The future of TELUS is coming to Drumheller. 

The Canadian Tire parking lot will be home to two large shipping containers, which will house a 560 square-foot Telus future home from Thursday, October 15 to Sunday, October 18. The home will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

 The home will feature the latest in advanced technology available today including smart monitoring and security, an intelligent kitchen, gesture-controlled lighting; digital art; and the ultimate 4K Optik entertainment experience. 

Director of Marketing for TELUS, Andy Balser, said the home has a unique way to enter.

“One of my favourite parts of the future home is how you get in. Picture you are coming home, arms full of groceries, your keys buried away deep in a back pocket that you can’t reach. In the future home, you walk up to a visual facial recognition (system) that scans you, recognizes that you are one of the people that lives in this home, authenticates it and automatically opens the door for you to go inside,” he said.

He mentioned that by having a home that has many devices they are going to speak to each other more frequently and this will require faster Internet speeds. He said one of the many new innovations expected for the future is smart appliances integrating with what is in the home. 

“One of the concepts that we have on display is the idea of a nutritional scanner. There is a scanner in the future home, where you pick up a banana or a package of spaghetti, you put it on the scanner and it will tell you the nutritional contents of what is there, the ingredients you can make with it, and if you need some extra ingredients it can automatically add it to the shopping list on your smart phone,” Balser told inSide Drumheller. 

If you are unable to attend the future home, Balser said the new Drum Wireless location in the downtown area will also feature a new Innovational Learning Centre.

“Once the future home is gone, residents can go into the Innovational Learning Centre and learn more about Fibre Optics there as a permanent location,” he said. 

The centre will open on October 16. 

He said by Drumheller having Fibre Optics available it is going to “future proof your home or small business for generations to come.”

On October 19, Balser said, orders will begin to be taken online for Fibre Optics in Drumheller with installations beginning around October 26. 

The Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site will be Ickier, Stickier & Gooier than ever before. 

“That’s all because of Little Boo, our 10th annual family friendly Halloween Bash,” explains the Atlas’ Director of Misery and Woe Kelly Eddy. 

“We’re excited about some of the activities our ghouls are cooking up, but we also want some things to be a bit of a surprise for our victims – I mean guests.” 

Atlas Volunteers and Spooks have also resurrected eerie activities including the ever popular Pumpkin Bowling, and the Glow Room. 

Back by popular demand, Detective Phibbs and his Lie Detector  will be on site interrogating all those who are brave enough to drop by. Little Boo’s Ghost Train will also be on hand to take victims on a hauntingly fun ride around the mine. Little Boo runs on October 25th from 12:00 until 4:00pm.

Costumes are encouraged but victims should also dress for chills. Little Boo is a family fun event designed for children and gentler souls. Price is $5 per victim and tickets available at the door.

For more information, or if you are interested in volunteering please check our website www.atlascoalmine.ab.ca/events  or call the Atlas Coal Mine at 403.822.2220.