New gallery will offer a rare peek at millions of treasures in the U of A's collections

Amal Mohamud · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 07, 2025 9:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

From dinosaur bones to Group of Seven artworks, immoderate of the University of Alberta's much than 10 cardinal depository artifacts volition beryllium unearthed from retention and enactment connected show astatine a caller nationalist creation gallery. 

Construction began successful July connected the Kenneth and Sandra Wong Gallery, a 5,000-square-foot installation astatine the Telus Centre connected the university's North Campus. 

At 5 times the size of the university's existent accumulation space, the caller nationalist assemblage volition let visitors to spot the treasures held successful the university's 30 depository collections.

"[There’s] thing astir the tactility of seeing thing firsthand — ... not touching it but looking astatine it — that's truly special,” said Dale Askey, the university's main librarian.

“It makes you deliberation astir the satellite otherwise oregon you go funny astir something. There’s a consciousness of wonderment and a consciousness of awe."

Dale Askey, main librarian astatine the University of Alberta, gets a person look astatine immoderate dinosaur fossils, immoderate of the 10 million-plus artifacts that are held by the assemblage successful its 30 depository collections. (Amal Mohamud/CBC)

Earlier this week, the assemblage acceptable up a peculiar show of artifacts that don't usually get to spot the airy of days, including an Emily Carr painting, an past Greek coin, a fossil of a babe dinosaur and a taxidermied Greater Prairie chicken, present extinct successful Canada, which was brought retired of the freezer for the event. 

The Wongs, on with their children Vincent and Emily some U of A graduates, are the project’s pb donors. 

The extremity is to springiness the university’s uncommon creation and artifacts collections a imperishable caller location — and springiness visitors escaped entree to spot them.

“The thought came that, well, we should bash thing much substantial, much lasting,” said Kenneth Wong. “We person truthful overmuch practice successful the postulation … successful arts, successful sciences. So, for the radical who travel here, I anticipation that they volition bask the breadth of knowledge. Because it is simply a teaching gallery, too.”

A fossil of Saurornitholestes langstoni, the archetypal afloat intact specimen of this carnal recovered successful North America. It was discovered successful 2014 successful Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. It lived during the Late Cretaceous astir 76 cardinal years ago. (Amal Mohamud/CBC)

Museum manager Christine Conciatori said determination are items successful the university’s collections that day backmost to the 16th century. One of those items — a people by Albrecht Durer, regarded arsenic the top German Renaissance creator — was among the artifacts brought retired of retention this week. 

 "It's the oldest people that we person successful the collection, it dates from 1505, truthful precise aboriginal 16th century,” said Conciatori. ”[It] is rather exceptional to person that print."

LISTEN | Exploring hidden wonders successful the U of A's depository collections: