room was the
catalogue room where over 110,000 items are catalogued. We
wandered down Dinosaur Alley, as it is know by those who work
there. Row after row of fossils, big ones, little ones, and all
those in between. From every prehistoric age, grouped, numbered
and identified. It provided quite a list of accomplishments for
the paleontologists. Having completed the behind the scenes tour, we returned to the main entrance where we entered the
Museum proper. This is not only the first but
the only Canadian institution devoted entirely to paleontology,
the study of ancient life through fossils. The permanent exhibits
trace life from its genesis 3.5 billion years ago to the present
through the use of more then 800 fossil specimens. The Dinosaur
Hall is the centerpiece of the world renowned museum. Its
exhibits are continually updated to reflect the cutting-edge
research discoveries and field expeditions of staff
paleontologists. More then 350,000 visitors from around the world
come to see the dinosaurs in the Dinosaur Hall every year. The
museum is home to more than 35 complete
dinosaur skeletons. Most of the creatures we
saw in the Hall roamed or flew or swam across what is now Alberta
when it was a giant inland sea filled with lush vegetation which
provided the food for the behemoths that roamed here more then 65
million years ago. Many of the fossils were found just outside
the Museum in the Drumheller badlands. Others were discovered
down the Red Deer River in Dinosaur Provincial Park, where the
Royal Tyrrell Museum maintains a field station. I paused in front
of a large lizard type 
skeleton remembering an old black and white
movie in which these creatures were locked in mortal combat.
Known as a Dimetrodon, it was the dominant terrestrial carnivore
of the Early Permian period. Its most recognizable feature was
its sail, which may have been used as a kind of prehistoric
radiator to regulate body temperature. Of course the star
attraction belonged to the creature who's skull stared back at
Joseph Burr Tyrrell from the bank above Kneehill Creek in 1884.
The Albertosaurus or Alberta Lizard, is a 
member of the family of large carnivorous
dinosaurs called the Tyrannosauridae. More then eight meters in
length, three meters high at the hip and weighing more them two
tons. Albertosaurus may have been able to reach speeds up to 40
km (24 mph). This fleetness of foot, combined with physical
strength, made for a fierce hunter. There is more to see then
just old bones. The palaeoconservatory contains one of the
largest collections of living prehistoric plants in Canada. Some
species here have changed
little in the last 180 million years. Others
have ancestors that date back even farther - to the 350 million
year old Devonian Period. Many of these plants grew in Alberta
during the Late Cretaceous period. The local climate at that time
was humid and warm, similar to that of the southeastern US today.
The plants flourished, providing abundant food and ideal
environments for many animals, including the dinosaurs. As we sat outside the museum feasting on an ice cream cone, and watching the children playing in and around the life size models of dinosaurs, I had to reflect on the ability of man to understand the past with only the smallest of fragments of material to lead him. I put the museum high on the list of things to see in Canada. If you haven't seen it before, it can be a real eye opener.
