School’s out for summer! And we can finally take our kids out for some fun again as the province opens up. Most venues still have COVID-19 protocols in place so check ahead to see whether you need to buy advance tickets online, wear a mask or take other precautions. Here’s a variety of Alberta-based, kid-friendly activities to explore — some off the beaten path as well as a few favourites with new offerings.

Barney’s Adventure Park

If you’re heading to the Badlands, don’t miss the newly opened Barney’s Adventure Park. The park features 30 family friendly activities, including a barnyard to celebrate the agricultural history of the Drumheller Valley, complete with a corn maze, petting zoo and giant pumpkin patch. The park’s “boomtown” highlights the area’s coal mining history while a dinosaur boneyard features a dino walk and dig to uncover valley dinosaurs.

Royal Tyrrell Museum

At the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Canada’s only museum dedicated exclusively to the science of palaeontology, you can check out the new gallery, Cenozoic: The Rise of Mammals. Dinosaurs aren’t the only prehistoric creatures, and this exhibit highlights some of the weird and wonderful varieties of life that appeared during the Age of Mammals. See different species from the past 66 million years such as the rhinoceros-like brontotheres, bear-dogs and the earliest whales, which were land-based, hoofed carnivores.