Royal Alberta Museum: Difference between revisions

| name = Royal Alberta Museum

| image logo_caption = Royal AlbertaLogo Museumsince New.jpg2018

|logo caption = The Royal AbAlberta Museum Logo.svglocated in downtown Edmonton

|map_type logo_upright = Edmontonyes

The '''Royal Alberta Museum''' ('''RAM''') is a [[museum]] of [[human history|human]] and [[natural history]] in [[Downtown Edmonton]], [[Alberta]], Canada. The museum is, located in [[Downtown Edmonton]], north of [[Edmonton City Hall|City Hall]]. The museum is the largest in [[western Canada]] with more than {{convert|82000|sqft|m2|order=flip}} exhibition space and {{convert|419000|sqft|m2|order=flip}} in total.

The museum opened to the public December 6, 1967 as the Provincial Museum of Alberta. On opening day, the museum's main floor featured galleries presenting the [[North American fur trade|fur trade]]; [[First Nations in Alberta|nativeIndigenous peoplesPeoples ofin Alberta]]; early photographs of [[Aboriginal peoples in Canada|aboriginalAboriginal people]] taken by [[Ernest Brown (photographer)|Ernest Brown]] and [[Harry Pollard (photographer)|Harry Pollard]]. Second floor galleries were less incomplete, but featured exhibits on agriculture; "[[Settler|pioneer]]" life; and industry and commerce.<ref name="past">[http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/exhibits/past.cfm Past Exhibits], Royal Alberta Museum</ref> The museum expanded through the 1960s and 1970s with more exhibits, curatorial programs and staff. In 1968, new exhibits portraying Alberta's dinosaurs and "Adaptations for Survival" were added to the natural history section, and permanent exhibits of "Vehicles of Alberta's Past", "Uniforms of RCMP Superintendent H. C. Forbes", "R. R. Gonsett, Inventor" and "Early Building in Saskatchewan" were added to the human history section.<ref name="past"/> In 1969, exhibits on volcanos, the [[Thrush (bird)|thrush]] family were added to that natural history gallery, and displays of "Domestic Artifacts of Utility", the history of aboriginalIndigenous peoplepeoples (including a display of Blackfoot clothing), and new agricultural artifacts were added to the human history gallery. The same year, a diorama of [[Pronghorn]]s was created as the first of sixteen planned displays of Alberta's natural habitat.<ref name="past"/>

In April 2011, it was announced that a new building for the Royal Alberta Museum would be built in [[Downtown Edmonton]], north of the [[Edmonton City Hall|city hall]] and [[Law Courts (Edmonton)|Law Courts]], and east of the [[CN Tower (Edmonton)|CN Tower]], on the land formerly occupied by [[Canada Post]]'s Edmonton station. The {{convert|36000|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} building, which contains twice as much gallery space, was estimated to cost $340 million, and was completed in 2015. Premier [[Ed Stelmach|Stelmach]] and the Alberta government have said that the location of the new building could be used for the terminal of an [[High-speed rail in Canada#Edmonton – Calgary|Edmonton—Calgary high speed rail line]], while the old location will be the site for a new residence for the [[Lieutenant Governor of Alberta|Lieutenant Governor]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Royal Alberta Museum to be built in downtown Edmonton|url=httphttps://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2011/04/07/edmonton-royal-alberta-museum-to-be-built-in-downtown-edmonton-1.html1028612|work=CBC News|access-date=April 7, 2011|date=April 7, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Downtown Edmonton site of new RAM|url=https://edmontonjournal.com/travel/Downtown+Edmonton+site/4576854/story.html|work=Edmonton Journal|access-date=April 7, 2011|date=April 7, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410061848/http://www.edmontonjournal.com/travel/Downtown+Edmonton+site/4576854/story.html|archive-date=April 10, 2011}}</ref>

