Explore Alberta: 10 Things to do at the Reynolds Alberta Museum with Kids

At just an hour outside of Edmonton the Reynolds Alberta Museum is an impressive collection of vehicles, airplanes and agriculture equipment. With fun kids activities throughout the museum, it’s a trip that should make it to the top of your summer bucket list!

The Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, interprets the impact of technological change in transportation, aviation, agriculture and industry from the 1890s to the present. Visitors will see a wide variety of vintage automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, trucks, stationary engines, tractors, agricultural implements, aircraft and industrial equipment.

Here’s what to do while you’re there:

Have a Drive-in Experience | Sitting in the seats of an antique car, you can experience a series of Canadian Shorts, geared towards kids. We watched classics like ‘The Hockey Sweater’ and ‘Jonathan Cleaned Up’. The films were short enough to keep the kids attention, and long enough for them to experience some of the familiar stories that they’ve had read to them at-home.

Imagine a Road Trip in a Pink Convertible | If you ask our kids, there was something magical about the pink convertible near the Starlite Drive In. There might be something about being able to imagine road-tripping to anywhere their imagine could take them, or the fact that it’s pink, but either way they were enamored with the convertible – or, at five and eight, their dream car.

Ride in a Classic Car | Every ten to fifteen minutes, you can experience the ride in a classic car, if you opt to skip the path from the Reynolds Alberta Museum to the Canada Aviation Hall of Fame. It’s by donation, and gives you the chance to experience a ride in one of the classic vehicles that is currently being restored for the collection. Visiting the museum twice the summer, we were lucky enough to experience two very different vehicles, for the quick ride around the property!

Learn How Airplanes Fly | As part of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame, there are plenty of kid-friendly experiences. From sitting in the helicopter or airplane, to a play station in the back for toddlers to play with flight themed toys and learning how airplanes fly with interactive exhibits explaining currents in the air, your kids are going to love taking part in the experiments. Our tip? Save them for last, the kids will want to linger there.

Tip// Don’t forget to sign the guest book!

Play the Pursuit of McLaughlin | Exploring the museum is even more exciting when there’s an extra challenge. When you arrive at the museum, pick up your game board. There are six riddles throughout the gallery, and you can use the information panels throughout the museum and solve each riddle. When the circle is complete, you can return it to the information desk and receive a prize.

Mail a Postcard | To celebrate Canada 150, you can complete a McLaughlin post-card, coloring it in and customizing it and fill out an address. Drop it off in the mailbox in the craft area and wait for it to arrive in the mail!

Tip// play the board game on the wall while you’re exploring the craft area, it’s a fun, short game that will have you making your way across Canada.

Explore the Farm House Play Zone | Exploring the Farm House play zone, you might be surprised how many toys are made in Canada. Play with the giant blocks, check out the puzzles and toys and spend a few minutes learning about the history of the toys that we’ve been playing with for years.

Sit in a Helicopter | ‘ALL SYSTEMS GO!’ That’s what I heard as the kids were exploring the helicopter. They were surprised to see just how many levers and buttons were in the helicopter that was ‘as old as their great grandma’, and played for a good fifteen minutes in the helicopter and airplane,

Experience a Biplane Ride | If you want to take your experience to the next level, you can charter a Biplane ride for $110. Check out the Biplane tours – there are three options available.

Learn more and visit the Reynolds Alberta Museum website at http://www.history.alberta.ca/reynolds/ – at just an hour outside of Edmonton it’s a fun day trip idea to explore this summer with the kids.

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