River exhibit comes to Edmonton’s Royal Alberta Museum

By Aaron Taylor

EDMONTON— Many people have no idea how much impact they have on Canadian rivers. That is why the Sherbrooke Museum of Nature and Science, along with the help of the World Wildlife Foundation, is launching a new interactive exhibit called A River Runs Through It, which opens at the Royal Alberta Museum on Oct. 15.

This family-oriented exhibit aims to educate people on the negative affect that we can have on Canada’s rivers.

“The North Saskatchewan [River] faces many of the challenges that are discussed in this exhibition, and people need to be aware of these and what they can do to help,” said Mark Steinhilber, head of life sciences at the Royal Alberta Museum.

Steinhilber hopes the exhibit will be able to enlighten people on the true nature of the North Saskatchewan River. Rather than thinking of the river as being an overly polluted, unproductive body of water, it is Steinhilber’s hope that people will be able to see the river as a productive ecosystem that is home to more than 30 species of fish.

While the exhibit is meant to inform people, it is also meant to entertain.

“Although this is a very important topic that directly affects our quality of life, the display is presented in a fun and engaging manner that will be especially appealing to families,”  Steinhilbiler said.

The exhibit will offer people the chance to manage a dam, examine the health of ecosystems, and weigh the amount of water used while brushing their teeth, all while considering the affects these actions have on the ecosystem.

In addition to this, children will be able to experience the journey of a salmon as it makes its way up river to spawn.

The exhibit will run in both English and French, with an interpreter available to further immerse visitors in the exhibit.

This traveling exhibit will make its first stop in Edmonton, opening at the Royal Alberta Museum at 12845 102 Ave from Oct. 15 to Feb. 5.