Travel looks very different in 2020/21 depending on where you’re from and where you’re going. Please, be sure to check local, state/provincial and federal restrictions and be willing to adhere to any and all safety regulations before planning a trip to any of the places you may read about on this site.
Due to Covid Restrictions the museum is currently closed so check back to their website for info on opening. If you would like to explore a little online (or maybe add to your homeschooling) check out their RTMP FROM HOME program.
As I mentioned in this post about Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, we were travelling around a bit of Alberta.
A big part of Alberta culture is their paleontology and so, what better way to immerse ourselves in paleontology then to sleep over in a dinosaur museum! The Royal Tyrrell Museum to be exact.
Just hanging out, you know, walking with dinosaurs. 🙂
About The Royal Tyrrell Museum
The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is Canada’s only museum dedicated exclusively to the study of ancient life. In addition to featuring one of the world’s largest displays of dinosaurs, they offer a wide variety of creative, fun, and educational programs that bring the prehistoric past to life.
The Museum is operated by the Government of Alberta under the Ministry of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women.
On August 12, 1884, Joseph Burr Tyrrell (TEER-uhl), a geologist with the Geological Survey of Canada, found the 70-million-year-old skull of a carnivorous dinosaur near present-day Drumheller. Tyrrell’s find was named Albertosaurus sarcophagus (“flesh-eating lizard from Alberta”) in 1905 by American Museum of Natural History palaeontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn.
So significant was Tyrrell’s discovery that when our Museum opened its doors to the public on September 25, 1985, it was named the Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. (The “royal” appellation was added in 1990.) Originally intended to serve primarily as a scientific facility, the plans soon changed to include a large public gallery and display area that attracts more than 430,000 visitors annually.
Sleeping Over At The Museum
And I have to say, experiencing the Royal Tyrrel Museum this way was AWESOME! About a month prior to our travels I had gone on to the Royal Tyrrell Museum website to just look up hours and rates etc and discovered they have a camp-in program where you get to actually sleep in the museum for a night!
Now, I have to mention that although dinosaurs are cool to most kids around our kids’ age, Nyla (our 13 yr old daughter) is obsessed with all things dinosaur and paleological. To the point that she is already planning her university education to go into paleontology (she’s currently finishing gr. 8).
We actually got to sleep in the big auditorium in amongst the dinosaur fossil replicas! There were a bunch of families and even a scout group or two. I have to say, the staff were amazing they were very friendly and accommodating. We even got a bedtime snack!
Thankfully we didn’t have any experiences, a la Night at the Museum, and I’m pretty sure those dinos didn’t move during the night!
The evening of the sleepover we were immersed in a few different activities and games.
The next day after breakfast (which was included in the sleepover package) we got to explore the whole museum at our leisure.
Exploring Outside the Museum
The pictures below are at a place called Horseshoe Canyon (correct me if I’m wrong!) anyways it is a really cool view of part of the badlands.
I hope you have enjoyed our Alberta travels. Obviously, pictures can not do justice to the amazing fossils and replicas that the museum curates so I hope if you ever get the chance to see it in person, check it out! And if your kid is dino obsessed, make sure you check out the sleepover option, it is totally worth it.
You can check out our first day of our travels where we stopped and checked out Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump here and our third part which we share our visit to the Calgary Zoo here.
Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own, I have not been compensated in anyway for this post, I just think it’s a really cool place!
Location and Accommodations:
You will find the Museum in the heart of the Alberta badlands, 6 km (4 mi) northwest of Drumheller, Alberta, in Midland Provincial Park.
Google map
As I mentioned, we actually slept over in the Royal Tyrrell Museum (which was in pre-COVID19 days) but there are many accommodations available in nearby Drumheller including Hotels and Motels, Bed and Breakfasts and Campgrounds which you can find on Booking.com or on the Travel Drumheller website.
From Calgary: Guided Day Tour to Drumheller
More Alberta Travel:
- Our 30 Hour Family Adventure at the West Edmonton Mall
- Exploring Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump with Kids
- Exploring The Calgary Zoo with Kids
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- Traveling with Kids ~ Safety Tips Every Parent Should Know
- Family Vacation Tips ~ 6 Ways to Bring the Costs Down During Your Family Getaway
- Qualicum Beach and Parksville ~ In Photos
- Our Family Adventure with the Nelson Whitewater Rafting Co.
- Travel Bucket List ~ Anywhere!
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