Reynolds Museum facts for kids
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Exterior of the museum's main building
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| Established | 12 September 1992 |
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| Location | 6426 40 Avenue Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada |
| Type | Agricultural, industrial, transportation |
| Architect | RPK Architects |
| Owner | Government of Alberta |
The Reynolds-Alberta Museum is a special place in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. It shows off amazing old machines, vehicles, and tools. You can see everything from farm equipment to cars and even airplanes!
The museum sits on a huge piece of land, about 89 hectares (that's like 220 acres). This area includes the main museum building, a big hangar for airplanes, and a storage building.
The idea for this museum came from a man named Stan Reynolds. He loved collecting old farm machines, planes, and cars. In the 1980s, he gave 850 of his items to the government of Alberta. He wanted them to be shown in a public museum.
The museum officially opened its doors on September 12, 1992. It was named after Stan Reynolds because of his amazing gifts. Before he passed away, he donated over 1,500 items to the museum!
Today, the museum has more than 6,600 items. These include things from farming, industry, and transportation. Most of these items are kept safe in the museum's storage building. But many are on display in the main building and the airplane hangar. Some even travel to other places for special shows!
Contents
The Museum's Story
The museum's collection started with Stan Reynolds and his private collection. He owned a car dealership and would trade for old farm machines, airplanes, and cars. By 1955, he had so many vehicles that he opened his own "private museum."
Stan wanted his collection to be shown to everyone. So, in 1974, he started talking about giving his items to the government. Between 1981 and 1986, he donated 850 items to the government of Alberta. This was the biggest donation of its kind in Canadian history!
On September 12, 1992, the Reynolds-Alberta Museum opened. It was run by the government of Alberta. The Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame also moved into the museum when it opened. It stayed there until 2022, when it moved to The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary.
Stan Reynolds kept donating items even after the museum opened. In 1999, he gave another 60 aircraft. This was the largest gift of old airplanes ever in Canada!
What You Can See
The museum is in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, on a large property. It's right next to the Wetaskiwin Regional Airport. There are three main buildings here: the main museum, the aviation display hangar, and the storage building.
Main Museum Building
The main museum building is very big, about 9,450 square meters (that's over 100,000 square feet!). This is where you'll find the main exhibition area.
- Exhibits: You can see many items from the museum's collection here. There are also fun, hands-on displays. These show how machines changed life in Alberta from the 1890s until today.
- Interactive Fun: Imagine stepping back in time! You can explore a 1911 car assembly line. There's also a 1920s grain elevator, a 1930s gas station, and a 1950s drive-in theatre.
- Other Areas: The building also has a theatre, offices, a café, and a gift shop.
- Workshops: There's a special workshop where experts fix and restore old vehicles.
- Library: The museum also has a library with books and information about transportation and farm machines. It has over 1,800 books and 18,000 trade magazines!
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Aviation Display Hangar
This hangar is connected to the Wetaskiwin Regional Airport. It's where the museum shows off its amazing collection of airplanes. It's a great place to see old aircraft up close.
Collections Storage Facility
This is a huge building where most of the museum's items are kept safe. These are items not currently on display in the main museum or the airplane hangar. The public usually can't go inside this building. However, the museum does offer special private tours sometimes!
Amazing Collections
The museum's collection started with Stan Reynolds' gifts. He gave about 1,500 items before he passed away in 2012. Other items have been bought by the museum or given by people and foundations.
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As of 2019, the museum had about 6,600 items. These include things from farming, industry, and transportation. Besides machines, the museum also has many documents about how machines changed these areas.
More than 100 big items are on display in the main museum building. But over 5,000 items are stored in the special storage facility. Some items also travel around as part of the museum's tour program.
Farm and Industry Machines
The museum has 350 farm machines and 455 industrial items. This includes a giant Bucyrus-Erie 200-B power shovel. There's also a Bucyrus Class 24 dragline from 1929. This dragline excavator is the oldest one still existing in the world!
Cars, Trucks, and Motorcycles
The museum has 537 cars, motorcycles, and trucks. Some cool cars include:
- A Hupp-Yeats
- A 1929 Duesenberg Phaeton Royale Model J
- A 1933 Ford Fordor
- One of only two surviving 1934 Citroën P17 half-track vehicles. These were used on a famous trip called the Bedaux expedition.
- The world's oldest known Chevrolet, a 1913 Chevrolet Series C Classic Six.
Newer vehicles include the BugE, an electric car given to the museum. In 2018, the museum got one of the McLaughlin-Buick cars used by the royal family during their 1939 visit to Canada. They also got other items from that trip.
Airplanes
The museum also has 135 aircraft. This makes it the second largest collection of airplanes in Canada! Only the Canada Aviation and Space Museum has more. The museum also has the full-size Avro Arrow model. This model was used in the TV show The Arrow.
Resource Centre
The museum's resource centre has the biggest collection of old "trade literature" in North America. This means it has over 70,000 items! These include old repair manuals, parts catalogs, technical guides, magazines, and books. It's a treasure trove for anyone interested in how old machines worked.
See also
- List of museums in Alberta
- List of transport museums
