A three-tonne petrified tree stump, two gingko trees and an intact dinosaur footprint found just steps from the museum are treasures in the Royal Tyrrell Museum’s Cretaceous Garden, reopening Friday, May 17, after almost two years of renovations.
The garden was closed in the fall of 2011 to allow improvements to visitor flow and accessibility for special needs patrons.
During the process it was completely emptied of plants, with some of the more rare specimens housed off-site. Drawing from Alberta’s fossil record, the museum’s horticulturalist worked closely with palaeontologists to locate appropriate materials to recreate Alberta’s Cretaceous Period landscape.
The redesigned garden allows visitors to experience a lush natural environment similar to the one dinosaurs inhabited 75 to 66 million years ago, when Alberta was covered in swamps, ponds and forests. It features ferns, tropical palms and flowering plants that are living relatives of the plant species that thrived in ancient Alberta.
The Cretaceous Garden also simulates Alberta’s ancient climate, which was warm-temperate and seasonal. The change of seasons is replicated through adjustments in lighting conditions, temperature, and variations in watering amounts throughout the year.