Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery’s new permanent exhibit on the history of the Red Deer area earned accolades from visitors at its grand opening on Sunday.
The $1.5 million exhibit — Remarkable Red Deer: Stories from the Heart of the Parkland — takes up 4,800 square feet of display space and features more than 400 photographs and 300 artifacts from the MAG collection and Red Deer Archives.
Several of Red Deer’s prominent buildings like Stephenson Hall Block, the train station, Club Cafe and Capitol Theatre, are featured with interactive stations for visitors to learn about the area’s rich and sometimes quirky history.
Technologies used within the exhibit impressed its visitors.
“The audio stimulus, and then the visual stimulus, are so complementary that you’re engaged. It’s capturing your attention, but not drawing away from the different elements. I think it’s fantastic,” said Wendy Moore, of Red Deer, on Sunday.
Background sounds, like the chugging train, help create an experience for visitors and so do the many details that capture the different decades within the exhibit, said Leslee Burton, of Red Deer.
Bev Hanes, of Red Deer, said the interactive stations are engaging and visitors to the city will get a good idea of what Red Deer is all about by touring the exhibit.
“It’s wonderful. If you want to learn your history, this is the place to come,” said Joanne Ruggles, of Red Deer.
Robert Zielke, of Red Deer, said the city keeps growing and growing and it’s good to reflect back on what it was like in the past.
The exhibit will hopefully encourage younger generation appreciate all that they have, said Viktor Zielke, of Red Deer.
Mayor Morris Flewwelling, who was the museum’s director for 20 years, said his favourite part of the exhibit is the video and digital recordings that really bring the community to life.
Visitors can listen to people who helped shape Red Deer and learn why residents came to call Red Deer home, he said.
Flewwelling has come to the exhibit about three times and still has more he wants to examine.
“What’s important isn’t just the artifact, it’s the story that goes with it,” Flewwelling said.
The museum didn’t want to just tell the story of how the area was developed, but rather what made its residents tick, he said.
Not only will Remarkable Red Deer be a legacy for Red Deer’s Centennial, it will also be a place of learning into the future, Flewwelling said.
“Red Deer’s museum is now on the threshold of a renaissance and a rebirth.”
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com