Alberta Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ricardo Miranda, was on hand at the Royal Tyrrell Museum Friday afternoon to officially open its new exhibit Grounds for Discovery.

 Grounds for Discovery is a unique exhibit, as it displays some of the most significant fossils that have been discovered through industrial work.

   “This showcases what happens when industry and the museum work together, and these are some beautiful examples of what this looks like, when workers see something on the ground and alert us,” said Minister Miranda.

‘It is the fulfillment of the Historical Resources Act in this province. It is an expression of the collaboration we have with industry and the preservation of the beautiful paleontological history of our province.”

In the spotlight in the exhibit is a new species of nodosaur. It is the oldest dinosaur ever discovered in Alberta, and the best preserved armoured dinosaur ever found in the world. It came out of the Suncor Millennium Mine near Fort McMurray in 2011.    

"Staff at the Royal Tyrrell Museum and our colleagues at the Royal Alberta Museum have been working for several decades to educate industry on the importance of preserving and protecting fossils uncovered by industrial activities,” said Andrew Neuman executive director, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. “This exhibit highlights some of the results of this collaborative approach to heritage preservation.”

Minister Miranda highlights the importance of the Tyrrell on the national and international stage. Earlier in the day, he was at Rendez-vous Canada, a major tourism conference in Calgary, which highlights the province’s tourism destinations.

   “This is one of the top destinations they want to see and I know there have been familiarization trips here. People want to see what has been discovered,” said Miranda.

He notes that the new addition will be exciting for local and international travellers, and a boon for the economy.

   “By refreshing our museums and bringing in these discoveries, it renews interest around the world. People already know we exist, and they love it and want to come here, but for those who have been here a number of times, it is just another reason why they should come again and again,” he said.

He also noted that tender would be going out shortly for the $9.3 million museum expansion, which is slated to be completed in 2019.

“We know the expansion is long overdue and it is going to be very much welcomed by both the museum and tourists alike,” he said.

He has a special connection with the museum. As a child, it was the first museum he ever visited, after arriving Canada as a refugee from Nicaragua.

   “This is a quintessential part of what it means to be Albertan. The museum for me, is something that lives in my heart.”

Four members of the Drumheller Fire & Rescue participated in the third annual Firefighter Stair Climb Challenge at the Bow Tower in Calgary on May 7.

For the men’s 18 to 35-year-old category, Kyle Smith placed 12th with a time of 0:13:49, and Mitch Smith placed 66th with a time of 0:15:41.

As for the men’s 51+ category, Capt. Merv Smith placed 5th with a time of 0:17:01, and Dep. Chief Duane Bolin placed 8th with a time of 0:19:46.

“We were expecting the worst but it actually came out a little better,” said Dep. Chief Duane Bolin.

The first-timers were able to keep a slow and steady pace at the beginning as to not lose all their energy by the end.

They continually practice their fire training and had been running stairs throughout the Telus Building during the winter months. The four also ran the ski hill a couple times in full bunker gear.

“The worst thing was was that we don’t have a building that high to train in right,” said Bolin.

The Bow Tower has 1205 stairs whereas the Drumheller Telus building only has 100. The firefighters had to run the building up and down 12 times in order to prepare for the Bow.

“We were all concerned about doing all 1,200 stairs non-stop,” said Bolin. “What is that going to be like?”

The event raised $3,345 in support of firefighters and citizens in the community who are fighting cancer.

It was hosted by the Calgary Firefighters Benevolent Society and was presented by Encana Corporation in support of Wellspring Calgary.

“You know the big thing is you know it wasn’t really a race, it was a fun thing – good team event to train together and work together and the ultimate goal I guess was to raise money for the foundation,” said Bolin.

With 1,205 stairs, they at least had an open view. Each floor had interesting architectural and elevation tidbits like how tall other buildings were.

“You’re actually overlooking the city of Calgary all the way up and it’s pretty cool that every floor had writing on the landing,” said Bolin.

After this first time climbing, others on the department are now interested in joining

“Definitely we had a few say that they were maybe going to try it next year so that’ll be good,” said Bolin. “Maybe two teams for next year to go and try it out.”

Bolin was appreciative of the support that came to help sponsor each firefighter individually or as a team.

“I’d like to thank everyone that sponsored our team,” said Bolin. “The real winners of it all was the foundation.”