Get up-close to the original Albertosaurus, wander around the feet of standing dinosaurs and take a guided tramping tour through the Canadian Badlands.
135 kilometres from Calgary, the Royal Tyrrell Museum is a fascinating insight into the prehistoric world of dinosaurs. Situated in the heart of the Canadian Badlands, it is the ideal spot to get involved in an excavation or wander the eerie landscape through sandstone hoodoo columns.The more than 125,000 fossils housed in the Royal Tyrrell Museum are displayed in chronological order, from the early insect life of the Palaeozoic Era right through to the Ice Age inhabitants of the Cainozoic Era. All counted, these exhibits encompass 3.9 billion years of life on Earth – a pretty staggering figure by anyone's standards!One of the highlights of the museum has to be a visit to the Dinosaur Hall. Within the walls of the hall, 40 articulated dinosaur skeletons stand tall and proud. Wander at your leisure around the feet of the impressive triceratops and plesiosaur among others and prepare to be amazed, not just by the creatures' sheer scale, but by their surprising beauty too.Continue your fascinating fossil exploration in the Lords of the Land exhibit. Dominated by the skull of a Tyrannosaurus rex, this is where the Albertosaurus is housed the dinosaur stumbled upon by J.B Tyrrell in 1884 while searching for coal seams. The Cretaceous Alberta section of the museum gives you a second look at the Albertosaurus – this time in the flesh, while a move into the Cretaceous Garden will transport you to a real-life version of prehistoric Alberta. Populated by contemporary relatives of the plants that would have flourished at the time, the garden is also home to a variety of salamanders, lizards and fire-bellied toads that keep the plants pest-free.Moving even further back in time, the Devonian Reef Exhibit gives an insight into what the Alberta Badlands would have looked like when they were underwater. Tramping tours through the hoodoo formations of the landscape as it appears today run every day in the summer and autumn months, and on weekends during the spring.There are a number of other activities available at the museum that will allow you to get your hands dirty. Head over to the excavation site to test your digging technique, and make a fossil cast to remember your visit by.The Royal Tyrrell Museum is 135 kilometres by road from Calgary, and there is plenty of free on-site parking. There is a standard charge to enter the museum, as well as additional charges for the various organised activities. Opening hours vary according to the time of year, so check the website for up-to-date information before your visit.
