The museum collects, preserves, and exhibits materials related to the cultural heritage of the Rocky Mountains of Canada, making them available for education as well as research.

Their first summer they dedicated to painting wilderness and First Nations people, and in the autumn they arranged with Earl Spencer to build their log home studio, still located today on Museum property.

As well as acting as an agency for collecting and preserving the culture of the Canadian Rockies, the Wa-Che-Yo-Cha-Pa Foundation supported medical research and Native education.

Peter and Catharine's extensive collection of artifacts and historical materials formed the nucleus of what became known as the Archives of the Canadian Rockies.

The Peter Whyte Foundation ceased to give money to other causes and used all of its income to support the new building which now housed the archives, gallery and library.

[6] In 1993 a new wing was added to the Whyte Museum to help it meet its full potential as a cultural tourism generator.

The Heritage Collection includes artifacts relating to Aboriginal people, artists, immigrants, guides and outfitters, climbers, surveyors, hikers, explorers, adventurers, skiers and residents of the town and area.

The Whyte Museum's art collection spans the early 1800s to present day and includes regionally created and related works by Canadian and international artists.

These historic homes work to represent the lifestyle of Banff's earlier pioneers and the people who helped to shape the community and land into what it is today.

They are aimed at preserving significant examples of Banff's earlier architectural styles and homes associated with some of the area's more noteworthy residents.

It belonged to Philip and Pearl Moore, who were early pioneers of the area and worked to preserve a lot of Banff's earlier history.

The home of Peter and Catharine (Robb) Whyte, the Museum's founders, philanthropists, world travellers and visual artists.

With Peyto's cabin as well as those of Jack Sinclair, Jimmy Simpson, and Fred Ballard, this property by the Bow River became Banff's outfitting and guiding center.

In the early 1970s, worried about the deterioration of this important structure, Parks Canada moved the cabin down the Cascade fire road to its present location.

The Whyte Museum's Archives & Library was established in 1966 to serve the unique mountain regions of Western Canada.