Alberta Museums Guide 2026

Museums

Exhibitions at Alberta’s museums enlighten us about our prehistoric past, First Nations, pioneer times and present day.

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Edmonton and Area

ALBERTA AVIATION MUSEUM
albertaaviationmuseum.com
Shows the evolution of flight in Alberta from bush planes to jets. More than half of the collection housed in a Second World War aircraft hangar started out as wrecks, with volunteers working on site to restore them.

ALBERTA RAILWAY MUSEUM
albertarailwaymuseum.com
Railway stations and shops plus over 75 train cars and locomotives are on display weekends May 16 to September 7. The website has virtual tours.

FORT EDMONTON PARK
fortedmontonpark.ca
Different periods of local history are on display. The park is closed in winter except for the Indigenous Peoples Experience, an exhibit showing the diverse cultures of the First Nations and Métis people of Treaty 6, plus others, including the Inuit.

JOHN WALTER MUSEUM
edmonton.ca/john-walter-museum
This site includes three of the Walter family’s original homes, which evoke John Walter’s life and the history of Walterdale from 1870 to 1942. Free tours resume in spring on Sunday afternoons.

THE LOYAL EDMONTON REGIMENT MILITARY MUSEUM
lermuseum.org
General William Griesbach, the first commanding officer of the 49th Battalion, houses the permanent exhibition, which spans from the late 19th century to the present. The Stone Gallery, named after Colonel James Stone, a distinguished Second World War commanding officer, houses temporary displays. Outside the galleries, seven display cabinets show uniforms from various military services.

ROYAL ALBERTA MUSEUM
royalalbertamuseum.ca
This year’s feature exhibition, Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery, explores natural and cultural responses to death through artifacts, specimens and interactive experiences. It runs February 26 to September 7. One of the RAM’s many collections focuses on ornithology in Alberta. RAM is one of the few museums that still acquire and prepare specimens; they accept bird material (including window strikes) of known provenance. They also document rare bird sightings in the province and maintain the Official List of the Birds of Alberta.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA MUSEUMS
ualberta.ca/museums
One of 30 museum collections at U of A, the Anne Lambert Clothing and Textiles Collection houses more than 23,000 artifacts with local, national and international significance. Founded in 1972, it includes everyday wear and designer clothes for men, women and children from different continents spanning over 350 years.

FORT SASKATCHEWAN
THE FORT HERITAGE PRECINCT
fortheritageprecinct.ca
School programs such as Day in the Life of a Homesteader and Day in the Life of a Mountie allow students to do drills, play games and learn social dancing. Tours of the NWMP fort and historical village are available year-round.

LAMONT COUNTY
UKRAINIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE VILLAGE
ukrainianvillage.ca
A fire in April 2025 destroyed the visitor centre buildings, including reception, gift shop, exhibition galleries, offices, conservation lab, collections and curatorial storage, as well as many irreplaceable artifacts that told the stories of generations of Ukrainian Albertans. The village closed for the entire 2025 summer season so restoration could begin.

LEDUC COUNTY
CANADIAN ENERGY MUSEUM
canadianenergymuseum.ca
Originally called the Leduc #1 Energy Discovery Centre to mark the 1947 discovery of oil at the site, this museum reopens April 1 for the 2026 season.

STONY PLAIN AND PARKLAND PIONEER MUSEUM
pioneermuseum.ca
Shows what rural life was like for the people who built Alberta’s first settlements. Until April, the Cove Tea Company will host Steeped Stories Soirée, two hours of protected writing time in the tea house.

WETASKIWIN
REYNOLDS–ALBERTA MUSEUM
reynoldsmuseum.ca
A huge collection of vintage cars, trucks, motorcycles, airplanes and farm vehicles from the 1890s on. Making Tracks: Crawlers, Tractors and Snowmobiles, an exhibition running May 17–Oct 12, will feature a 1946 Lindeman tractor alongside 24 other tracked vehicles.

Calgary and Area

THE CONFLUENCE HISTORIC SITE & PARKLAND
theconfluence.ca
Formerly Fort Calgary, The Confluence recently launched Unfamiliar Perspectives: The NWMP and Canada’s Colonial Project, an exhibition that will form the foundation for an eventual permanent exhibit on the NWMP. The Confluence garden produces vegetables, sage and sweetgrass and will be partnering with the Alex Community Food Centre to provide healthy, affordable food.

GLENBOW
glenbow.org
Closed for extensive renovations since 2021, the Glenbow will reopen in 2027 with 44 exhibitions, displays and installations across eight floors. The museum’s collection, the largest in western Canada, includes over 250,000 cultural objects and works of art. A new Blackfoot Gallery will be curated by Gerald McMaster along with elders from the Piikani, Kainai and Siksika nations and the Blackfeet Nation in Montana. Admission to the museum will be free in perpetuity.

