Canmore museum brings history of Canadian Rockies to life

The Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre offers a modern setting for a place devoted to preserving the history of Canmore and the Canadian Rockies. Plus, it's a heckuva lot of fun to visit!

When writing about the Canadian Rockies, it’s natural to focus on the stunning wonders of the outside world. But a world inside walls can be just as interesting, as evidenced by the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre.

The museum is a wealth of history, with exhibits ranging back more than a century to when the town of Canmore was founded. Anyone interested in learning local history should have this high on the must-visit list.

The origins of the museum lie in a school assignment from 1936. A teacher asked her class to write a letter to a foreign country to request a doll in ethnic dress. Mavis Mallabone, a student in the class, was so taken by the assignment that she continued to collect dolls from all over the world. Her collection became the centerpiece of the nascent museum, which has grown into a steward of the town’s history all the way from its roots as a coal mining town to its rebirth with the 1988 Winter Olympics and beyond.

Canmore, though very much a tourist town today, still has close ties to its mining past, and the museum reflects that. The very entrance was built to make the visitor feel as if he or she is entering a coal mine shaft. Once inside, however, it becomes clear that Canmore has much more to offer than just mining.

Some areas in the museum are devoted to archaeological displays. Others will cover the history of the mountain culture, such as a look at climbers who have made their mark in the area. Rocks and fossils found in Canmore and the surrounding areas of Banff, Jasper and the rest are put on display. One exhibit compares the Grassi Lakes Devonian Reef with a reef system that might be found in the Caribbean today.

It’s also a great place to bring children. DVD programs about the geology of the Rockies play on a big-screen TV; computers have geology games installed that children can play. The museum runs several summer programs for children, not to mention the annual rock and fossil road show. Tours have been organized to take visitors to the Columbia Icefield Visitors’ Center and tro the Royal Tyrrell Musuem of Paleontology. In short, there’s always something new to see and do.

But the museum’s impact goes beyond what happens inside. As steward of the past, museum officials like to keep Canmore’s history alive. They take part in the annual Canmore Miners’ Day Reunion, which is held on the Saturday closest to July 13, the date the last coal mine closed in 1979 after 92 years of operation. The day begins with a parade of the families of the miners down the town’s main street, followed by a barbecue open to everyone organized by the Canmore Museum and Geoscience Centre.

That’s just one example of how the museum keeps the past alive. It’s a place that will be a treasure trove of discovery for anyone interested in knowing how the Canadian Rockies came to be the wonderful place they are today.

For more on neighboring Banff National Park, click here!

For more on nearby Jasper National Park, click here!