September 1st of 2014 marked the grim anniversary of the death of the last passenger pigeon on Earth. It’s extinction is probably the only one for which an exact hour of demise is recorded; the last individual was a captive bird, named Martha, that expired at 2pm local time at the Cincinatti Zoo. The disappearance of this species is almost impossible to comprehend, as it was once the commonest bird in North…
Monthly Archives: October 2014
November is Love Thy Nonsuch month
Join us weekends in November for the Museum’s second annual Love Thy Nonsuch month, presented by James Richardson & Sons, Limited. On December 8, 1974, the Nonsuch Gallery officially opened, and since then, over 4 million visitors have remarked on the distinctive scent that surrounds the Gallery, heard the gulls calling overhead, and walked the Nonsuch’s decks. We love the Nonsuch as much as you do, and will be celebrating…
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Solar Eclipse visible from Manitoba
On Thursday afternoon this week, Manitobans will be treated to an uncommon celestial spectacle: a partial eclipse of the sun. Beginning just after 4 o’clock in the afternoon, the moon will move between the Sun and Earth, casting its shadow onto our planet and blocking out part of the sun as seen from earth. While uncommon and interesting to watch, solar eclipses have some particular issues which require some safety precautions….
Posted in Science Gallery & Planetarium Tagged Astronomy, eclipse, eclipse glasses, Manitoba, solar Comments closed
MEMBERS’ NIGHT – Friday, October 24
Attention Museum members! We still have spaces available for our annual Members’ Night event on Friday, October 24. Keep those RSVP’s coming, and we’ll see you on Friday night in your spookiest Hallowe’en attire! Read more
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Mural, Mural, On the Wall
On September 30th we participated in a lovely anniversary celebration with our friends at the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives and Canada’s National History Society to acknowledge two important events: 40 years since the transfer of the archival records to the Manitoba Archives; and 20 years since the HBC officially donated the archives to the Province of Manitoba, and the artefacts to The Manitoba Museum. For me the highlight of the…
UPDATE: Lunar Eclipse TONIGHT!
The total lunar eclipse I wrote about on Monday will occur tonight, after midnight and into the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning – you can find the original article here, with times and observing suggestions. The weather for the city of Winnipeg does not look great, but there looks to be clearer skies to the west. Visit Winnipeg’s Clear-Sky Clock for hour-by-hour cloud forecasts for astronomy. Good luck!
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Are we Still in Manitoba?
Travels in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, August, 2014 Manitoba is an immense place, very slightly larger than France. If you look at the map, you will see that roads here are concentrated in the southernmost part of the province. The farther north you go, the fewer areas you will find that are easy to visit. Those of us who work in field-based sciences occasionally get to some of the more…
Posted in Geology & Paleontology Tagged Churchill, Churchill River, fossils, paleontology Comments closed
UPDATED: Harvest Moon Eclipse for Manitoba
UPDATE – 7 October 2014: Remember, the eclipse occurs after midnight TONIGHT! Weather forecast is not looking great for Winnipeg, but viewers farther west may have a clear view. Original article: The full moon in October is refereed to as the Harvest Moon, since it rises as the sun sets and so would provide farmers an extra hour or so of light to finish bringing in their harvest. Full…
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