THE HANGAR FLIGHT MUSEUM
thehangarmuseum.ca
This museum celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Its collection includes over 30 military, commercial and civilian aircraft housed in a drill hall built during the Second World War. National Aviation Day, marking the anniversary of the first powered flight in Canada, will be celebrated February 23.

HERITAGE PARK
heritagepark.ca
A rare 1951 diesel-electric locomotive was recently added to the park’s rail collection of nearly 30 pieces, the first engine added in almost 50 years. With over 50,000 historical artifacts, the park documents the history of the West, from the 1860s fur trade to the rise of the automobile and petroleum industries in the 1950s, as showcased in the Gasoline Alley Museum.

LOUGHEED HOUSE
lougheedhouse.com
This National Historic Site and sandstone mansion was originally the home of Senator Sir James Lougheed and his wife, Isabella Hardisty. Archival Animals, an Exposure Photography Festival exhibition, runs until March 1 in the public green space.

THE MILITARY MUSEUMS
themilitarymuseums.ca
This site displays the history of Canada’s navy, army and air force. A recent exhibit, Propaganda! Harbingers for Today, focused on lessons from the First World War.

NATIONAL MUSIC CENTRE
studiobell.ca
The NMC received the Alberta Museums Association’s 2025 award for engagement for its Indigenous programming and Violins of Hope exhibit, presented in partnership with the Calgary Jewish Federation, which showcased restored instruments once owned by Jewish Holocaust survivors, along with stories of hope.

NICKLE GALLERIES
nickle.ucalgary.ca
Located on the University of Calgary campus, this collection has 30,000 artifacts, including art, textiles and coins. Two exhibitions, Heather Leier: Practice Pinny and Yvonne Mullock: Why don’t you…, run until April 30.

YOUTHLINK CALGARY POLICE INTERPRETIVE CENTRE
yycyouthfoundation.ca/youthlink
An interpretive centre educating youth about crime prevention and forensics. From Badges to the Battlefield, a fall 2025 presentation, used photos and storytelling to tell the history of unrest in Calgary when nearly half of the city’s police force went overseas to serve in the First World War.

AIRDRIE
NOSE CREEK VALLEY MUSEUM
nosecreekvalleymuseum.com
This museum features a collection of over 20,000 artifacts that includes farm equipment, wildlife displays, antique cars, military memorabilia and a retro barbershop display.

M.D. OF FOOTHILLS
LEIGHTON ART CENTRE
leightoncentre.org
The centre exhibits art, craft, artifacts, furniture and archival materials created or owned by the Leightons. Rooted, the 2026 juried members exhibition, explores physical and emotional relationships to the land.

OKOTOKS MUSEUM & ARCHIVES
okotoks.ca/museum-archives
A collection of artifacts and archival resources from the 1870s to today are on display at this relocated historic home.

ROCKY VIEW COUNTY
PIONEER ACRES
pioneeracres.ab.ca
An agricultural and industrial museum. The Granlea Beef Ring exhibit displays the little- known pioneer practice of the beef ring: the communal donation and sharing of meat to prevent food waste due to spoilage.

North

COLD LAKE MUSEUMS
www.coldlakemuseums.org
Four museums—Indigenous, Heritage, Oil and Gas and Air Force—tell the history of the Denesuline and Cree nations, European settlement, oil sands development and 4 Wing Cold Lake.

DEBOLT PIONEER MUSEUM
spiritofthepeace.ca/debolt-and-district-pioneer-museum
Beginning with one small log manse, the museum has expanded to include eight heritage buildings and two sheds, each presenting a pioneer theme: homemaking, farming, trapping, ranching and forestry.

FAIRVIEW PIONEER MUSEUM
spiritofthepeace.ca/fairview-pioneer-museum
Pioneer homes include the Morrison House, the Hull House and Fitzpatrick House, with antique furniture and household items on display.

FORT MCMURRAY OIL SANDS DISCOVERY CENTRE
oilsandsdiscovery.ca
Live demonstrations of how bitumen is separated from oil sands, plus an exhibit of equipment, including an 850-tonne bucketwheel excavator, that animates industrial history, science and technology.

FORT VERMILION HERITAGE CENTRE
fortvermilionheritage.com
This centre preserves regional heritage, including that of the Dene Tha’, Beaver and Cree nations. The exhibit 58° North and Farming has artifacts from the Fort Vermilion Experimental Farm, where the temperature once reached −60.6°C in 1911.

GRANDE PRAIRIE MUSEUM AND HERITAGE VILLAGE
cityofgp.com/museums
The Campbell–Rodacker gallery is named after Grande Prairie historian Isabel Campbell and businessman Mel Rodacker. The museum’s four permanent exhibits include a replica paleontological dig unearthing an Edmontosaurus, a train station replica, pioneer artifacts and murals.

