Released on April 13, 2017
April is an exciting month at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (RSM). The museum was recognized with a special award, visitation has hit record highs, and there are many great events and programs just around the corner.On April 5, the RSM was awarded the Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence Gil Carduner Marketing Award for the Saskatchewan Fossil Campaign. This campaign, which led to the selection of the T. rex as a new provincial emblem, successfully reached a number of target markets and resulted in an increase in visitation, website traffic and social media engagement.
The RSM saw 139,122 visitors in 2016/17, a 19 per cent increase over 2015/16 and a 28 per cent increase over the ten year average. In fact, this is the highest visitation the museum has seen in 20 years.
“I am so proud of the achievements the Royal Saskatchewan Museum has made over the past year,” Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Ken Cheveldayoff said. “I know that the talented staff at the museum will build on the momentum and continue to positively contribute to the quality of life here in Saskatchewan.”In the coming weeks, the RSM welcomes the public to enjoy the return of favourite programming and some new and unique events. Throughout the Easter break, from April 14 to 22, the Paleo Pit will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the popular Megamunch’s Dino Egg Hunt returns. Families will enjoy searching for “dino eggs” hidden in the galleries, record the letters from each egg and unscramble the puzzle to be entered for a prize.
Family friendly movies will show daily at 2:30 p.m. from April 17-21 in the RSM theatre and tickets are just $3 each.
April 19 is National Canadian Film Day. To celebrate Canadian cinema, the RSM is screening Bugs on the Menu. This film features the two billion people who eat bugs as a part of their regular diets and suggests that “the answer to feeding the world’s expanding population may be smaller than you think.”
April 22 is Earth Day and the RSM will be celebrating snakes. Elder Hazel Dixon will be onsite sharing snake stories throughout the day.
Storytelling sessions will take place at 10:30 a.m., when children aged 5 and under are invited, and at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. when all ages are welcome. Guests will also have the opportunity to explore stations about snakes from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and the RSM snake keeper will do a show and tell with a scaly friend at 2 p.m. Snakes Alive, the exhibit, closes on May 23, 2017.
On April 25, the RSM will continue their “Talkin’ ‘bout” series with “Talkin’ ‘bout Amber”. RSM Curator Ryan McKellar will share stories about exciting dinosaur discoveries in Cretaceous amber from Myanmar and Canada. Then, on April 27 at 7 p.m., the RSM will host a free public lecture presented by the Saskatchewan Ecomuseum Partnership. The lecture features René Rivard who participated in the creation and renovation of more than 200 museums, ecomuseums and heritage sites over his successful 45 year career.
The RSM, located at 2445 Albert Street, is open daily from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Visit www.royalsaskmuseum.ca or call 306-787-2815. Admission is by donation.
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For more information, contact:
Jill Sveinson
Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-5781
Email: jill.sveinson@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-527-8152