Home > Heritage Educational Programs > CARMN Guide > Red Deer and District Museum and Archives

The Red Deer and District Museum is located at 4525 - 47A Avenue in Red Deer, between the Recreation Centre and Golden Circle. The museum is open seven days a week, year round, and is closed only for Christmas and New Year's Day. From June 1 to August 31 the hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and Saturday, with extended hours on Wednesday and Thursday until 9 p.m.. During the remainder of the year, the hours are Monday, Tuesday, and Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, Sunday and holidays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. There is no admission fee though there is a suggested donation of $2.00 per person, $5.00 per family. The governing authority is the Normandeau Cultural and Natural History Society.

The collection at the museum includes donated artifacts spanning over a century. The clothing and textiles collection is one of the best in the province. The art collection includes Inuit, Northwest Coast, and local art including the Swallow Collection. Displays of fine and contemporary art by professional and amateur artists are frequent. The museum hosts both local and travelling temporary exhibits from across Canada and abroad, highlighting art and history. Artifacts from the collection are on permanent display in the main galleries reflecting the district's past. The life of the pioneers is shown through exhibits of daily life, including the materials and machinery that were once used. Special programs are offered throughout the year, such as exhibit openings, and various interpretive tours. The Historical Walking Tours start at Heritage Square, an adjacent park developed to preserve and present some of Red Deer's historical structures.

The Red Deer and District Museum has a gift shop featuring local crafts, souvenirs, and Western Canada books, with many items following a 1930s theme. The City of Red Deer's Archives, housed in the same building, is useful for researching Red Deer's history. Its hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

~ A Word about our Programs ~

We offer the list of programs as an outline. You are welcome to select parts of the programs or make variations to the themes emphasized and we will work with you to design a program that fits your needs. Museums are great places for integrated learning: History, Art, Science, Language Arts and Math can all be touched on in a museum visit.

If you are travelling from out of town with two classes to reduce bussing costs you might consider booking a program at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, Fort Normandeau or Sunnybrook Farm Museum and then switching classes in the afternoon to make a full day of it.

To design a program or for more information phone: (403) 309-8445, fax: 342-6644 or e-mail: programs@museum.red-deer.ab.ca

Educational Programs:

• Red Deer and Area History

• Central Alberta Heritage School Fairs 2001

• Red Deer History Triple Combo (up to 2 classes) Log School, Museum Galleries and Historic Walking Tour

• Red Deer Historical Walking Tour

• Kindergarten Christmas Program

• Log School Program

• Mask Making and the Red Deer College Student Art Show

• Museum Edu-Kits

• Printmaking Program

• What is a Museum?

• What is a Museum? Classroom Visit

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