Glenbow Museum

Discover the history, art, material culture and admirable characters of Western Canada at this extensive facility, a perfect outing for a winter day.

The Glenbow Museum in downtown Calgary is an enormous cultural undertaking, with more than 20 galleries housing over 1 million objects. Collections range from art to historical artifacts of Canada’s first peoples, to map archives and books.

Enjoy the majesty of the Great Plains and Rockies in paintings and artworks. Explore Blackfoot and Inuit culture and history through interactive panels and artifacts. Learn about the life and times of adventurous Albertan characters throughout the ages. You can even see beautiful gemstones and minerals mined locally.

On the second floor you’ll find a collection of the art of Western Canada from the 1800s, as well as modernist paintings from the early 20th century onwards. Nearby, see more than 80 sculptures from Asian artistic traditions.

The third floor focuses on people. Learn about some of the intrepid, hardworking Albertans of the past in the interactive Mavericks gallery. Examine the daily lives, spirituality and traditional culture of the Nisitapii (Blackfoot) indigenous people.

Discover geological wonders on the fourth floor’s mineralogy exhibit. Here you’ll find a piece of the Earth’s oldest rock, glow-in-the-dark minerals and gems of every color. The Warriors Exhibit documents weaponry through five centuries, from Asia, Europe, North America and the Pacific.

Cartography nuts can go wild in the map collection of the Library. History buffs will love the insight provided by unpublished diaries, letters and scrapbooks in the Archives.

The museum also hosts visiting exhibitions.

Glenbow Museum is located in the heart of downtown Calgary in the Cultural District. The C-Train services the museum and a light rail transit station is one block away. The museum is also linked to the +15 Skywalk, a public pedestrian walkway 15 feet (4.5 meters) above street level that connects many buildings in the city. If you are driving, there is user-pay parking in nearby buildings.

The museum’s galleries are open daily except Monday, while the Library and Archives are open Tuesday through Thursday only. There is an admission fee.