Support us

A gift in support of the Friends of the Galt Endowment Fund supports an enduring, inspirational, engaging, social and multigenerational experience—discovery of the stories of Lethbridge and southwest Alberta.

There are strong voices from the past here. For generations, visitors have been seeing the experiences of their own lives through the lens of the stories unfolding at the Galt.

Like the generations before you, you have many special memories of your visits to and experiences at the Galt Museum & Archives that have shaped and influenced your life.

You believe that future generations should have the same opportunities to grow and learn through the journeys that this museum offers.

Impact

Your charitable donation ensures a vibrant and strong museum that will continue to preserve and share our memories, collections and stories. Visitors now and in the future will be enriched by their connection to the past and the present.

Your donation will:

• ensure a vibrant and strong museum, collections and

• educational programs.

• enrich the experience of visitors, your own life and the lives of generations yet to come.

help preserve and share our memories, collections and stories, grow connections among people, and inspire the future.

The Friends of the Galt Endowment Fund is managed by the Community Foundation of Southwestern Alberta.

To find out more, contact us at friends@galtmuseum.com

History

• 1964: A civic museum was opened and the collection, obtained after a call to the community, was displayed in three rooms of the former Bowman Elementary School

• 1967: The civic museum relocated and reopened its doors to visitors as the Sir Alexander Galt Museum in the former Galt Hospital

• 1971: The first employee was hired and, until this date, the Lethbridge Historical Society operated the museum with volunteers

• 1980: A formal archives program was started

• 1985: Museum expansion occurred and program staff was hired to develop and deliver programs and activities to the public

• 1997: The Galt Museum received an extensive Japanese Canadian collection (the Kogawa Collection), which adds to the many unique and treasured objects in our care

• 2006: The grand reopening of a redesigned space for the community took place on May 6

• 2009: The Friends of the Galt Endowment was established

For more than 120 years, area residents have recognized the value of historical documentation. The museum cares for nearly 20,000 artifacts, 2,500 books, 1,500 recordings and over 300,000 archival documents and photographic items, and these collections continue to grow.