The Whyte museum was named after Peter and Catherine Robb Whyte, local artists and philanthropists,…read more who created a museum where visitors could see the culture and landscape of the Canadian Rockies. Paintings of the original settlers, the Indians, and their clashes with the white men explorers in the 19th century. Building of the railway, including an interactive tunnel view. How the railroad tracks were laid through mountainous areas, and the effect of frequent avalanches. Picture of the golden spike where the trans Canadian railway was joined. No Chinese workers, who did all the hard work, in the picture, just business men in formal clothing, gathering around the railroad track. Early women tourists in their long ankle length skirts exploring the glaciers in pictures. Men and women of wealth in pictures showing their fancy dress for crossing the Rockies by rail. Cutaway view of a automobile from the 1920s, with a film of automobiles in the Canadian Rockies at that time. The Canadian Rockies contribution to the war effort in the world wars, including descriptions and pictures of heroic actions by locals fighting the enemy. The Canadian Rockies in the movies, including posters of 'Saskatchewan', and 'River of No Return'. Helicopter skiing in the late 20th century, where helicopters would ferry skiers to the top of mountains, to ski down. Mountain climbers going up mountains, with display showing how they slept in tents anchored off the cliffs. Great way to spend time indoors when Banff was suffocating under forest fire smoke. $10 per adult, $9 for seniors, and AAA discount. Wife had no objection when I paid for 2 senior tickets, even though she was not yet 65. You know you are getting old when the museum cashier doesn't ask to see identification with dob!

Small but well designed museum, worth a short visit! It was a perfect rainy afternoon activity…read more Learned lots of history about Banff, and we enjoyed the temporary art exhibit Canoe. Would recommend!

I love to learn about Native American history (US), or First Nations People in Canada. I had high…read morehopes for this museum - it had some excellent artifacts and information posted. It's a traditional-type museum that is self-paced with still, quiet displays & dioramas. I'm not a fan of the mannequin-style dioramas because it feels a little creepy to me, but that's just my aside thing. I hope one day they will update their museum to have interactive elements and to modernize. I'm glad to support this museum with my entrance fee. We spent about an hour here browsing the displays and enjoying the space.

Museum about the native Canadian Indians, inside a building resembling a 19th century log fort,…read morecomplete with towers, near the center of downtown Banff. Lots of mannequins with painted faces and hands, covered with traditional native Canadian Indian clothing. These mannequins are not in display cabinets nor in dioramas with background settings, but just out in the open behind security ropes. Low budget from the 1970s. Display showing warriors hanging from their chest muscles from the ceiling, in a ceremony. Women weaving behind a small hut. Women washing clothes. An Indian warrior on horseback using a bow and arrow to shoot a bison. Indians herding horses, with a dog running aside. Warriors in teepee. Indian chief presiding over a gathering. Canadian Mountie and Indian warrior side by side with their horses. Displays of headdresses, papoose, stuffed animals such as mountain lions and bison. Crafts, artifacts, native artifacts of the first nations. Gift shop with free coffee, except that I'm not addicted to coffee, unlike most of my fellow Yelp friends. Would have like to have seen big display dioramas of battles in the French and Indian Wars, and other wars involving native Indians in Canada. No showing of massacres. Would I come back? Only reason to come here is that all outdoor events smoked out by the smog created by the forest fires, causing me to cough.

A place to see all the animals you didn't see live in Banff National Park…read more We didn't see a lot of wild animals in our trip to the Canadian Rockies. Trout in Maligne Lake, pikas at Morraine Lake, elk on the Icefields Parkway, and bison at a ranch in the Kananaskis Valley. Here in the heart of Banff is a two story 100+ year old building, constructed out of Douglas Fir, renovated, so that the interior structure looks spanking new, with varnished wood beams. Entering the front door, and I feel like I'm in the center of a stage, with all the animals seated in the stands and bleachers, looking right down on me, with open eyes, ready to pounce! Individual airtight glass cases, to keep out destructive insects and live rodents, and keep the dust down. Wolves, lynx, elk, moose, bison, mountain lion, ox, beaver, bear, deer, mountain goat, owls, birds, and pronghorn sheep. Two stories, with the second floor being a corridor running along the sides, with a center gap, looking down on the displays. Many of these animals, I've seen live in Yosemite, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Today for the 150th anniversary of Canada, free admission throughout 2017. A great place to spend a few hours during our stay in Banff, under forest fire smoky skies, this first week in September.

One of the perks for running the Banff Marathon was free entry into the Banff Park Museum. It was…read morevery convenient since the race finished right at Central Park. So after the race, my friend and I stopped in here to check things out. Before we began looking around, the guy at the entrance made sure to let us know that some of the exhibits were over 100 years old and cautioned us not to touch any of them. There were 2 floors full of exhibits including a room with videos. A lot of the animals that we saw were ones you probably don't want to come across out in the wild! Overall I thought it was a museum definitely worth checking out.

