YouAlberta
All photos courtesy of University of Alberta Museums.
With the weather getting colder, Edmontonians like myself are looking forward to some distinctly indoor activities! If you're looking for a fun and engaging venture between classes or during a day on campus, join me on my tour through some of the U of A's numerous museums and collections!
I decided to start in familiar territory: as a master's student in classics, I have participated in many class tours through the W.G. Hardy Classics Museum! Located at 2-89 in the Tory Building (a familiar haunt for many an arts student), you can explore the collection of Ancient Near Eastern and Classical Antiquities between 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. every weekday during the semester. From Scotland to Egypt and Iraq to Greece, the artifacts here are impressive and certainly lend insight to ancient studies across the globe. Hot tip: if you can't make it to the Tory Building, this museum's website has an extremely handy virtual tour tool, complete with videos from Dr. Rossiter, the museum's curator, himself! For more information about the artifacts on display at the museum, also check out YouAlberta's previous article on the W.G. Hardy Classics Museum.
Next, I resolved to tour some collections that were easily accessible for students. Though a free afternoon was hard to come by in my schedule, I was easily able to spend a full day at the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences! The Earth Sciences Building hosts the Paleontology Museum, located at B-01; the Mineralogy and Petrology Museum, located at B-08. And — if you're willing to venture outside — the Geoscience Garden, an outdoor classroom wherein rocks representing those that might be found naturally in western Canada, have been placed across North Campus!
I was impressed with the way that the University of Alberta Museums endeavoured to make the visit really interactive and engaging for visitors: both museums had scavenger hunts available on their website and virtual tours of their collections.
I have to recommend the brand-new exhibit at the Paleontology Museum. If you were ever obsessed with dinosaurs as a kid, you have to check out the fossils on display from Alberta's Dinosaur Provincial Park! Also, a highlight for me was the glittering crystals at the Mineralogy and Petrology Museum, though astronomically minded folks will also enjoy the meteorology collection. If you want to explore these collections yourself, stop by the Earth Sciences Building between 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and for some cool pictures, check out YouAlberta's previous article.
Up next was a collection I had no idea the U of A hosted: the Human Ecology Gallery! I was lucky enough to catch their recent exhibit, Curious Fashions, Performative Identities, before it closed on Oct. 22. This exhibit was primarily curated by undergraduate human ecology students, lending it a different perspective!
Focusing on the evolution of fashion and how both past and current fashion trends influence our clothing choices, I found these students' ideas on the impact of social norms on clothing extremely interesting, as this is an area outside of my typical studies. If you missed it, not to worry: their website has clearly outlined both the artifacts on display as well as gallery views. Be sure to check out the Human Ecology Gallery's other virtual exhibits on everything from women's wear in the 18th century to African commemorative cloth. Look out for their next physical exhibit by the south entrance of the Human Ecology Building (likely opening Apr. 2025!).
The last exhibit I visited this semester (so far!) was the University of Alberta Museums Art Collections' brand new exhibit, On Becoming. Available to visit until Jan. 25, 2025, the collection looks at how the practice of collecting art itself has changed at the U of A, focusing on Indigenous voices. I was struck by the dynamic nature of the work and how the personality and story of each artist came through in their piece. Located in the Telus Centre, I was able to conduct a solo visit (they are open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from noon - 5 p.m.), but there are a number of tours and events in collaboration with the exhibit coming up throughout November and December!
For more information on all of the University of Alberta's Museums and Collections, including how to book a group tour or contact a curator, please visit their website!