Great way to spend a rainy day, as you can still view nature while indoors (it was pouring rain…read morewhen we went!). The different plant varieties and climate environments (tropics, arid, etc) were wonderful to experience and shows this place is run by people who care about plants. The plants in each section were well taken care of, and the design with the pyramids separating the different ecosystems was pretty unique. There's also a koi pond here. It'll probably take about an hour or less to walk through all the plant exhibits. They also sell plants too in the gift shop area. They have a small cafe to rest, but the drink was okay.

Right, this place has mixed reviews and I'm torn between 0 and 5 stars. It's Edmonton's only spot…read morewith special plants and a lovely view, making it a great place to visit. However, the ridiculous part is they also host Christmas parties for companies. While some might enjoy the visit, the banquet food, the team and the service were absolutely terrible. I can't even find another word to describe it. Imagine a 100-person company Christmas party and there were people who didn't have any food to eat. The food was also disgusting and I'm glad some people didn't have to eat it. I refuse to go back and my wife's company has vowed never to return either.

A tiny shiny mountain reminding me the most beautiful part of our province, the majestic Rocky…read moreMountains. A beckon of brilliance in a sometimes dreary city. It shines of hope, hope for the future of where our city is going. To be bold enough to state that it not just Chicago, New York or Barcelona that is deserving of kooky, large scale installation art works. No, we are too. Just because we are small, we are north, we are cold, and yes we are the City Of Champions where hockey is religion, does not mean that we should be void of art or the arts. I applaud those involved for having the balls (pun intended, ha ha) to have brought this piece to Edmonton and to place it in the River Valley, not downtown. For there is more to see and do in Edmonton then within a 24 block radius. On my daily drive down the Whytemud I look forward to seeing the big shiny balls. Yes they are funny, they make me smile, they brighten my day, every day. They start conversation, create conflict and debate. They make us interact verbally with each other on their merit... They, well they do exactly what art is supposed to do. So to me they are worth every penny and are deserving of 5 glorious stars.

I get that art can be controversial. I get that not every piece of art is for everyone…read more My beef with the Talus Dome isn't about the sculpture itself. Sure I think it's a bit silly looking, but whatever. My opinion doesn't determine what's good art and what's bad art. And I don't know what it represents or what, but I could put out some general guesses, like snow, or mountains or the juxtaposition of Edmonton's blue collar roots and art culture, or whatever. How I feel and what I think about this piece isn't the issue. My problem with the Talus Dome is the placement. Why would anyone think it is a smart move to place a piece of giant, and distracting public art on the Quesnell Bridge on one of the busiest roads in Edmonton. Texting, applying making, playing candy crush, aren't these forms of distracted driving? Well yes, but we can also add the Talus Dome, a giant piece of blinding art to this list. The silver balls on this sculpture are reflective, so depending on when you're driving and where you're looking you'll need to shield your eyes. It's distracting and it's dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. I wonder how many people have said, ''but officer I couldn't help it, that shiny silver thing was distracting me." The placement of the art isn't good for either drivers on the Whitemud or pedestrians in the River Valley. There isn't any kind of place where you can stop and look at this piece of art as a driver. You can't exactly stop on the Whitemud...unless it's rush hour (Thank You! I'm Here All Night). You can drive down to Fox Drive where you can see the full statue, but again not really a good place to stop unless you park under the overpass. And then if you do, you still need to cross Fox Drive to stand on an overpass embankment to look at some silver balls. What? Look I'm not okay with damaging public art, as someone did recently. It just means that the art will need to be repaired, at a cost to the taxpayers. But maybe that vandalism is a sign, not that we should get rid of public art, but that we should move it to a place where it can be enjoy by people, and not be distracting to drivers, which is dangerous for everyone. Public Art is for the people right? So let's move this sculpture to a place where it can be enjoyed by people without being dangerous. It's either that or we need to start putting outrageous and weird art sculptures on every overpass and bridge in Edmonton, so it won't just be the Whitemud and Quesnell Bridge with distracting art. Then it'll just be visitors who are distracted by shiny silver balls and my next proposal for badly placed public art in Edmonton; a giant statue of Wolverine on the Anthony Henday overpass at Gateway Boulevard.

Two really delicious abstract pieces on either side of the main staircase, done by Douglas Hayne, a…read moreprofessor emeritus of the UofA. Rich color contrasts, geometric objects seem to free float in space. Not to complicate or pontificate about artist merits or measures of "evaluation' but just stand for awhile and let these soak into you. Imagine and feel what you like. Look Douglas Haynes up and discover he's considered one of our finest abstract painters in Canada. I believe this is part of a series inspired by Spain and his travels there. These are really great pieces but we have some remarkable public art work out there by well regarded artists new and old that we may not know anything about. I plan to do more art work 'reviews' that will include Isla Burns, Phil Darrah, and many other people's work I've come to admire and respect. All free to public access and worthy of our attention.

