The Galt Museum sits at the edge of the Oldman River valley on Scenic Drive, overlooking the coulee and the river below. It is the largest museum in southern Alberta, and its collection covers the history of Lethbridge and the surrounding region from its earliest Indigenous inhabitants through the coal mining era, the Japanese-Canadian community, and the development of irrigation agriculture.
The building itself is worth seeing — a handsome brick Edwardian structure that has been well preserved — and the location on the valley rim means the views from some of the windows are as good as anything in town. The archives hold an extensive collection of photographs and records relating to southern Alberta history, useful for anyone researching the region. The museum is not huge, but it is well-curated and honest about the region's complicated colonial history. Allow two hours.