The Badlands Historical Centre is making progress on its Raise the Roof fundraising campaign and is hoping to open this season.
The Badlands Historical Centre has been undergoing a renaissance over the last year, with a new invigorated board in place. It took some time to develop a vision for the unique museum, which has an eclectic collection. The museum has also been dealing with serious infrastructure issues. The main one is a damaged roof. While they have done a repair and it is holding, a proper fix is needed.
The Raise the Roof campaign has been aided by surrounding municipalities, including the Town of Drumheller, Starland County, Wheatland County, Kneehill County and Special Areas. They have held a few fundraisers which have helped.
“The fundraisers we have done, we have had between 50-60 people show up to each one and we want to keep this going. We make about $2,000 at each one and that will carry us for a few months,” said Louise Henrickson of the Badlands Historical Centre.
While the capital campaign is going well, opening for the season is hinging on securing some grant funding. They have applied for a few different programs, including for a summer student position.
The opening will also be contingent on a few upgrades as well as getting it up to safety and fire codes.
Another update is on the future of Bo the Bison, the partial skeleton of an ancient bison found near Taber in 1957. The Museum was working with the Town of Taber, which was interested in repatriating the remains. That has since broke off. Now the museum is talking with a museum at Blackfoot Crossing to display the ancient bison.

Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce has two new board members.
The Chamber held its annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, March 28 at the Badlands Community Facility.
Jeff Hall of Meyer Norris Penny, and Mike Bell of Western GM exited the board. Martina Morrison of Riverside Value Drug Mart let her name stand for directorship.
She was joined by Jennifer Dixon of RBC and Tammy Dettrich from Grace House Centre for Recovery, who were acclaimed to the board.
The Chamber had a strong year and welcomed 25 new members. Its total membership held strong with 245 members.
Last year, with public restrictions removed, it saw the return of many Chamber-involved events, including the Celebration of Excellence, Festival of Lights and Small Business Week activities.
The Chamber was also involved with the Drum Discovery customer service training program and, with its partners the Town of Drumheller and Community Futures Big Country, disbursed $37,000 to 12 local businesses through the Building Enhancement Grant.
The World’s Largest Dinosaur and Visitor Information Centre (VIC) also had a stellar year. In 2023 the World's Largest Dinosaur saw a record-breaking 141,199 visitors, a 47 per cent increase over the previous years. The Visitor Information Centre also saw a dramatic increase, counselling 33,873 people, a 33 per cent increase over 2021.
The year also ended in a strong financial position for the Chamber, with an excess of revenues over expenditures of $350, 686.
It was able to contribute to its Community Fund and Legacy Fund as well as its WLD Captial repair fund.
“The work of the Chamber of Commerce is not necessarily exciting or fraught with dramas, but it is important work and this year the Board and staff worked to ensure the longevity of our organizations and our asserts through the revamping and modernizing of our bylaws, seeking new technology and tools for our VIC in the form of Digital VIC and ensuring that Tyra, The World’s Largest Dinosaur, will continue to stand for as long as possible,” said Deana Hannem in her President’s Report.