Strathcona Science Provincial Park

{{short description|Provincial park in Alberta, Canada}}

{{Infobox protected area

| name = Strathcona Science Provincial Park

| iucn_category =

| photo = Strathcona Science Park.JPG

| photo_width = 250

| map = Alberta

| map_width = 200

| map_caption = Location of Strathcona Science Provincial Park in Alberta

| location = Edmonton / Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada

| nearest_city = Edmonton

| coordinates = {{coord|53|33|46|N|113|22|17|W|scale:50000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| area = {{convert|2.9|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}

| established = December 12, 1979

| visitation_num =

| visitation_year =

| governing_body = Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation

| embedded = {{Infobox mapframe |wikidata=yes |zoom =12 |coord={{coord|53|33|46|N|113|22|17|W}}}}

}}

Strathcona Science Provincial Park is a provincial park in Alberta, Canada, located between Edmonton and Sherwood Park, south of the Yellowhead Highway and west of Anthony Henday Drive.

The park is situated in the North Saskatchewan River valley, on both banks of the river, at an elevation of {{cvt|625|m}} and has a surface of {{cvt|2.9|km2|sqmi}}. It was established on December 12, 1979 and is maintained by Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation.

This site was for thousands of years the site of an annual aboriginal camp, as it was located close enough to the river for transportation and trade and the bluffs of the river valley provided excellent bison-hunting opportunities. The park was established to preserve the site from encroaching industrial development. It was the site of archeological excavations in 1978 to 1980.{{cite book | url=https://openlibrary.org/b/OL2751267M/Strathcona_site_(FjPi-29)_excavations_1978_1979_and_1980 | title=Strathcona site (FjPi-29) excavations 1978, 1979, and 1980 | year=1985 | publisher=Alberta Culture, Historical Resources Division | ol=2751267M }}

The park contains several abandoned interpretive buildings opened by the Alberta government in 1980 but now shuttered.[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/once-celebrated-science-park-becomes-shuttered-casualty-in-alberta/article26866498/ "Once celebrated science park becomes shuttered casualty in Alberta"], The Globe and Mail, Oct. 18, 2015. Remnants of the park's history as a public science center include tiled triangular obelisks, a boardwalk through the archaeological area, and a few interpretive plaques. The area is safe but overgrown.{{Cite web| author=River Valley Alliance| url=http://rivervalleypark.blogspot.com/2011/06/getting-out-in-river-valley.html| title= Getting Out in the River Valley | date=21 June 2011|access-date=2011-08-07}}{{self-published source|date=May 2024}}{{cite book |last= Goyette |first= Linda |author2=Carolina Jakeway Roemmich |title= Edmonton in Our Own Words |url= https://archive.org/details/edmontoninourown00goye |url-access= registration |publisher= University of Alberta Press |page= [https://archive.org/details/edmontoninourown00goye/page/10 10] |year= 2004 |isbn= 0-88864-428-0}}