Royal Alberta Museum: Difference between revisions

| captionname = New building in August 2016 = Royal Alberta Museum

|map_type caption = The Royal Alberta Museum located in downtown Edmonton

|location map_caption = 9810Location 103ain Ave NW<br />[[Edmonton]], [[Alberta]], [[Canada]]<br />T5J 0G2

|architect collection_size = Raymond O. Harrison (1967)<br />[[Ledcor Group of Companies|Ledcor]]2, DIALOG (2017)000,000<ref name="ArchCollection">{{cite web|title=BackgroundQuick - Architectural ConceptFacts|url=http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/newvisit/about/backgroundquickFacts.cfm|website=Royal Alberta Museum|publisher=Government of Alberta|accessdateaccess-date=5 September 2016}}</ref>

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 82,000 square feet of{{convert|82000|sqft|m2|order=flip}} exhibition space and 419,000{{convert|419000|sqft|m2|order=flip}} totalin square footagetotal.

The museum was established by the [[Government of Alberta]] in December 1967 as the '''Provincial Museum of Alberta'''. The museum received royal patronage from Queen [[Elizabeth II]], and was renamed the Royal Alberta Museum in 2005. In 2011, plans were announced to move the museum to a new building. The museum'smuseums continued to operate from its original building in [[Glenora, Edmonton]] until it was closed to the public in December 2015. Although the museum was closed to the public, a number of its departments continued to operate, either preparing the museum's collection for the move,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/royal-alberta-museum-prepares-for-the-move-downtown-1.3407345|title=Royal Alberta Museum prepares for the move downtown|date=17 January 2016|accessdateaccess-date=7 August 2019|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|work=CBC News}}</ref> or conducting [[field research|fieldwork]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3179491/royal-alberta-museum-to-crack-open-1600-year-old-roasting-pit-with-meal-still-inside/|title=Royal Alberta Museum to crack open 1,600-year-old roasting pit with meal still inside|last=Dreidger|first=Brenton|work=Global News|date=13 January 2017|accessdateaccess-date=7 August 2019|publisher=Corus Entertainment Inc}}</ref> The new building was completed in August 2016, and was opened to the public in October 2018.

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, 7,000-square-foot{{convert|7000|sqft|m2|order=flip}} dedicated children's gallery, and a bug room with live invertebrates and visible nursery.

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 SuperintendantSuperintendent 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"/>

A temporary exhibit called "The Bug Room" in the summer of 1992 featured live insects, and it was so successful that the museum decided to bring it back as a larger and permanent component of the museum in 1993.<ref name="past"/> A new permanent "Earth Science Gallery" was partially opened in December 1993, though not fully completed until the following May.<ref name="past"/> Also in 1993, the museum launched the "In All Their Finery" exhibit of aboriginal artifacts as the first phase of the larger "Syncrude Gallery of Aboriginal Culture." The complete Syncrude gallery was inaugurated years later in November 1997.<ref name="past"/> This gallery was later complemented with a large purchase from the family of [[James Carnegie, 9th Earl of Southesk|James Carnegie]] at a [[Sotheby's]] auction on 8 May 2006. The sale of the "James Carnegie Collection" was billed as the most significant auction of North American Indian artifacts to date, including a prized beaded dress collected in 1859 which cost USD US$497,600.<ref>[[The Globe and Mail]]. [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060509.NATIVEART09/TPStory/National Museum digs deep to acquire native artifacts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906235215/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060509.NATIVEART09/TPStory/National |date=2008-09-06 }}</ref>

In 2003, the Habitat Gallery was greatly renovated into a new "Wild Alberta" interactive exhibit.<ref name="past"/> From 2002 to 2006, the Royal Alberta Museum hosted the [[North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop]]'s groundbreaking "[[Big Things]]" outdoor sculpture exhibition series on the South Terrace.<ref name="RAM">{{Cite web|url=http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/exhibits/past.cfm|title=Royal Alberta Museum: Past Exhibits}}</ref><ref name="CEBT">Gilbert Bouchard, “Come to Expect ‘Big Things’”, Edmonton Journal, July 19, 2002</ref><ref name="SUN">Erik Floren, “Big Impressions”, The Edmonton Sunday Sun, July 28, 2002</ref><ref name="EE">Mike Berezowsky, “Sculpture Exhibit Gets a Big Response”, Edmonton Examiner, September 11, 2002</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=a9396ebb-41b3-43e3-a425-564e244d4140|title="Multiple Directions Merge In Single Exhibit”Exhibit", Edmonton Journal, October 5, 2007}}</ref><ref>Gilbert Bouchard, “Bianca Khan's One-Tonne Challenge”, Edmonton Journal, July 23.</ref><ref>Mari Sasano, “The Museum Wants You To Think Big. Really Big”, Edmonton Journal, August 25, 2006</ref>

In 2005, Alberta's centennial year, the [[North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop|NESW]] produced the RAM's Alberta Centennial Sculpture Exhibition,<ref name="RAM" /> and on 24 May 2005, [[MonarchyElizabeth in CanadaII|Queen Elizabeth II]] visited, bestowing royal patronage.<ref name="RAM Name">Royal{{cite Albertaweb Museum.|title=Royal [Visit |url=http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/general/roy_vis.htm Royal|website=royalalbertamuseum.ca Visit]|publisher=Government of Alberta {{webarchive|access-date=December 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051213195245/http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/general/roy_vis.htm |archive-date=2005-12-December 13, 2005 |date=September 14, 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> On December 6, 2015, the museum closed down 48 years after its opening in 1967 to move to a new location.<ref name="Closing">{{cite news|last1=Heidenreich|first1=Phil|title=Edmontonians say farewell to Royal Alberta Museum in Glenora|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/2385158/edmontonians-say-farewell-to-royal-alberta-museum-in-glenora/|accessdateaccess-date=5 September 2016|agency=Global News Edmonton|publisher=Corus Entertainment Inc.|date=7 December 2015}}</ref>

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 will containcontains twice as much gallery space, was estimated to cost $340 million, and bewas 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|accessdateaccess-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|accessdateaccess-date=April 7, 2011|date=April 7, 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410061848/http://www.edmontonjournal.com/travel/Downtown+Edmonton+site/4576854/story.html|archivedatearchive-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 12th12, 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|accessdate=|location=}}</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|last2=|first2=|location=Edmonton}}</ref> The new building is the largest museum in western Canada with more than 82,000 square feet{{convert|82000|sqft|m2|order=flip}} of exhibition space and 419,000 total square footage{{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-square-foot|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>]]

*Earth Science: Archaeology, Geology, Quaternary Paleontology, and Quaternary Environments -– 9,224,075 objects

*Human History: Ethnology, Cultural Studies (formerly Folk Life), Military and Political History (formerly Government History) and Western Canadian History -– 137,610 objects

*Collections Services: Collections Management, Conservation, Information Resource Management, Resource Library -– 70,103 objects<ref name="Royal Alberta Museum Website"/>

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|accessdateaccess-date=21 March 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531170442/http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/general/q-facts.htm|archivedatearchive-date=31 May 2012}}</ref>

* Human history hall: This Hall shares the History of Alberta's past and it'sits 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>

* Bug Gallery: This gallery displays insects, spiders and other invertebrates from both Alberta and the world. This galleries contains stories such as: What is an invertebrate, Metamorphosis, Ambush predators, Finding a mate , Reef Conservation , Social Insects, Warning colours, Freshwater Diversity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://royalalbertamuseum.ca/visit/galleries/bug-gallery/index.cfm|title=Bug Gallery 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 |title=Royal Alberta Museum: Natural History Gallery |website=www.royalalbertamuseum.ca |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.