Royal Tyrrell Museum

Alberta - The Royal Tyrrell Museum
By Michael Russell

Drumheller, Alberta is about a two hour drive northeast from Calgary on Hwy 9. Most visitors are unprepared for how suddenly the terrain changes. You are driving along a fairly typical prairie road, when out of the blue, the Canadian Badlands appear. Reminiscent of the moon's surface, the Badlands were formed in prehistoric times by wind, water and ice. Alberta was once swampy, coastal lowland and the combination of the remains of these ancient ocean floors and erosion created the geological formations that we see today. Huge hills dot the roadside, their black, brown and reddish layers visible to the naked eye. 70 million years of geological history has been unearthed within these layers. It's like going back in time.

The Visitor Information Center in Drumheller is easy to find as it's right next to the World's Largest Dinosaur. After stacking up on brochures, you can head toward the World's Largest Dinosaur entrance. Approximately 4.5 times bigger than a life size Tyrannosaurus Rex, you have to climb 106 stairs to reach the dinosaur's mouth - 25 meters from the ground. Walking out onto the T-Rex's lower jaw gives you an unbeatable view of the Canadian Badlands.

Millions and millions of years ago, dinosaurs called the Badlands home. Their fossilized remains have made the area famous - the Badlands have one of the most abundant dinosaur fossil depositories in the world. The valley's riverbeds were thick with sediment that covered the carcasses of deceased dinosaurs and preserved them. Considering that less than 1% of the dinosaur population was preserved, it's a spectacular discovery.

It's no surprise then that The Royal Tyrrell Museum, the only Canadian institution devoted entirely to paleontology, is located in Drumheller. To get to the museum, follow the Dinosaur Trail highway signs.

The Royal Tyrrell attracts 385,000 visitors from around the globe annually. One of the largest exhibits of dinosaurs in the world, the museum displays more than 35 dinosaur skeletons along with 10 full size models to help you imagine what they actually looked like. A walk through the museum is a fast forward journey through 3.5 billions years of life on Earth. You don't have to be a paleontologist to appreciate the Royal Tyrrell's exhibits - those who know nothing about the prehistoric creatures will enjoy the museum as much as dinosaur fanatics. It's truly fascinating.