Experience Guide | Tourism Medicine Hat

Strathcona Island Park

Look for this sign throughout the city to help your navigation

in the Historic Clay District

MUSEUM TOURS Whether guided or self-guided, the museum highlights true stories about real people who worked day in and day out to produce pottery being distributed nation-wide. Historic pottery and machinery remain on display, including The Collectors’ Gallery ft. Tony Schlachter Collection. In 2008 Schlachter donated 2,500 pieces that represent nearly every factory that operated in Medicine Hat. It all began with a nondescript chicken waterer that Tony found on his farm in 1954. BEEHIVE KILNS Over 14,000 bricks create the iconic structure of the Beehive Kilns, relying completely on gravity to keep the overhead domes together. In the early 1900s, pottery was fired for 7 to 8 days, and then cooled for 1 to 2 days inside the Kilns. The high heat could evaporate a penny. Tour the Beehive Kilns during opening hours.

SPECIAL EVENTS Dinner in the Kiln

Throughout the year, Dinner in the Kiln is hosted inside the beehive structures. A five course meal is prepared by five local chefs, with drink pairings and a different theme each evening. Find more details on page 28 . Tongue on the Post Every January, Medicine Hat’s Winter Folk Festival is hosted inside the National Historic Site. Canadian musicians perform throughout the century-old museum, including the Beehive Kilns. Find more details on page 34 .

The pottery found in the gift shop today is made using historic techniques, moulds, glazes, and machinery originally used back in 1912 at Medalta Potteries.

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