Great place to meander Some interesting pieces…read moreSome not so interesting Nice location Super nice staff Art work on sale and for rent... lots to choose from Reasonably priced Fun couple of hours Interactive stuff for kids Would recommend

Took a friend to make a brooch! Had images of Madeleine Albright and her famous brooches. Instead…read morea great staffer introduced us to felting that he learned from his Nana. And by teaching us, it's a way to honour her. What a great grandson! The instructions were straightforward and it was fun stabbing wool! A great new hobby that is accessible and a traditional needle craft. Sign up for their Thursday evening classes and bond w a friend, spouse or parent. Or go on your own. The company is great and the conversation was broad ranging! Will definitely return for more!

Nothing like seeing two Tweekers fight over a shopping cart, and a homeless guy pissing on this…read morebaseball bat. Greatest tourist destination

This Baseball Bat is a piece of Edmontonia. People seem to really rag on this $80,000 piece of…read morepublic art, which is to commemorate our baseball history. Granted, Edmonton is more of a hockey town - but from the Edmonton Legislatures to the Edmonton Oilers (yes, a baseball club firstly) - it's a piece of our history. Two fun facts about this baseball bat that are often overlooked: 1. It's the worlds largest baseball bat! Surely there is *some* pride in having a giant baseball bat once you know that it's a world-recording holding piece of art. 2. It spins! That's right, grab some friends, head down to the baseball bat and start spinning. You can push it solo, but let me warn you - it gets pretty tough when you're moving around the southern bend. Need a good work out spot? Park near the Alberta Avenue Community League and walk/jog the few blocks to the bat. Once there, spin it! Trust me, it can be quite the upper body work out. As an added bonus, the shocked look of people walking/driving by when they see the bat actually spins is definitely worth it. If my review of this darling piece of Edmontonia hasn't swayed you, at least one thing may make you feel a bit better... It cost way less than the Talus Dome! ($600,000)

Think of the Edmonton City Arts Centre as a cruise ship far out at sea, with lots of activities…read moreplanned to keep you happy. The catalogue headers give a good idea of the breadth available: cooking and baking, crafts and handiwork, dance, mind and body, music, photography, pottery and sculpture, silversmithing, soaps and lotions, theatre, visual art, and writing. The hunnybunny has done some silversmithing, pottery (pix added to this review), and painting, and we've done a cooking class together. There's a lot you can use to distract yourself from a particularly heavy snowstorm :-) The classes have been well planned and leave you with a nice artifact to commemorate your new (or growing) skill. The teachers personalities vary, so not all students will click with all teachers, but the centre seems pretty responsive in allowing switching between classes.

I recently came for a cooking class at this venue. I went in the front entrance and the staff…read moreperson at the front desk directed me to the stairs to the second floor. For a Sunday morning, they had a room with art class, children's programming on computers, and then the Antique room where the cooking class was. The class had about 9 students and there were tables and chairs set up. When it was time to cook, the kitchen got a bit crowded with 2 stoves and people standing around the middle counter space. We had to maneuver around others to find cooking utensils and bowls. But all the cupboards and drawers are labelled so it wasn't too difficult to find what you're looking for. The knives were sharp and they have lots of cutting boards. There are also lots of pans and some deep ones to hold lots of food. We cooked, ate, and then cleaned up. They even had containers for those that wanted to take some leftovers home. The venue is convenient with parking and also accessible by walking or transit. It's an older building as the washrooms are dated but everything was clean and in working order. I would come back and take a class here again.

