Philip J Currie Dinosaur Museum

Located near the Pipestone Creek in Wembley, Alberta, the museum contains numerous fossils from the Late Cretaceous to the Early Paleocene epoch. The bone bed was initially discovered by local school teacher Al Lakusta in 1974, who found bones belonging to Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai. Thousands of fossils have been subsequently unearthed and the area would come to be known as The River of Death. Fundraising for the project were assisted by Canadian actor Dan Aykroyd, and designed by the Canadian offices of Stephen Teeple Architects, with exhibit design by RPDI International Architects.

The media design exhibits highlight global climate patterns and life forms during the Late Cretacious Period, with specific attention to Pachyrhinosaurus and the particular climate event responsible for the death of these dinosaurs in the area. As one moves through the museum the content focuses on the earlier Devonian period of the Earth's evolution. Current research and lab work at the museum are also displayed. Our design and media exhibits provide a unique look into Earth's past and present, allowing visitors to walk away with an enhanced understanding of our planet's history.

The Design Foundation developed more than 10 unique and innovative media experiences. This includes the design and production of the media, which include the following: A 10 minute animated movie describing the prehistoric events that occurred in the location, an interactive which allows visitors to become the scientist and generate a full dinosaur skeleton from unearthed artefacts, an augmented reality interactive which allows visitors to see skeletons of various animals come to life, an interactive CT Scan of two dinosaur skulls, and an interactive which allows visitors to examine local or international scientific dinosaur finds by selecting filters such as genus, location or time periods.

The Philip J Currie Dinosaur Museum has had tremendous success since opening in 2015. Its exhibit results have exceeded expectations, drawing in over 100,000 visitors in its first 11 months of operation. This makes the museum a great part of a larger plan to make Wembley a destination stop for palaeontology tourists who also visit similar venues in British Columbia. The museum also offers educational programs and activities, as well as special events and screenings for the public. In 2014, Azure magazine credited the design of the  museum building. In 2015, the opening was recognised as one of the top museum openings world wide by Condé Nast Traveler.