In 1974 Vegreville, Alberta's big egg was a technological breakthrough (and the Queen liked it too!)

If there's one thing Albertans do even better than huge trucks and grain elevators, it's making massive monuments for little places. Follow Tamarra Canu on her summer Albertan road trip as she travels her province to find out what these big things meant to the small towns that call them home.

In this episode of Big Things Small Towns, Tamarra heads to Vegreville, Alberta, a town known for its rich Ukrainian heritage and, of course, the "World's Largest Ukrainian Easter Egg" — an object so unique that the Queen herself came to small town Alberta just to see it.

In 1974 it took a computer breakthrough to build this giant egg

5 years ago

Duration 5:30

Vegreville, Alberta's giant egg required mathematical, architectural and engineering firsts to build from 3500 aluminum pieces. Big Things Small Towns checks out the massive landmark.

Truly one of Alberta's most beautiful and artistically innovative massive objects, the egg is a spectacle made by a huge team of people. Paul Sembaliuk was the project lead and designer of the Vegreville pysanka. He was originally commissioned to create a monument to the RCMP and it was Sembaliu's concept, pattern, colours and motifs that make the egg a cultural wonder throughout the province. Dr. Ronald Resch was the mathematical engineer who made the egg a structurally possible project, by working in his spare time to formulate an equation. Along the way, Sembaliuk recognized the egg could be a weather vane and sourced the old Navy gun turret upon which it was mounted. On the egg's 40th anniversary, Sembaliuk was recognized by the town of Vegreville for his monumental contribution. Without his dream of making the world's largest pysanka, there would be no egg in Vegreville.

Big Things, Small Towns had the opportunity to meet with a few who were around from the day the idea was born to the ribbon cutting at its reveal. In the video above, see the story of its creation, learn how its design stays true to authentic pysanka tradition and hear about the architectural, mathematical and engineering firsts that used early computer modelling technology to build the egg from 3,500 aluminum pieces.

Built: 1974
Height: 9m
Width: 5m
Material: 3,500 aluminum pieces
Weight: 1,360kg
Hours spent: 12,000
*Also a weather vane

About Big Things Small Towns

At one time, the largest things spreading across the Canadian prairies were grain elevators and Ukrainian church domes, but in the 1990s, citizens of small towns began building their own roadside giants. Some relevant to the times, some questionably random and some still popping up today.

On Big Things Small Towns we visit six of Alberta's most legendary locations:

• Drumheller! The "World's Largest Dinosaur" takes you back to prehistoric times. Plus, you can see how it and many other dinos are made.
• Falher! You'll celebrate the "World's Largest Bee" in more ways than one (including witnessing Tamarra facing one of her biggest fears by participating in their annual bee beard spectacle).
• Vegreville! You'll find out why the "World's Largest Pysanka" (or painted egg) is truly unique from creation to design.
• Glendon! Tamarra's headed to take a bite out of its world-famous perogy and discover how the monument may have saved the town itself.
• Donalda! The "World's Largest Oil Lamp" has been lighting the way for tourists to discover the beauty within the walls of the town.
• Medicine Hat! This town celebrates Indigenous art and identity with the spectacular Saamis Tepee that celebrates culture, history and the legacy of the Calgary Olympics.

You get to see these objects and the diverse Alberta landscape through the lens of spectacular drone visuals while you learn about Alberta's rich history and, more importantly, start planning your own road trip. Check back for more Big Things Small Towns over the next few weeks.

Special thanks to The Kubasonics for their song Giants of the Prairies. Graphics and poster designed by Chris Brodt.