Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology - Drumheller, AB
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T0SHEA
N 51° 28.760 W 112° 47.357
12U E 375749 N 5704648
When Western Canadians thinks of fossils, palaeontology or dinosaurs, The Alberta Badlands, Drumheller and The Royal Tyrrell Museum are what immediately jump into their heads.
Waymark Code: WMT2R8
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 09/15/2016
Views: 6
The Royal Tyrrell is a world class palaeontological museum set right in the badlands and is a leading centre of palaeontological research. Their collection contains over 130,000 fossils. It is located 6 km. northwest of the City of Drumheller.
The museum was named to honor Joseph Tyrrell, the geologist who, in 1884, was the first to find fossils in the badlands. "The Badlands" is an area in the Red Deer River Valley surrounding Drumheller which has been exposed by erosion and glacial action, unearthing thousands of fossils in the process.
The museum itself is 121,000 square feet in size, 47,000 square feet of which are devoted to public exhibits.
One of the most popular [exhibits] is "Dinosaur Hall", with almost 40 mounted dinosaur skeletons, including specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex and Albertosaurus. Other exhibits include "Lords of the Land"; "Burgess Shale", a diorama of dozens of creatures from Yoho National Park in British Columbia; "Devonian Reef", a life-size model of a 375 million year old reef; a "Cretaceous Garden", with over 600 living species of plants, and "Age of Mammals" and "Ice Ages" which cover mammalian life in the Cenozoic.
A diorama painted by Vladimir Krb, "Triassic Giant", is a 1,700 square foot (160 m2) specimen of the largest known marine reptile. The 21 metres (69 ft) long ichthyosaur Shastasaurus sikanniensis was recovered from the shores of the Sikanni Chief River in northeastern British Columbia by a team led by Elizabeth Nicholls, former curator of Marine Reptiles. This exhibit pays homage to the work of Nicholls, who died in 2004.
A window into the "Preparation Lab" allows visitors to watch technicians as they carefully prepare fossils for research and exhibition. Additional offerings include guided and self-guided tours of the badlands, the hands-on "Nexen Science Hall" with interactive stations that introduce important palaeontological concepts, simulated fossil digs, fossil casting, school programs, summer camps for both children and families, and much more.
Anyone who is the least bit interested in the field of palaeontology, or even simply wishes to see fill size dinosaur representations, should visit this museum if at all possible. It is truly awesome.