The Reynolds-Alberta Museum, in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada is one of 19 provincially owned and operated historic sites and museums. It traces the mechanization of Alberta's transportation, aviation, agricultural, and industrial past from the 1890s to present, as cars and trucks replaced horse-drawn buggies and wagons, huge factories replaced the village blacksmith shop, and mechanized equipment replaced animal and human-powered farm implements. The stories told by each exhibit reveal how the daily lives of Albertans were affected during this period of rapid change.
The Main Gallery is designed as a "highway through time", beginning with a horse-drawn carriage of the late 19th century and featuring four stations; a 1911 factory, a 1920s grain elevator, a 1930s service station, and a 1950s drive-in. The centre of the gallery has artifacts and displays that showcase agriculture through the four seasons of the year.
The museum spaces include a cafe, meeting rooms, exhibition display areas, 120 seat theatre, museum store, Resource Centre (non-lending library), Restoration Shop and Conservation Lab. The museum's 248 acre site includes farming fields, industrial equipment display, tour road, Aviation Hangar, collection storage facility, and fly-in access to the Wetaskiwin Airport. The museum has many operating artifacts which can be seen at special events. Some are operational throughout the summer as part of a Vintage Vehicle Tour program. A private company operates a 1939 WACO open cockpit biplane which offers rides.
Featured artifacts include:
- a one-of-a-kind 1929 Duesenberg Phaeton Royale Model J
- the world's oldest known production Chevrolet, a 1913 Chevrolet Classic Six
- the world's oldest dragline, a Bucyrus Class-24 built in 1917
- a 1928 American Eagle biplane,
- a full-scale replica of the Avro Arrow
- a half-track vehicle used in the infamous Bedaux Expedition, the subject of the film "Champagne Safari"
The Museum also serves as home to Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, a national organization paying tribute to the men, women and organizations who pioneered and advanced aviation in Canada.
Video Reynolds-Alberta Museum
Location
The Reynolds-Alberta Museum is located in the city of Wetaskiwin on Highway 13, near the Wetaskiwin airport. The street address is 6426 40 Avenue, Wetaskiwin.
Maps Reynolds-Alberta Museum
History
The Reynolds-Alberta Museum opened in 1992 as a project of Alberta Community Development and Alberta Infrastructure. It is named after Stan Reynolds, a Wetaskiwin businessman and world-renowned collector, who donated a core collection of 1,500 artifacts between 1982 and 1986, and continued to donate portions of his collection until his death in 2012. Stan had owned a local car dealership and always advertised that he would take anything in trade - therefore the large and varied collection of vehicles, airplanes and farm implements. The Reynolds-Alberta Museum's collections continue to grow through private donations.
The Transportation Collection
Highlights of the transportation collection include:
Automobiles
Motorcycles
The Aviation Collection
Highlights of the aviation collection are:
- 1937 Cessna C-37 Airmaster
- 1942 Hawker Hurricane MK XII
- 1943 Douglas DC-3
- 1946 Bellanca 31-55 Senior Skyrocket
- 1946 Sznycer/Gottlieb Intercity Airlines Grey Gull SG VI-D
- 2009 Vindicator Unmanned Drone
The complete aviation collection includes:
Airplanes
Of the more than 95 aircraft listed below, just under one-tenth are currently available for public viewing, with the remainder stored in the Collection Storage Building.
Helicopters
- 1946 Intercity Airlines SG-IVD Grey Gull
- 1953 Sikorsky S-58
- 1960 Bell 47J
- 1965 Sud Aviation/Aérospatiale Model 3160 Alouette III
- 1965 Hughes 269A
The Agricultural Collection
Reference Centre
The Museum's reference centre offers visitors public access to a large collection of motor vehicle, aviation, agricultural and industrial trade publication literature in Canada. Topics covered include automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, airplanes, tractors, plows, threshing machines, steam traction engines, fire-fighting equipment, road construction machinery, and more. The collection consists of books, magazines and newsletters, journals, newspapers, service manuals, parts manuals, owners' manuals, price lists, advertisement and subject files, research reports, and audio-visual materials, with more than 3,000 books, 50 current subscriptions and 25,000 pieces of trade literature dating from the mid-19th century to the present.
Restoration Shop and Conservation Laboratory
Artifact restoration, maintenance, and conservation are done in the Museum's Restoration Shop and Conservation Laboratory.
Affiliations
The Museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.
References
External links
- Official Provincial Government Museum webpage
- Official website of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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