Where history gets a modern makeover

Review and photos by Isabelle Harris
Guest writer from the University of Alberta’s Creative Non-Fiction writing program

I held my 9th birthday party at the old Royal Alberta Museum (RAM). All my 9-year-old friends and I had a blast running around the immersive exhibits, which were made for exploring. After crawling into a “bear’s den”, seeing life-sized recreations of dinosaurs, and even holding a few bugs, we sat on picnic tables right in front of the building and ate bite-sized brownies.

About two years before my birthday party, a $375 million decision was made to relocate the museum to a new building. In 2018, the new RAM opened its doors, and I’d heard rumours it was not up to par. Perhaps it was because of the building itself? Or maybe any additions they included weren’t particularly striking? So, seven years after its opening, I finally visited the museum to answer these questions. I also took my dad along with me for good company. 

First: no picnic tables, no green space. Immediate deterrent for any self-respecting 9-year-old’s birthday party. The new building is smack in the middle of downtown Edmonton, boxed in by sidewalks and random office towers. It boasts a modern art gallery look. To put it plainly, it is basically a big, boxy concrete structure with huge glass windows.

This exact look followed us inside the rotunda, which is so bright and large it could almost hold an exhibit itself. On a Wednesday afternoon, the museum was decently quiet. The air was so cool and empty that it felt sterile, like I’d be led to an MRI room after purchasing my $21 ticket. If only I were still a kid—children under six got in free, and it was $10 for anyone under 18.

We decided to start at the feature exhibit, Orcas: Our Shared Future, which featured projected images, videos, and text on screens—screens, screens, screens!

If I’m being honest, I could’ve experienced this entire exhibit in an IMAX movie theatre: everything but the Orca skeleton, which I liked comparing to my own size. My dad also enjoyed looking at the displayed orca fossils and pointing out their biological similarities to humans.

Taking the time to read, we uncovered a lot about orcas: their physiology, their roles in human culture, and most importantly, the impact we have on their lives. Protest artifacts from the 60s, information on orca captivity, and some pollution-related activities were all displayed to demonstrate human involvement. We enjoyed playing around with an underwater noise pollution simulation (which, yes, was also a screen). Container ship propellers are incredibly jarring above water and somehow even worse underneath. I understand why the orcas are disturbed. 

Outside of that, the exhibit felt somewhat empty, and the lack of physical elements to touch and see would have disappointed 9-year-old me (and secretly also disappointed 21-year-old me).

After Orcas, we checked out the Bug Gallery, which I remember well from the old RAM. It felt the most unchanged, and maybe that’s why I liked it: it was cozy and alive, possibly because the room was full of actual living insects. They had a variety of bugs and a few non-bugs, such as snails and scorpions. Even so, the interactivity was thin. Other than some scattered mini touch-screen games (which frankly, were quite boring), the only hands-on option was a dusty spider-web spinning activity that was practically unusable thanks to the tangle of strings.

Sadly, we left without having spun our own webs. On the bright side, we learned a lot about these creatures’ habitats and ecosystems. My favourite was the leaf bug, and my dad’s was the stick bug. We both found their camouflage quite remarkable. 

Next, we visited the Human History Hall. It is a large, dimly lit gallery showcasing Canada’s social and cultural history. Unlike the feature exhibit, this space was filled with fascinating physical artifacts instead of screens, which made it feel more real. The importance of Indigenous cultures to Canada’s history was clearly emphasized, and the traditional songs playing throughout the space added an immersive layer. 

There was also quite a bit about recent events. I enjoyed a display about a protest on sausage prices, something I wouldn’t find in any school’s history books. Despite the richness of the content, the layout was disorienting. If the aim was to present a clear chronological timeline, it didn’t quite land—I jumped from the Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump to Louis Riel’s death back to the Creation of the Hudson’s Bay Company in what felt like a blink. Either I’m terrible at navigating exhibits, or this one isn’t doing a great job guiding me.

Finally, we made our way to the Natural History Hall, home to fossils, skeletons, geodes, and the good old taxidermied animals I dearly remember from the old museum. They were still in their glass panes, with vivid landscapes behind them to demonstrate their habitats. This was my dad’s favourite section—he loved the prehistoric fossils and dinosaur skeletons. Notably, we got to see a giant sloth skeleton. I didn’t know these actually existed—I thought they were a creative invention of the Ice Age movies.

This section had some fun activities. However, half of them were broken or unusable in some way. For example, one station to test the conductivity of a rock wasn’t working. Also, a scale to test how many humans it takes to outweigh a bison was out of order. I won’t sell them out completely, though. I got to test the magnetism and fluorescence of some stones, which I’m sure a rock enthusiast would appreciate.

One undeniably awesome thing was the gift shop. It was jam-packed with stuffed animals, toys, experiment kits, books, and much more. I could have spent at least an hour browsing all the different merchandise and flipping through the books. If you’re hunting for someone’s birthday present, may I suggest popping into this gift shop instead of heading to the mall? They even have birthday cards—one stop, done!

I’ll admit, I’m biased. Having visited many museums—including the old RAM—I’ve experienced the same history in a much more immersive and interactive way. I often felt like a mere viewer when I really wanted to be an experiencer. It was also disappointing to find a lot of activities unusable or on screens (except for the Children’s Gallery, which was only for kids under 8; my dad and I did not go). Would I revisit the museum? Sure. Would I revisit it in the next few years? Probably not. One thing I can say for sure is that I wouldn’t choose this museum for my future 9-year-old’s birthday party—maybe to get their gift though!

Royal Alberta Museum
9810 103a Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 0G2
825-468-6000
website