Banff Park Museum

Set in a rustic pagoda near the Bow River, this museum dates from the turn of the last century. It houses a collection of native creatures that have been stuffed and mounted for display. Most of the specimens date from 1890 to 1930 and were acquired when hunting was permitted in the area. The museum, which has the distinction of being western Canada's oldest natural history museum, provides a glimpse of both the diversity of the Rockies and the Victorian conception of a wilderness. A reading room and a hands-on discovery room for children are also part of the complex.