Royal Tyrrell Museum

Table of Contents

Introduction

If you are fascinated by prehistoric life, fossils, and the deep history of Earth, a visit to the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is a must. Located six kilometres northwest of Drumheller, in Midland Provincial Park, in the province of Alberta, the museum offers visitors an immersive window into nearly four billion years of life on Earth. Whether you are a family travelling with children, a student, a scholar, or simply someone with curiosity about dinosaurs and ancient life, the Royal Tyrrell Museum provides a rich and inspiring journey through time.

About the Museum

The Royal Tyrrell Museum is dedicated to palaeontology — the study of life in the geological past, preserved as fossils. The museum houses galleries and exhibit spaces that trace life’s evolution from its earliest beginnings to the more familiar flora and fauna that followed the age of dinosaurs. Its hour-and-admission schedule varies by season: during the warmest months (May fifteenth to August thirty-first), the museum is open every day from nine in the morning until nine in the evening (last entry one hour before closing), while during the rest of the year (from September first through May fourteenth) it is open Tuesday through Sunday from ten in the morning until five in the afternoon (again, no entry after four). It is closed on Mondays except when that Monday is a holiday.

Visitors to the museum can walk through a variety of permanent exhibits, each designed to emphasise different periods of Earth’s history, scientific themes, or outstanding fossil discoveries. Some of these include galleries like Dinosaur Hall, which displays one of the world’s largest collections of dinosaur remains — from massive predators like Tyrannosaurus rex to well-known herbivores such as Triceratops. Another gallery, Cenozoic Gallery, explores life following the mass extinction event sixty-six million years ago and how mammals rose to prominence. Meanwhile, First Life shows the origin of life, featuring some of the oldest known fossils in Alberta as well as creatures of the Burgess Shale, with interactive displays, models, and videos.

Other exhibits include Foundations, which introduces visitors to the essential principles of geology, fossilization, evolution, and the fossil record of Alberta, using over ninety specimens. Fossils in Focus highlights significant specimens from the museum’s research collection, with changing displays so each visit can reveal something new. Cretaceous Alberta offers a snapshot of Alberta about sixty-nine million years ago, recreating scenes of Albertosaurus family units moving through landscapes based on fossil evidence. Triassic Giant features the enormous marine reptile Shonisaurus sikanniensis, one of the most spectacular fossils in its class. There is also Breakthroughs, an exhibit focusing on five exceptional Alberta fossils that have changed scientific understanding.

Beyond exhibits, there are numerous educational programs, special events, and opportunities to learn — for example through virtual visits or distance learning programs. These allow learners from near and far to explore the galleries, attend guided sessions, and understand how scientists do their work. The museum also operates research programs, maintaining a vast fossil collection, carrying out excavations, preparing specimens, and supporting scientific inquiry.

Interesting Facts

The museum’s exhibits cover about 3.9 billion years of Earth’s history, from the origin of life through to recent epochs.
In Dinosaur Hall, among its treasures, visitors can see Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Camarasaurus, and other dinosaur giants, in one of the world’s largest dinosaur-remains displays.
Shonisaurus sikanniensis, one of the world’s largest marine reptiles, is featured in Triassic Giant. The specimen is about twenty-one metres long, and was excavated over multiple field sessions from a remote location in northeastern British Columbia.
Cretaceous Alberta is inspired by work done in Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, and depicts a family of Albertosaurus moving through a landscape based on fossil finds.
Fossils in Focus includes the best preserved, most complete Triceratops skull known from Canada, displayed for the first time.
The exhibit Foundations uses over ninety specimens to help understand major themes such as fossilization, geology, and evolution.
The museum acknowledges that it sits on ancestral and traditional lands of several Indigenous peoples, including those of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut’ina First Nation, the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, and the Métis Nation in the Treaty Seven region.

Photo Gallery

Physical Location

Contact Details

Phone: +14 03 823 7707

Website: tyrrellmuseum.com/

Facebook: facebook.com/RoyalTyrrellMuseum

Conclusion

The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is more than just a display of fossils: it is a storybook of life itself, offering insight into ancient oceans, forests, and creatures that walked the Earth long before humans. For any traveller intrigued by natural history, science, or the sheer wonder of deep time, visiting this museum provides both educational depth and awe-inspiring spectacle. Whether you spend a few hours exploring the dinosaur skeletons, take time in the interactive First Life exhibit, or simply gaze at the massive Triassic Giant, there is energy, discovery, and beauty at every turn. If you plan your trip when the museum is open, you will leave with a renewed appreciation for how life on Earth has changed — and for how much there remains to learn.