Construction of the new building was completed on August 16, 2016, and the opening date of October 3, 2018, was announced on September 12, 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/new-royal-alberta-museum-set-to-open-in-downtown-edmonton-on-oct-3|title=New Royal Alberta Museum set to open in downtown Edmonton on Oct. 3|last=Franson|first=Jason|date=12 September 2018|work=National Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/new-royal-alberta-museum-will-oct-3-with-six-free-days-of-entry|title=New Royal Alberta Museum will open Oct. 3 with six free days of entry|last1=Gerein|first1=Keith|date=12 September 2018|work=Edmonton Journal|location=Edmonton}}</ref> The new building is the largest museum in western Canada with more than {{convert|82000|sqft|m2|order=flip}} of exhibition space and {{convert|419000|sqft|m2|order=flip}}. The museum features expansive galleries chronicling Alberta's natural and cultural worlds, a feature gallery showcasing travelling exhibitions from Canada and around the world, an interactive, {{convert|7,000|sqft|m2|order=flip}} dedicated children's gallery, and a bigger bug room with live invertebrates and visible nursery. The total cost of the new building and moving is estimated around [[Canadian dollar|CAD]] $375.5 million, with $253 million from the Government of Alberta, and $122.5 million from the federal government Building Canada Fund.[[<ref>{{cite web|title=Museum on the Move FAQ|url=http://royalalbertamuseum.ca/new/faq.cfm|website=Royal Alberta Museum#cite|publisher=Government note-cost-of Alberta|accessdate=5 September 2016}} {{verify source |<sup>[date=September 2023 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/778696602 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/768619599 cite #5 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC_bot/Job_18]]}}</supref>]]

Between 1989 and 2001, 175 travelling exhibitions were displayed at the museum. Some of which include: ''Prehistorics Gigantics'' (1990), ''Whales! Bigger than Dinosaurs'' (1992), ''Sharks: Facts and Fantasy'' (1993), ''Masters of the Night: The True Story of Bats'' (1994), ''CamosaursCarnosaurs!'' (1995), ''Bugsworld'' (1996), ''Genghis Khan'' (1997), ''Syria-Land of Civilizations'' (2001) and ''International Wildlife Photographer of the Year'' (2003).<ref name="Royal Alberta Museum Website">{{cite web|title=Royal Alberta Museum Website|url=http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/general/q-facts.htm|access-date=21 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531170442/http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/general/q-facts.htm|archive-date=31 May 2012}}</ref>

* Human history hall: This Hall shares the History of Alberta's past and its people. This hall contains six sections which includes: Ancestral Lands ( history, lifestyles of indigenous people who have lived in parts of Alberta), Worlds meet (multiple perspectives of cultural and economics exchange between indigenous and European newcomers from 1680 to 1880), After buffalo (stories between 1859 and 1900 about resistance and resilience, suffering and hope in Alberta), Alberta forms ( stories from 1880s about Alberta becoming a province, looking into economics, culture, spiritual beliefs and political beliefs), Alberta Transforms ( stories in post- 1945 Alberta, oil, population growth, arts archaic attitudes towards healthcare and the awakening of equal rights), What makes us strong (the sharing of knowledge and values of Alberta's various indigenous communities).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://royalalbertamuseum.ca/visit/galleries/human-history-hall/index.cfm|title=Human History Hall at the RAM|website=royalalbertamuseum.ca}}</ref>

* Natural History Gallery: This gallery was home to the popular "Bug Room", where some of the world's largest bugs are on display.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/gallery/nathist/info.htm {{Dead|title=Royal Alberta Museum: Natural History Gallery link|datewebsite=Februarywww.royalalbertamuseum.ca 2022|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060103210737/http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/gallery/nathist/info.htm |archive-date=2006-01-03}} </ref> The gallery also boasted an area dedicated to the vegetation of Alberta as well as the birds that make Alberta home. The entrance to the gallery housed a large geology exhibit containing gems and rocks, as well as a collection of the rocks that make up the landscape of Alberta.