Canada/Alberta: Royal Tyrrell Museum

This is perhaps the most impressive and interesting museum in the world, easily rivaling the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. The Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller is one of the most renowned paleontological museums in the world and it showcases a vast collection of specimens from Alberta’s fossil-rich badlands. Some of the most impressive exhibits at the Royal Tyrrell Museum include “Dinosaur Hall” that features skeletons like the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops,, “Cretaceous Garden” that recreates ancient ecosystem showing plant life from the age of dinosaurs, and “Triassic Giant”, which is life-size model of an enormous Shonisaurus, an ancient marine reptile. Really cool was the hall dedicated to dinosaurs fossils found while drilling the Alberta oil sands – like the “nodosaur”, a nearly complete, fossilized armored dinosaur discovered by oil drilling companies. This insanely preserved fossil still has skin and armor, giving a rare glimpse into its appearance 110 million years ago.In addition to dinosaurs, the museum also features exhibits on prehistoric mammals, including species that emerged after the dinosaurs – fossils of ancient mammoths, sabertooth cats, and early horses.