The Western Development Museum says it is planning a "thought-provoking" glimpse into the realities of the funeral home profession.

Its new funeral home exhibit is set to open this spring in Boomtown, the museum's indoor representation of a typical Saskatchewan town circa 1910.

A period hearse will be parked in front of the exhibit. A closed coffin will be set up inside a curtained-off chapel area where some visitors, if they're uncomfortable, may choose not to go, the museum says.

Boomtown features more than 30 buildings, including a general store, blacksmith shop, school and Royal North West Mounted Police detachment.

Museum CEO Joan Champ said she thinks the WDM is the first museum in Canada to feature a permanent funeral home exhibit.

The museum is "a comfortable and safe place in which to discuss all kinds of subjects," the WDM says on its website.

"Perhaps the funeral home exhibit will spark conversations about death that are difficult to hold elsewhere, and will help people to become more at peace with the subject."