A great way to learn more about paleontology and the great research that is taking place at the Royal Tyrrell Museum and beyond, is the Speakers Series.
The annual series, where leaders in the fields of paleontology and related sciences present talks on their subject, kicked off again on February 8.
The series is typically in the off-season of the most busy time for the museum, and is a great chance for residents to get a first-hand look at work done at the museum.
“It is a great free opportunity for community members to connect with Tyrrell Museum research scientists directly. You can’t get much more direct than actually sitting in an auditorium and listening to them in a presentation and then having the opportunity to interact directly,” said Dr. Craig Scott, director of preservation and research at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
He notes it goes beyond the work within the walls of the Tyrrell.
“It is beyond Royal Tyrrell Museum research, it’s all of these people we bring in to do these talks. In addition to the local research crowd, you can interrogate people from all over the world that we get in here to do these talks,” he said. “A lot of what we try to do is bring people on who are doing contemporary work that is really interesting. We try very hard to get a variety of subjects. Some years, we have a very intense paleontology focus and other years, we get talks that venture out into the broader sciences.”
While the Tyrrell is one of the main tourist attractions in the province, celebrating the field with great displays, the Speaker Series is a good opportunity to explore science.
“It gives you the sort of behind-the-curtains scene in terms of the kind of work that goes into developing hypotheses and testing them, and the resulting research that actually gets incorporated over time into our exhibit,” he said.
The Speaker Series has endured for about 19 years and continues this season. Talks are on Thursdays at 11 a.m. and run until May 2.

The Rockyford Hockey and Ringette Association (RHRA) is having their annual “Come Try Ringette” day on Sunday, March 17, 2024, in Rockyford.
It is a completely free event and no experience is necessary to participate. Any child over the age of four is welcome and encouraged to register.
Julie Wallace, the Ringette Vice-President for the RHRA, tells the Mail, “We are looking for anyone aged 4+. Next season we are hoping to offer teams at the U10 (4-9), U12 (10-11), U14 (11-12) and U19 (17-19) levels. Currently we have no limit on participants. If we get a lot of interest, we will add another ice time another day. No one interested will be turned away! All players are welcome to join our teams. We accept all abilities and learn and grow together.”
Teams in the Zone 2 League for U10 play in Rockyford, Strathmore, Indus, Airdrie, Cochrane and Foothills. Teams in the Chinook League play in the same mentioned places as well as Calgary.
Extra sticks are available for the event and the only equipment needed to participate is skates, gloves and a helmet. There are equipment swaps commonly available for those families who have players that have outgrown their equipment or may have extra they’re not using.
“Rockyford has a long standing tradition with ringette and we are proud to continue to offer the sport in our area and give opportunities to our young girls. Many of our players have moved on to play elite ringette or have continued to play as adults. We also have two competitive adult teams. Our association received a Ringette Excellence Award in 2023 and we have had ringette in our community since 1991!” says Wallace. “If people are interested but unable to attend on the 17th, they can reach out to me and we can have anyone interested come out and join us for a practice or come and watch a game and meet our teams!”
Wallace can be reached by email which can be found on the RHRA website. The link to register for the event is cometryringette.ca - search 'Events Near Me' - Alberta - and then Rockyford.
The season runs from October 2024 through to March 2025.