Pioneer Village Museum is a must see! The photos speak for themselves. If you visit Sundre and…read moredon't stop in for a visit, it would be a regret I would not want to live with!

This is a historic home and garden first settled in 1905. Wealthy individual who started many…read morebusinesses in Banff. Period decor. Quite a number of mounted animal heads. Nice garden on the side of the house. Price is by donation. Worth a visit.

From the owner: Only 1 block off Banff Avenue, this Heritage Home museum offers a small oasis in this busy tourist…read moretown. Visit to tour the home, sip a cup of tea, sit in the garden, relax and enjoy.

I took my grade two and three students on a field trip to the Leighton Art Centre and they loved…read moreit! It's quite out of town so when going you have to incorporate that into you time and make it a full day. We arrived and automatically went into the cabin where we would be doing our art. Our tour guide was Emma and she gave each of the students a notebook to keep and take home which they loved. She asked them to look around the room but they had to stay seated and draw an object or thing they could see from their seats. Then after they did it once they had to flip to the next page and find another object in the room and draw it and she gave them a time limit the first time of 5 minutes and only 3 minutes the second time to show how it gets harder. Some students were asking for erasers and she explained that they don't have erasers because they believe that artists don't make mistakes. Then they students started their clay projects making a landscape and they had lots of fun doing this. Then we had lunch in that same room after students cleaned up and then they had play time outside in the snow which the leader explained the boundaries they had to stay in and that all nature things including snow stay on the ground. Then we did a nature walk and then the students got to go through the Leighton house which they really enjoyed especially the room with the parrot and all the trees! Thank you Leighton Art Centre !

My friend's soon to be mother-in-law organized a bridal shower here. I've never been to…read moreMillarville....not gonna lie....didn't even know it even existed. It's a short drive south of Calgary. I used google maps to get me to the Leighton Art Centre. The drive there is beautiful. Lush rolling green hills and beautiful forests. I swear I was transported to an English countryside! If you like scenery, a summer drive in this area is highly recommended. Our art lesson was held in an original little school house, now an historical landmark, built in the 1950s. After our art lesson (which I determined I do not have a talent for lol) our instructor led us on a short nature walk up to the the Leighton House Museum. A beautiful home originally designed by Alfred Crocker Leighton that features much of the home's original furniture and the Leighton's personal belongings. The home also showcases AC Leighton's original artwork as well is now home to many local artists' work where they are displayed and for sale. The house is beautifully situated over looking a breathtaking view. The Leightons were dedicated to art and the art community, and I can see why artists come there to paint, there is so much inspiration all around you. Definitely worth the drive out there for the views alone, but the museum and learning a little bit of local history is a nice bonus too.

Lovely end to our Calgary trip. Visited the museum before dining at Sky360. Artist is quite…read moretalented and impactful.

The museum is located in the heart of downtown and share the same building as the Telus…read moreConventional Center. I came on a Thursday night after 5 pm. Every first Thursday of the month is free admission sponsored by Servus. I had to take advantage of this offer. Regular price admission is $18 per person. Why pay when you can go in for free. Plus I am not a tourist so might as well visit on a Thursday. All exhibits/galleries are open on the free admission day. The museum is very specifically tailored to the First Nation history and history of Calgary. They do have an interesting section on geology: rocks, minerals, stones, geode and etc. That gallery was slightly out of place compared to the rest of the museum/items on display. The first floor is really the gift shop and museum ticket/concierge/info center. Second floor is the first nation artworks. There are paintings and a few pieces of artwork. Third floor is about the oil and gas industry. As well, as the first settlement and the history of Calgary. Fourth floor is more tailored to the British Army and a section on the history of Africa. Everything is well documented, comprehensive and well referenced in the museum. Expect to spend about 2 hours minimum here. Overall, I enjoyed my stay. I don't think this museum changes much and so it is really one time visit. Note that no big backpacks are allowed into the museum and would be required to be checked in.

I was more than a wee bit skeptical about Heritage Park. I'd been to similar parks, I thought, and…read morethere's a certain sameness about then. But my wife who grew up in Calgary insisted. And it was fun. We rode the train, rode in the wagon pulled by a tractor, went into houses, learned at the print shop and the oil well, and interacted with the actors. And of course we started at Gasoline Alley. Gasoline Alley has plenty of cars, but I was fascinated by the collection of work trucks and gasoline pumps. And there were plenty of volunteers there to explain the exhibited vehicles and ancillary items. We are an excellent lunch in the cafe.

I was told to come here and didn't know what to expect. I thought it was a grassy type park not…read moreknowing it was an old town. it was OK to see it all but I thought it was expensive to get in. Not for me.