The Royal Alberta Museum in downtown Edmonton is the largest museum in western Canada and the natural place to start making sense of the province's deep history. The collection spans human history — from the Indigenous peoples who have lived in the region for thousands of years, through European contact and the fur trade, to the ranching and oil eras that shaped modern Alberta.
The natural history galleries cover Alberta's remarkable prehistoric past. The province is one of the world's great dinosaur territories, and the museum makes the most of that — the Cretaceous Hall is substantial, with specimens from local excavations rather than generic casts. The Syncrude Gallery of Aboriginal Culture is one of the most comprehensive presentations of Indigenous history and contemporary culture anywhere in Canada.
Plan at least three hours. The building itself — opened in 2018 on the north side of Churchill Square — is worth examining: the exterior uses Alberta sandstone and the interior is flooded with natural light. Admission is charged; free on Tuesday afternoons.