LAC CARDINAL
REGIONAL PIONEER VILLAGE MUSEUM
spiritofthepeace.ca/lac-cardinal-museum
During Pioneer Day, the second Saturday in August, dozens of volunteers demonstrate how the site’s exhibits were meant to be used. Butter is churned, clothes are washed, horseshoes are hammered, lumber is cut and grain is threshed.

LAC LA BICHE MISSION
laclabichemission.com
This site received the 2025 Alberta Museums Association Award for Education for offsite and pop-up exhibits that share its collection with diverse audiences. The Reminiscence Kit program partnered with local seniors care facilities for individuals with dementia, encouraging participants to engage with artifacts and tell stories.

MUSEUM OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLES’ ART AND ARTIFACTS
portagecollege.ca/Museum
Focusing on foundational and contemporary Indigenous artists, the museum won a 2025 Canadian Architect Award for Excellence.

LA CRETE
MENNONITE HERITAGE VILLAGE
lacretemuseum.com
This village comprised of 15 heritage buildings includes a flour mill, school, sawmill and several homes and is open May to September.

MANNING
BATTLE RIVER PIONEER MUSEUM
spiritofthepeace.ca/battle-river-pioneer-museum
The taxidermy here includes a full-mount albino moose, timber wolf, cougar, grizzly bear, albino porcupine, buffalo calf, two- headed calf and other wildlife.

PEACE RIVER
MUSEUM, ARCHIVES AND MACKENZIE CENTRE
peaceriver.ca/museum
The Sir Alexander Mackenzie Gallery has examples of the types of animals trapped in the area, a replica of a fur trader’s canoe and an authentic fur press.

SEXSMITH & DISTRICT MUSEUM
www.sexsmithmuseum.com
The museum restored an Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator, which received historical designation in 2020. Tours of the grain elevator, by retired elevator agents Leif Lovrod and Mike Shmyruk, are available on request during the museum season. It is the last of nine elevators in Peace River country. Sexsmith was dubbed the “Grain Capital of the British Empire” at one time for having shipped the most grain.

WEMBLEY
PHILIP J. CURRIE DINOSAUR MUSEUM
dinomuseum.ca
Every July and August the museum offers the Secrets of the Wapiti river float, an excursion to explore sites only accessible from the water in the dinosaur-bearing Wapiti Formation. Paleontologists teach about the animals that once flourished here in a long-gone warm-temperate environment, including many species of dinosaurs, ancient crocodiles, mammals, fish, birds and reptiles.

Central

ALBERTA BEACH MUSEUM
albertabeachmuseum.ca
Visitors can explore 11 historical buildings, including the original CNR station. Special events take place on all long weekends and throughout the summer.

BANFF
LUXTON HOME
banfflakelouise.com/historic-luxton-home
This historic home of Eleanor Luxton features one of three Arts and Crafts style gardens in western Canada, with century- old lilacs and pink oriental poppies.

WHYTE MUSEUM
whyte.org
The history, art and culture of the Rocky Mountains are on display. Second Take highlights the Canadian Rockies in Hollywood films. Another exhibition, Elise Rasmussen: An Alpine Trilogy, on through April, uses photography and historical texts to explore the Alps.

BERGEN
THE MUSEUM OF FEAR & WONDER
www.fearandwonder.ca
A collection of oddities, including displays of fake meat, anatomical models and degraded dolls. Formerly located in a renovated army barracks, this museum will resume guided tours in 2026 in a new venue.

DICKSON
DANISH CANADIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
www.danishcanadianmuseum.com
Exhibiting the long history of Danish immigration. The showcase event, Viking Days, hosts historical enthusiasts for traditional food, battle re-enactments and an immersive village.

DRUMHELLER
ATLAS COAL MINE
atlascoalmine.ab.ca
This National Historic Site preserves a coal mine that operated from 1936 until 1979. Guided tours are available.

ROYAL TYRRELL MUSEUM
tyrrellmuseum.com
Over 16 million people have visited this world-renowned palaeontology museum in the 40 years since it first opened its doors in 1985.

INNISFAIL HISTORICAL VILLAGE
innisfailhistoricalvillage.ca
Features 17 buildings housing over 15,000 artifacts and one of only five 1953 Willys cars remaining in North America.

LACOMBE MUSEUM
lacombemuseum.com
The Life and Works of an Artist: Suzan Sturgeon, running until May 2, features bronze sculptures, watercolours and painted signs.

MILLET MUSEUM
milletmuseum.ca
This museum won the Alberta Museums Association 2025 Robert R. Janes Award for Social Responsibility. Collaborating with SMILES Society, Millet Seniors Association and the Millet Food Bank, it launched initiatives focused on mental health, seniors’ well-being, multiculturalism, food security and social connection. The Millet Mental Health Legacy Exhibit destigmatizes mental illness. Life in a Digital World introduces seniors to necessary digital skills.

