New exhibition at the Royal Alberta Museum explores the history of death

A new exhibition at the Royal Alberta Museum examines the natural history of death and its impacts on ecological systems across the world.

A new travelling exhibition at the Royal Alberta Museum is giving visitors a chance to learn about one of the universal constants, death.

In Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery, visitors will get the chance to learn about how different cultures celebrate life, imagine the afterlife and honour their dead.

“Through both an ecological and anthropological perspective on death and how death is a part of life, how people across the world celebrate and mourn, and how ecosystems can thrive based on the death of other animals in their ecosystems,” said Meaghan Patterson, the RAM’s executive director.

More than 100 objects and specimens are part of the exhibition, including an ofrenda, a household memorial often associated with Day of the Dead celebrations, a model of a tardigrade, an animal that has evolved to survive in some of the harshest conditions on the planet, and a whale fall diorama.

Whales are massive creatures, with some species reaching lengths of more than 33 metres (108 feet). When these mammoths die, a single whale corpse can support hundreds of marine species at the bottom of the ocean for decades, according to the RAM.

“We have a huge range of approaches in the show, we even talk about whether animals understand death and how they grieve,” said Julia Petrov, a curator at the RAM. “It’s a very moving section.”

Some of the cultures with artifacts or practices on display include ancient Egypt, Peru and Mexico.

The exhibition is part of the RAM’s feature exhibition program, where it highlights stories and objects that aren’t in the museum’s existing collection. The show originally was on display at the Field Museum in Chicago.

“What really drew us to this exhibition was that it approaches what can be seen as a scary or a taboo topic really quite accessibly and eloquently, and allows people to think critically and thoughtfully about this natural part of life,” Patterson said.

The exhibition is considered family-friendly, added Patterson. There are videos, interactive elements and plenty of ways for visitors of all ages to appreciate and digest the artifacts and information.

“These are not necessarily conversations that families are having on a day to day basis, we understand that, but it’s also not true to say that it’s something that people don’t experience, especially children,” Petrov said.

“Lots of families have, let’s say, beloved pets who pass away, or perhaps a grandparent or another family member.”

One of the goals of the exhibition is to help people be less afraid of death and inspire them to reflect on how rituals and practices surrounding death and mourning have changed throughout history.

“We’re hoping that this is a really respectful and contemplative experience, and that people can use it as an opportunity to have their own conversations about what they believe to be true, about death and what happens after death, if anything,” Petrov said.

“Death is an absolutely universal part of life.”

There are no human remains in the exhibition, the museum added.

The RAM is the second location in Canada to host the exhibition, which runs from Feb. 26 to Sept. 7.

Tickets are available online.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Brandon Lynch