Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology

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Cleaning and preparing a fossil at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Alberta, Canada
Cleaning and preparing a fossil at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Alberta, Canada
Outside the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
Outside the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
A detail of "The Story of Life" life mural, sculpted by renowned Canadian artist Lorraine Malach, just inside the Museum's entrance.
A detail of "The Story of Life" life mural, sculpted by renowned Canadian artist Lorraine Malach, just inside the Museum's entrance.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum is located in Midland Provincial Park 6 kilometres from Drumheller, Alberta, Canada. It is 135 kilometres from Calgary. It is known the world over as an outstanding palaeontology museum and research facility. It is named in honour of Joseph Burr Tyrrell (1858-1957). It was opened in 1985 and given "royal" status as a significant resource by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990. Its mission is to preserve, protect, present and interpret palaeontological history, with special reference to Alberta's extensive fossil heritage. The museum is operated by the Alberta Government's Ministry of Culture and Community Spirit. Bruce Naylor was the Director of the Royal Tyrrell Museum from 1992 until his death in April, 2007. Under his direction, an ambitious exhibit renewal program was established - with 21,000 square feet (2,000 m²) of brand new gallery space completed in 2006-2007 alone.

Albertosaurus at Royal Tyrrell Museum
Albertosaurus at Royal Tyrrell Museum

A series of dramatic, chronological galleries feature exhibits celebrating the spectacular 3.9 billion year history of life on Earth. Among them are hundreds of dinosaur fossils; a large collection of Burgess shale fossils; a life-size model of a reef from the Devonian Period; and a living Cretaceous garden with over 600 species of plants. 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, a hands-on science hall, simulated fossil digs, fossil casting, school programs, summer camps for both children and families, and many other programs.

In its first year of operation, the museum attracted over 600,000 visitors. Currently, well over three hundred thousand people pass through the doors on an annual basis.[1]

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