, technology and ecology of the Blackfoot.
FRANK SLIDE INTERPRETIVE CENTRE
frankslide.ca
Tells the story of Canada’s deadliest rockslide, which in 1903 came down suddenly from Turtle Mountain onto the town of Frank, killing 90 people.
HIGH RIVER
MUSEUM OF THE HIGHWOOD
museumofthehighwood.com
Housed in the High River train station, the museum’s collection includes 45,000 objects that document the area’s history. A recent exhibit gave an account of the post-war lives of High River veterans.
LETHBRIDGE
FORT WHOOP–UP
fort.galtmuseum.com
This replica of an original fur-trading post depicts the history of the region and its people from the 1860s to the 1890s. Here Americans Healy and Hamilton engaged in illegal whisky trading, which stopped after the arrival of the NWMP in 1874.
GALT MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES
galtmuseum.com
The Galt Archives contain 17,000 artifacts and over a million documents and photographs, including those of the Lethbridge Herald, which was founded in 1905. The current exhibition, Game Play, on until March 2, explores how sports and sport culture have evolved over the years.
MEDICINE HAT
THE ESPLANADE MUSEUM
esplanade.ca
The museum preserves the material culture of southeast Alberta with over 25,000 artifacts. Have Spatula–Will Travel, on until March 1, explores the history of food, including the practices and recipes of immigrant and Indigenous populations.
MEDALTA POTTERIES
medalta.org
This century-old factory is now a National Historic Site that houses a working ceramic arts facility, a museum and an art gallery. Around the World in Clay, a group exhibition by members of the Medicine Hat Potters’ Association, is on until Apr 5.
MILK RIVER
ÁÍSÍNAI’PI (WRITING-ON-STONE)
albertaparks.ca/writing-on-stone
The Niitsitapi, or Blackfoot people, came here for centuries to record their experiences and stories in petroglyphs and pictographs at what is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
SIKSIKA
BLACKFOOT CROSSING
blackfootcrossing.ca
Treaty No. 7 was signed here in 1877. The interpretive centre has exhibits on the way of life of the Siksika Nation and treaty signatory Chief Crowfoot, whose regalia has been repatriated here.