Did you know the museum has …

• a one-of-a-kind 1929 Duesenberg Phaeton Royale Model J?
• the world’s oldest known production Chevrolet, a 1913 Chevrolet Classic Six?
• a Bucyrus Class-24 dragline, built in 1917 and is the world’s oldest dragline?
• a 1928 American Eagle biplane, the only surviving Canadian example?
• a full-scale replica of the Avro Arrow?
• a half-track vehicle used in the infamous Bedeux expedition, the subject of the film “Champagne Safari”?

*Please note, not all artifacts in the museum's collection are on public display.

Did you also know that the museum has an internationally acclaimed restoration and conservation shop, an award-winning Reference Centre and is one of only two fly-in museums in Canada? The Reynolds-Alberta Museum has also been the recipient of two Premier’s Awards of Excellence for past exhibitions.

Our people

The museum is operated with a combination of government staff, Friends staff, contractors and volunteers. More than 300 volunteers (How To Get Involved ) help us by contributing more than 18,000 hours of their time each year. 

Our Physical Plant

Site: 205 acres located 2 kilometres west of Wetaskiwin, Alberta on Highway 13

Main Building: 9450 sq. m; wheelchair accessible and has seating located throughout the galleries. It houses the Entrance Hall, Exhibition Gallery, Restoration/Conservation Shop, Reference Centre, Gift Shop, Theatre, Board Room, Assembly Rooms, East Hall, Recognition Hall and administration offices. 

Grounds: Include beautifully landscaped lawns, picnic areas and agricultural fields. 

Aviation Display Hangar: 1830 sq.m; Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame and a display of vintage aircraft interpret Canada's aviation history. The hangar is connected to the Wetaskiwin Alberta Airport (CEX3). Visitors arriving in private planes can taxi directly to the hangar.

Service Building: A six-bay garage for servicing the operating artifacts

Warehouse: 9,000 sq. m; currently houses more than 5000 artifacts in restored, conserved or last-used condition.

Tour Road: Visitors travel along this route while touring the site on the vintage vehicle ride program.

Test Track: An announcement tower and Power of Performance stage on the Test Track are used during outdoor concerts and special events.

Agricultural Fields: For the demonstration of operating agricultural artifacts in the spring and fall.

Exhibits:

More than 100 major artifacts are on display in the exhibition hall, and additional artifacts are in storage in the on-site warehouse. Exhibits are arranged by theme and displayed in three conditions: restored, conserved and last-used.

The exhibition gallery takes the visitor around the perimeter of the exhibits along a “highway through time”, beginning with a horsedrawn carriage of the late 1800s. The centre of the gallery has artifacts and displays that showcase the agricultural theme through the four seasons of the year. The gallery is anchored by four stations: 1911 factory, 1920s grain elevator, 1930s service station, and 1950s drive-in. 

The factory depicts the transition from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles during a time when buyers were faced with the dilemma of whether to buy electric, steam or gasoline powered vehicles. 

The grain elevator is itself a giant machine. This 1920s replica enables visitors to gain a better understanding of the elevator's inner workings. 

The service station offers a location for school programs, including "Ram Service" where students pump gas, check the oil, clean the windshield and polish one of the vintage vehicles.

The drive-in theatre provides visitors with a flashback to the 1950s. Clips of period movies are shown among vintage automobiles throughout the day.

Museum Themes

Agriculture
We collect, preserve, present and interpret machines from Alberta's agricultural from the 1890s to the 1970s.

We farm 28 hectares using vintage seeders, balers, binders, threshers, plows, steam and gas tractors. 

Aviation
The museum has 70 vintage aircraft, the second-largest vintage aircraft collection in Canada.

These aircraft are currently on display in the museum’s Aviation Hangar and in our on-site warehouse.

This display, along with artifacts and biographical panels of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, make this one of the most significant displays in North America.

Transportation
We collect, preserve, present and interpret machines from Alberta's transportation past from the 1890s to the 1970s.

Our galleries tell the story of mechanization; cars and trucks replaced horse-drawn buggies and wagons and huge factories replaced the village blacksmith shop. See how the daily lives of Albertans were affected during this period of rapid change.