It was only last year that I finally visited the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) in it's "new" downtown…read morelocation. But since then I've visited 3 times, once for my birthday, once for a friend's birthday, and then again to see an exhibit on Orcas. The RAM is the largest museum in western Canada. There are several permanent exhibits including the Children's Gallery, the Bug Gallery, the Human History Hall, and the Natural History Hall. I didn't visit the Children's Gallery, cause I'm an adult without kids so that would be weird, but I did visit the other ones. The Bug Gallery is really cool if you love bugs, but even if you're not a big bug person the bugs are all in contained closures, and I thought was really interesting. My favourites were the two halls, which if you couldn't tell from the names deal with human history and natural history. The human history one goes through the history of the people who've lived in this area from the Indigenous peoples who have been here since time immemorial to European settlers, modern immigration, and present day. The natural history hall has the history of the different flora and fauna that have been in Alberta. This includes exhibits on dinosaurs, which if you've been in Alberta for any length of time you'll know we have a lot of fossils here. And there is also an exhibit on various minerals in Alberta and in Canada. I like shiny rocks so I liked it. Then there is a feature gallery and a changing exhibit. The feature gallery is smaller, but the changing exhibit (when one is in) is usually quite large. The changing exhibits I saw where the ones on Angkor Wat and Orcas (different times). Both were great exhibits, but I think they've changed now. The museum space is huge, and there's lots to see so give yourself lots of time. My downside to the museum is just that I don't live nearby so it's a bit of a pain to drive downtown and park (especially with construction). The LRT is nearby (I think Churchill is the closet station. The museum itself can also get really busy, especially on weekends or if a school field trip is in. But hey, I have fond memories of school field trips at the RAM in its old location in Glenora so I hope kids get good memories of the RAM in its new home. If you're planning to visit the RAM a few times you can get an annual pass. The other option is buy an Alberta History Pass, which will get you into a few different historic sites for a yearly fee. That's what I did. You can buy the pass at the RAM and it's pretty easy to get your money's worth if you come back for a couple of visits. Not sure when I'll visit again, but I'll definitely be back.

We spent a few hours at the museum before it closed. The first floor of the museum leads you to the…read morehistory of Alberta. Although this museum exhibit and artifacts are nicely displayed and seems to be of significance, the museum flow was haphazard and didn't guide you towards a narrative or chronology, which is kind of jarring. The descriptions throughout the museum themselves don't really dive deep and maybe seems more like it's geared towards school-age children. Had I just seen this part of the museum, I would've disliked the museum overall. The second floor with the natural history section was much better, with fossils and even some live exhibits (like the beautiful, healthy corals and the turtles, though they didn't seem as happy). I live learning about the animals that roamed the area, including the Edmontosaurus. I was kind of fatigued from all the taxidermied/animal models behind glass cases though. The minerals/gem exhibit was also pretty exquisite and there's even an interactive section about magnetic stones and meteorites. My favorite is probably the special exhibit on "Death: Life's Greatest Mystery," which I think did a wonderful job in portraying different customs revolving around death. I also like the Francophone exhibit, especially the audio exhibit. Overall, I enjoyed the majority of the exhibits and thought the museum was worth visiting.

Over the last several years, I have ended up in Edmonton on business on many occasions. And…read morealthough Downtown Edmonton is still a work in progress, I always make it a point to make the trip in (usally from Sherwood Park) to visit and shop (for mostly gifts) at the gallery at the Alberta Craft Council. I have never been disappointed with this place and I certainly can't blame them for the more recent lousy exchange rates. The space is well designed to showcase various artists and their various media and the staff are very good advocates of who they represent (mostly Prairies and BC artists). I usually linger for at least an hour and have never left without buying something and being impressed on the quality, value, and variety. My friends and family back home have always appreciated these unique gifts.

If you've never been to the Alberta Craft Gallery, you don't know what you're missing. The gallery…read morehouses hundreds of pieces of beautiful art, all handcrafted by Canadian artists. Whether you prefer glass art or ceramics and pottery, wood or textiles, they have the artists that do all that here. All the pieces come with labels of the artist and where they're from in Canada. Everything is just absolutely stunning to look at; there are so many vivid colours. They have jewelry as well, all original designs, all exceptionally beautiful. I know I keep saying it's all wonderful, but no matter how many times I say it, it won't do justice to this art. They have a lower gallery where they are currently featuring artists Brian McArthur and Darren Petersen, ceramics and glass art, respectively. It's a really neat exhibit, if you want to see flying beavers and glass trout. The gallery offers some great ideas for gifts, even if you're not an art-collector. I'm definitely going to be back for the next exhibit in January. It's places like this that make me proud of the talent we have here in Canada.

Got my snakebites on discount because the piercer was "new" and "not that experienced". It was…read moreworth it. My snakebites are so cute and healed perfectly. Can't wait to go in and get them to change it for me.

Knowledgeable piercers and high quality (yet overpriced) jewelry. Unfortunately the staff are bound…read moreto some weird rules. After getting my nostril pierced I wanted to buy a hoop for my other nostril that was already pierced. I told them I wanted a snug fit. Well they put on one that was massive and I told them I didn't want it. The lady then said that I had to buy it anyways even thought it wasn't what I had asked for. The funny thing is they have specialized cleaning equipment there so they easily could have sterilized it and returned it to the display anyways. Or they could've just given me a hoop that fit, idk. Whatever