The museum was named in honour of Joseph Burr Tyrrell, and is situated within a 12,500-square-metre-building (135,000 sq ft) designed by BCW Architects at Midland Provincial Park.

[4] Tyrrell accidentally discovered the first reported dinosaur fossil at the Red Deer River valley, while searching for coal seams in 1884.

[10] In 2003, the museum completed its first major expansion to its building, the ATCO Tyrrell Learning Centre annex.

[12] The expansion plan saw the construction of a learning lounge annex, that increased the building's size by an additional 1,300 square metres (14,000 sq ft).

[15] The expansion marks the first time the museum's received cultural infrastructure funding from the federal government.

[14] The museum is located on North Dinosaur Trail at Midland Provincial Park, in Drumheller, Alberta.

The area which the museum occupies is situated in the middle of the fossil-bearing strata of the Late Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation.

The original structure and its first expansion has a total area of 11,200 square metres (121,000 sq ft) of space.

[11][18] The original structure, with its first expansion holds approximately 4,400 square metres (47,000 sq ft) worth of exhibit space.

[5] The main structure includes several galleries with interactive displays, a cafeteria, gift shop, and a theatre.

[11][20] The ATCO Tyrrell Learning Centre was designed to accommodate students from elementary to post-secondary levels of education.

[20] In 2019, the museum completed construction of a learning lounge, adding approximately 1,300 square metres (14,000 sq ft) to the main building.

[8][21] Audio-visual, interactive computers, and video programs and displays typically provide relevant information on the items in the exhibit.

[8][28] Fossils in Focus is an exhibit that typically displays specimens of interest for the museum's research program.

[40] Most of the specimens that were purchased were acquired in the early 1980s, when the institution was provided a large acquisition budget in preparation for its opening.

[10] The museum research program has a broad mandate to document and analyze geological and palaeontological history, with reference to Alberta.

[10] Palaeontological technicians of the museum assist, or oversee fieldwork operations; as well as prepare fossils for exhibits, or research.

[45][46] The museum has maintained a 500-square-metre (5,400 sq ft) permanent field station at Dinosaur Provincial Park since 1987.

[8] Other areas in Canada where the museum's research program has conducted fieldwork includes British Columbia, the Canadian Arctic, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.