Alberta offers school programming at 15 museums, historic sites and at the Provincial Archives. It is estimated that more than 1,500 school trips and programs were provided to about 45,300 students over the 2023-2024 school year. These field trips include guided tours and programs designed specifically for students to help spark a love of learning and appreciation for the people, places and things that make up our rich province.
Students participate in the Dinomechanics program at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. Photo courtesy of the Royal Tyrrell Museum website.
From exploring Alberta's natural history, which includes incredible dinosaur fossils, to learning about the colourful culture of Indigenous peoples and early settlers, to viewing old-fashioned modes of transportation and much more, school programs offer immersive learning experiences.
Alberta's government is committed to supporting the province's world-class museums and heritage sites that help tell Alberta's story to the world and play a special role in expanding learning opportunities for students of all ages. This support, including a $52.9 million investment through Budget 2024, ensures future generations of Albertans are able to learn and appreciate our province's rich and diverse heritage.
"Beyond the pages of textbooks and walls of the classroom, Alberta's museums and heritage sites are great places to learn. These school programs inspire young minds and enhance education, helping to bring Alberta curriculum to life. Thank you to the many dedicated staff and volunteers who share their time and knowledge to make school programs such a success and foster a passion for learning."
Tanya Fir, Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women
"Stepping out of the classroom and into a dynamic, immersive museum gallery creates a truly unique opportunity to share and celebrate knowledge. School programs like ours enable Alberta's students of all ages to engage with stories both ancient and modern, surprising and familiar, and find meaning among them. We're thrilled to see increasing demand for our educational offerings year-over-year. I look forward to welcoming many more students to our history halls in the coming months."
Meaghan Patterson, executive director, Royal Alberta Museum
A variety of programs to support learning
In addition to viewing the countless exhibits and displays and benefiting from guided tours, many provincial sites have specially designed programs to focus learning opportunities on specific topics or subjects. Some examples of school programs include:
- The Royal Alberta Museum invites students to say "Oui" to their French programs.
- The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village welcomed approximately 600 students this December to learn about Ukrainian Christmas traditions of the past and how they connect families today.
- The Reynolds Museum special programs include Cranes & Catapults' where students get to build cranes, launch catapults and conduct experiments to discover the science behind simple and complex machines from ancient to modern times.
- Historic Dunvegan welcomed students from near and far, including students from 374 km away just to visit this heritage site.
- The Oil Sands Discovery Centre is piloting new programs that align with the new Alberta science curriculum.
- The Royal Tyrrell Museum's Distance Learning Program has connected to every Canadian province and territory, 47 American states and 39 countries since its inception in 2006. New countries connecting in the past school year include Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Bermuda, Libya and Greece.
Across the province learning opportunities are adding up
Whether welcoming a large student group, a family enhancing their home schooling, or hosting a virtual presentation, every year provincial museums and historic sites engage with thousands of learners of all ages. The following information provides numbers from the previous school year and numbers for the current school year up to the end of November:
- Royal Alberta Museum provided 631 programs in the 2023-2024 school year to 20,762 students and has already hosted 131 programs for 3,587 students so far this year.
- Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump is now booking school visits for the 2025 season.
- Frank Slide Interpretive Centre provided 242 programs in the 2023-2024 school year to 2,709 students, and 42 programs to 592 students so far this year.
- Provincial Archives of Alberta provided a mix of programs to a total of 38 post-secondary students in 2024 through video conference and onsite visits.
- Remington Carriage Museum provided 16 programs in the 2023-2024 school year to 645 children.
- Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village provided programs to 9,447 students in the 2023-2024 school year, and 757 students so far this year.
- Rutherford House welcomed 22 grade school groups with a total of 467 students and eight post-secondary English as an Additional Language groups with a total of 205 participants from April to November 2024.
- Stephansson House looks forward to welcoming 38 school groups with a total of 807 students in May and June 2025.
- Reynolds Museum welcomed 150 school groups with a total of 5,180 students in the 2023-2024 school year, and 53 groups with a total of 2,235 students so far this year.
- Royal Tyrrell Museum has provided 75 programs to 2,202 participants so far in the 2024-25 school year.
- Oil Sands Discovery Centre provided 179 programs in the 2023-24 school year to 3,253 students and booked 28 programs welcoming 108 students for the 2024-2025 school year.
- Historic Dunvegan provided 53 school programs in the 2023-2024 school year to 1,150 students.
- Fort George and Buckingham House provided 46 programs to 567 students from 15 schools in spring-summer 2024.
- Father Lacombe Chapel welcomed 28 school groups with a total of 706 students in May-June 2024.
- Victoria Settlement provided 17 school programs to 198 students from five elementary schools and one post-secondary group in May-June of 2024.
Related information
- Alberta's historic sites and museums
- Albertans and educators can find more information about the various educational programs offered by Alberta's museums and heritage sites by visiting their respective websites.
