New Royal Saskatchewan Museum Exhibit Showcases Tiny Creatures

Released on March 25, 2024

A new exhibit has opened at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM) just in time for the Easter break. 

The Take a Closer Look Exhibit focuses on tiny invertebrate animals such as insects and spiders and brings them into focus for visitors to see.

"The Royal Saskatchewan Museum has something for everyone, and Easter break is the perfect time to visit favourites like the world's largest tyrannosaurus rex, Scotty, or check out something new, like the Take a Closer Look Exhibit," Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Laura Ross said. "The Museum is an asset to our community with exciting, fun filled activities for guests of all ages, alongside world-class exhibits and interactive displays. There is always something new to explore at the RSM."

The new exhibit features high-quality photographs that give a close-up view of the beauty of Saskatchewan's insects at a size most would not have ever experienced.

"The RSM is filled with excellent dioramas of Saskatchewan landscapes - though due to the small size of insects and other terrestrial arthropods, to include them to scale would make most of them almost impossible to see," RSM Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, Dr. Cory Sheffield said. "Once these are enlarged, they look very strange and exotic. We used a digital imaging system to take the high-quality photographs and the process of how this is done is featured in the new exhibit." 

Actual specimens that were photographed are included in the display to give visitors a frame of reference of their small size. The variety of specimens selected for the new exhibit helps to tell interesting stories about their unique biology and anatomy.

In addition to the new exhibit, the Royal Saskatchewan Museum has some fun Easter themed activities taking place over the break.

Learning Lab: All About Eggs - March 30 to April 7

In the SaskTel Be Kind Online Learning Lab, RSM staff will have drop-in activities and are incubating some chicken and duck eggs that should be hatching around the break. Visitors can stop in to see if they have hatched.

The Lab will be open 1:30pm-3:30pm between March 30 to April 7.

Scotty's Dino Egg Hunt - March 30 to April 7

Take part in Scotty's Dino Egg Hunt where visitors search for "dino eggs" hidden throughout our galleries. Record the letters from each egg and unscramble the puzzle for a chance to WIN a prize basket from the Museum Shop!  

Share your Dino Egg Hunt fun with #EggHuntRSM.

Entrance to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum is by donation. To learn more about the Museum's exhibits, events, programming and world class research, visit https://royalsaskmuseum.ca/.

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