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.

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.

One of the only historical sites in Canmore to visit. A small exhibit with donated items from…read morearound the time period. Some nice old photographs and printed out stories on the walls. If a docent was there to walk with you and tell you stories and more facts this could be really great but it is self guided. Which is okay because it's only a few, very small rooms. I think this museum has been around for awhile but is still lacking. At least Canmore has this for us history buffs.

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 was the best $8 I spent all day, and I typically don't like this kind of stuff. I zoomed…read morethrough the history section because I was so excited to get into the Wildlife Museum, and it was SO COOL! Take a day trip to Sundre! it's a quick nice drive from calgary - support the museum, then head across the street to Swamp Donkeys for lunch! you won't regret it. unless you're a jerk.

You have to eat here. Mm-mmnm So many delicious flavours,…read morefrom such simple foods, love it!