The Royal Alberta Museum opened to the public in 1967 in the capital city of Edmonton and it remained a popular tourist attraction for decades. Eventually, after a period of stagnation, there was a decision to build a brand-new museum in a different location. In late 2018, at a cost of close to $400 million Canadian, the new facility opened to the public.
The new museum has an extensive Natural History Gallery, which uses the old dioramas from the previous site. Those dioramas are spectacular, appearing to have no glass as at times it's difficult to tell if there is glass there at all. Along with the taxidermy specimens of wildlife found in Alberta, there are many representatives of the Ice Age in the fossil-rich province. Elsewhere in the museum, there is a Human History Gallery, which focuses mainly on Indigenous peoples of Western Canada. There is also a Feature/Temporary Gallery, a Children's Gallery, a Bug Gallery, as well as a Cafe and an excellent Gift Shop. I highly recommend a visit to anyone in the area.
The Bug Gallery qualifies the Royal Alberta Museum as a 'zoo' (my 522nd all-time) as in that one room there is an extensive collection of 40 exhibits. There's nothing truly innovative, but everything is very tastefully designed and the terrariums are the typical sort found in insect zoos.
There's a nice little Coral Reef tank filled with various small creatures, as well as these 43 species:
Northern Crayfish
Caribbean Rock Mantis Shrimp
Water Flea
Water Snail
Giant East African Snail
Giant African Millipede
Vinegaroon
Arizona Desert Centipede
Giant Tailless Whip Scorpion
Northern Scorpion
Desert Hairy Scorpion
Goldenrod Crab Spider
European House Spider
Jewel Spider
Malaysian Huntsman Spider
Golden Silk Orb Weaver Spider
Goliath Bird Eating Spider
Western Black Widow
Mexican Black Widow
Singapore Blue Tarantula
Mexican Red-knee Tarantula
Indian Ornamental Tarantula
Stalk-eyed Fly
European Paper Wasp
Carpenter Ant
Velvet Ant
Common Indian Walking Stick Insect
Jungle Nymph Stick Insect
Macleay's Spectre Stick Insect
Leaf Insect
Dragon-headed Katydid
Orchid Mantis
Giant African Lined Mantis
Water Strider
Southwestern Giant Water Bug
White-eyed Assassin Bug
African Chafer Beetle
Death-feigning Beetle
Darkling Beetle
Hercules Rhinoceros Beetle
Tiger Beetle
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Giant Tropical Cockroach
Plus these two:
Western Painted Turtle - in separate Natural History gallery
Northern Pike - in separate Natural History gallery
The new museum has an extensive Natural History Gallery, which uses the old dioramas from the previous site. Those dioramas are spectacular, appearing to have no glass as at times it's difficult to tell if there is glass there at all. Along with the taxidermy specimens of wildlife found in Alberta, there are many representatives of the Ice Age in the fossil-rich province. Elsewhere in the museum, there is a Human History Gallery, which focuses mainly on Indigenous peoples of Western Canada. There is also a Feature/Temporary Gallery, a Children's Gallery, a Bug Gallery, as well as a Cafe and an excellent Gift Shop. I highly recommend a visit to anyone in the area.
The Bug Gallery qualifies the Royal Alberta Museum as a 'zoo' (my 522nd all-time) as in that one room there is an extensive collection of 40 exhibits. There's nothing truly innovative, but everything is very tastefully designed and the terrariums are the typical sort found in insect zoos.
There's a nice little Coral Reef tank filled with various small creatures, as well as these 43 species:
Northern Crayfish
Caribbean Rock Mantis Shrimp
Water Flea
Water Snail
Giant East African Snail
Giant African Millipede
Vinegaroon
Arizona Desert Centipede
Giant Tailless Whip Scorpion
Northern Scorpion
Desert Hairy Scorpion
Goldenrod Crab Spider
European House Spider
Jewel Spider
Malaysian Huntsman Spider
Golden Silk Orb Weaver Spider
Goliath Bird Eating Spider
Western Black Widow
Mexican Black Widow
Singapore Blue Tarantula
Mexican Red-knee Tarantula
Indian Ornamental Tarantula
Stalk-eyed Fly
European Paper Wasp
Carpenter Ant
Velvet Ant
Common Indian Walking Stick Insect
Jungle Nymph Stick Insect
Macleay's Spectre Stick Insect
Leaf Insect
Dragon-headed Katydid
Orchid Mantis
Giant African Lined Mantis
Water Strider
Southwestern Giant Water Bug
White-eyed Assassin Bug
African Chafer Beetle
Death-feigning Beetle
Darkling Beetle
Hercules Rhinoceros Beetle
Tiger Beetle
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Giant Tropical Cockroach
Plus these two:
Western Painted Turtle - in separate Natural History gallery
Northern Pike - in separate Natural History gallery