PONOKA
FORT OSTELL MUSEUM
fortostellmuseum.com
Established in 1967, and then reopened in 1981, the museum displays agricultural and household objects from the 1800s to the present. “The History of the Care of the Mentally Ill in Alberta,” a permanent exhibition, opened in 2004.

RED DEER
ALBERTA SPORTS HALL OF FAME
albertasportshall.ca
An upcoming exhibit will explore the province’s hardest-fought sports rivalries. The Ice and Snow Gallery enables visitors to experience virtually the speed and danger of a bobsled track.

RED DEER MUSEUM + ART GALLERY
reddeermuseum.com
This museum features both a permanent collection highlighting the area’s social history, and temporary exhibitions of visual art. Milkin’ It, a new exhibition, explores the rich history of the dairy industry in the region. In the world, but not of it features photographs of Hutterite communities taken by Tim Smith over the past 15 years.

SUNNYBROOK FARM MUSEUM
sunnybrookmuseum.ca
Rural life from 1880 to 1950 is represented with preserved buildings, including Red Deer’s oldest farm and its 1903 school, as well as hands-on activities, including a chance to milk Betsy the cow.

RIMBEY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
rimbeymuseum.ca
Home to the Smithson International Truck Museum, a large collection of refurbished half-tonnes and historical licence plates.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE
ROCKY MUSEUM
www.rockymuseum.com
Showcasing the history of pioneers in the area, this museum includes the one-room Glacier School, the Brown log home and a 1917 Amherst player piano.

South

BROOKS AND DISTRICT MUSEUM
brooksregiontourism.com/brooks-museum
This museum portrays the life of early ranchers, including John Ware, Alberta’s first Black cowboy. On the property is Alberts House, the original living quarters for engineers working on the Brooks Aqueduct, at the time the largest concrete structure of its kind in the world.

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
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
Rum-running in the Crowsnest Pass during prohibition is documented in the Alberta Provincial Police barracks. The Bellevue Mine shows what it was like to dig coal.

DIAMOND VALLEY
TURNER VALLEY OILFIELD NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
turnervalleygasplant.ca
The site of Alberta’s first commercial oilfield, discovered in 1914, today has the only surviving gas plant of its kind.

FORT MACLEOD
THE FORT MUSEUM OF THE NWMP AND FIRST NATIONS INTERPRETIVE CENTRE
nwmpmuseum.com
This historic site tells the story of Fort Macleod, the NWMP and the First Nations people in southern Alberta. During the Musical Ride in July and August, riders showcase uniforms from different eras for a history lesson on horseback.

FRANK SLIDE INTERPRETIVE CENTRE
frankslide.ca
A 1903 rockslide here killed 90 people. Turtle Mountain continues to move by a few millimetres per year. Scientists say another slide will likely occur eventually.

HEAD-SMASHED-IN BUFFALO JUMP
headsmashedin.ca
This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The visitor centre, a seven-tiered building buried in a large slump block south of the jump sites, was designed by Robert LeBlond, for which he received the 1990 Governor General’s Award for Architecture.

LETHBRIDGE
FORT WHOOP–UP
fort.galtmuseum.com
This site depicts regional history from the 1860s to the 1890s, including illegal whisky trading and the NWMP’s arrival in 1874. A mid-December 2025 event, Winter Traditions, honoured Blackfoot heritage, with a fire offering ceremony, berry soup, pemmican-making, hand games and Niitsitapi language lessons.

GALT MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES
galtmuseum.com
The Galt Archives has 17,000 artifacts and a million documents and photographs. For Treasures and Curiosities, on until March 1, 100 community members young and old chose items and shared stories about them—everything from pickle jars to film projectors, swords and game consoles.

MEDICINE HAT
THE ESPLANADE MUSEUM
esplanade.ca
The Museum Gallery features an interactive exhibition, The Evolution of Medicine Hat.

MEDALTA POTTERIES
medalta.org
This century-old factory is now a National Historic Site. Cross the Ocean, an exhibition last fall, featured work by Poul Nielsen and Yulin Wang.

MILK RIVER
ÁÍSÍNAI’PI (WRITING-ON-STONE)
albertaparks.ca/writing-on-stone
The rock art collection here depicts generations of knowledge, traditions and history of the Niitsitapi, or Blackfoot people, in petroglyphs and pictographs at what is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

PINCHER CREEK
KOOTENAI BROWN PIONEER VILLAGE
www.kootenaibrown.ca
This village covers 6.5 acres, or 2.5 city blocks, with dozens of historical buildings, including the Walrond Ranch House and Kootenai Brown’s own cabin built on the Waterton River on land granted in return for his North-West Rebellion service.

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 about treaty signatory Chief Crowfoot.