This date marked the completion of one of the Provincial Museum's most successful and popular galleries, the Habitat Gallery, which had been a benchmark for the visiting public for 18 years. Since its modest beginnings in 1967 with the Pronghorn and Moose habitat groups, 16 additional dioramas have been opened. These depict characteristic wildlife from the four major natural regions of Alberta. Each diorama represented a living landscape as viewed from a specific place in Alberta.
Prairie Ecoregion: Pronghorn, Coyote, Mule Deer, Golden Eagle
Parkland Ecoregion: Trumpeter Swan, Beaver, Shorebirds at Beaverhill Lake, White-tailed Deer
Boreal Forest Ecoregion: Moose, Woodland Caribou, White Pelican, and Wolf-Bison
Two smaller dioramas, which were not originally scheduled for the gallery depicted courting Ruffed Gouse in spring and the Great Horned Owl.
Every diorama required up to 18 months to complete. The result from the interaction of the creative efforts of three people, the artist, the foreground preparator, and the taxidermist. The supervising museologist or habitat artist selects the scene, paints it, and blends the foreground into the painted background. The foreground preparator makes artificial trees, leaves, flowers and rocks, and paints them not only to look authengic and life-life, but also to counteract the effects the Museum's light source has on the realistic renditions of the exhibits. Indeed, if one looks closely in many of the dioramas, painted shadows can be observed. The third person, the taxidermist, provides the focus of each exhibit: the bird or mammal, suspended in time, seemingly performing one of its daily activities.
Exhibition catalogue or related publication:
Grieve, James D. (1971) Habitat Groups: Planning and Preparation. Museum and Archives Notes No. 3. Provincial Museum & Archives of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. 4 pp.
Related material in the Royal Alberta Museum's web presentation:
The Pronghorn habitat group was a new addition to the natural history displays and was the first component in the new Habitat Gallery. Two pronghorns were shown in their typical habitat, an open prairie on the Pinhorn Grazing Reserve in southeastern Alberta. The background painting was done by Ralph Carson and shows the Sweetgrass Hills, the Milk River Valley, and open plains. The diorama also included other typical prairie animals, such as the Plains Garter Snake and the Horned Lark. Plant material in the foreground of the diorama was prepared by artist Ludo Bogaert and included typical flowers of this September scene. This was the first of a planned sixteen dioramas depicting various regions of the province.
Exhibition catalogue or related publication: Smith, H. C., D. A. E. Spaulding, and D. A. Taylor (1970) Pronghorn on the Pinhorn Grazing Reserve. Museum and Archives Notes No. 1. Provincial Museum & Archives of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. 4 pp.
Related material in the Royal Alberta Museum's web presentation:
The second in a projected series of sixteen habitat groups featured Moose in the Swan Hills of northcentral Alberta. The background painting was by Ralph Carlson.
Exhibition catalogue or related publication: Hrapko, J. O., H. C. Smith, and D. A. E. Spaulding (1971) Moose in the Swan Hills. Museum and Archives Notes No. 6. Provincial Museum & Archives of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. 4 pp.
Related material in the Royal Alberta Museum's web presentation:
The White-tailed Deer habitat group was a new addition to the Natural History Gallery. The deer are shown on a winter's evening near the Red Deer River. This was the third of a planned sixteen dioramas depicting wildlife from various regions of the province.
Exhibition catalogue or related publication: Hrapko, J. O., R. A. Mussieux, H. C. Smith, and D. A. E. Spaulding (1975) White-tailed Deer at Pine Lake. Museum Note No. 15. Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. 4 pp.
Related material in the Royal Alberta Museum's web presentation:
Coyote and Pups Habitat Group Opened November 1972
The fifth in a projected series of sixteen habitat groups featured a female coyote and her pups at a den site in a sand dune area near Hilda in southeastern Alberta. Typical plants of the region include wild roses and cacti, which are included in the diorama along with native grasses.
Related material in the Royal Alberta Museum's web presentation:
The next in a projected series of sixteen habitat groups featured Mountain Goats in the Canadian Rockies. The background painting was by Clarence Tillenius.
Related material in the Royal Alberta Museum's web presentation:
The Beaver habitat group was a new addition to the Natural History Gallery. Beavers were shown constructing a dam near Pigeon Lake in central Alberta. This was another addition to a planned sixteen dioramas depicting various regions of the province.
Related material in the Royal Alberta Museum's web presentation:
Bighorn Sheep Habitat Group Official opening November 24 1982
The official opening of a new diorama by museum artist Ralph Carson, featuring Bighorn Sheep near the Athabasca Glacier and Columbia Icefields, Jasper National Park. The foreground was prepared by Terry Thormin. Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) are one of the most frequently seen mammals in Alberta's Mountain Parks.
Related material in the Royal Alberta Museum's web presentation:
This diorama, the fifteenth in a planned series of sixteen, shows the world's most northern breeding colony of white pelicans, situated at the "Mountain Rapids" in the Slave River, about 3.5 km south of the Northwest Territories border. Set in mid-June, the scene shows the pelicans loafing on a rocky shelf on an island in the river. In the background, are groups of flying pelicans returning from feeding while others are moving about on the nesting island. The location of this nesting colony - an island in an river in the midst of roaring rapids - is unique. These birds usually nest on small sandy or rocky islets in quiet lakes. The red rocks in the foreground are red granite of the Canadian Shield, only exposed in this area of Alberta.
Related material in the Royal Alberta Museum's web presentation:
The Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) is Alberta's provincial bird. It is easily recognized by its large size, pronounced ear tufts and distinctive hooting. These owls eat small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. Found throughout the province, Great Horned Owls usually breed in late winter or early spring, laying 2-egg clutches in abandonned Red-tailed Hawk nests. The parent owls fiercely defend their nests from intruders, including humans! Museum artist Ludo Bogaert worked on this small diorama of the Great Horned Owl.
Related material in the Royal Alberta Museum's web presentation:
The last diorama completed depicted Wolves and Bison in Wood Buffalo National Park in northeast Alberta. The background painting was done by Museum artist Ralph Carson.
Related material in the Royal Alberta Museum's web presentation:
The official opening of a new diorama by museum artist Ralph Carson, featuring Bighorn Sheep near the Athabasca Glacier and Columbia Icefields, Jasper National Park. The foreground was prepared by Terry Thormin. Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) are one of the most frequently seen mammals in Alberta's Mountain Parks.
