A bull elk is situated in a parkland habitat full of grasses, herbs, shrubs and trembling aspen trees in the fall at the Birdtail Valley in Riding Mountain National Park.

Parklands Gallery

Experience the Parklands region of Manitoba – a transition zone between the Boreal Forest to the north and the Prairies to the south. Marked by diversity, change, and opportunity, Manitoba’s heartland is home to a greater variety of life and landscapes than any other area of the province. 

Leading down to the Lower Parklands Gallery, peek into a Narcisse-area limestone sinkhole where masses of red-sided garter snakes are awakening from winter hibernation. Enjoy the sweeping panorama of the Ukrainian Rye Farm and Delta Marsh dioramas, complete with a 27-metre wrap-around mural. Explore a limestone cave to discover hundreds of hand-created hibernating bats and other creatures. Other featured elements of the lower gallery include a Métis kitchen, contemporary Indigenous stories and Treaty exhibits, archaeological artifacts representing about 11,000 years of Manitoba’s history, and personal stories of immigration, and World War I and II experiences. 

Take a peek inside!

A display case containing a variety of preserved, life-like flowering plants, fungi, amphibians, birds, insects, mammals and reptiles.

Discover the many creatures living in the parklands including flowering plants, fungi, amphibians, birds, insects, mammals and reptiles. Image ©Manitoba Museum

A child pointing at bison dung displayed in a pull-out drawer under a display case full of various plants and animals native to the parklands, and touchable animal track molds

Don’t forget to look down! Many exhibits include drawers with artifacts and specimens to explore. Image ©Manitoba Museum

Two children stand in front of a diorama of a sand dune covered with cactus and other drought-tolerant plants, with a pocket gopher in its underground burrow visible in a cutaway section.

The plants and animals of the Carberry Sand Dunes have adapted to thrive in their environment, as depicted in this exquisite diorama. Image ©Manitoba Museum

Museum diorama portraying a Ukrainian family harvesting a field of rye near a bluff of trembling aspen trees.

A turn of the century Ukrainian rye farm near Stuartburn comes alive in this spectacular diorama. Image ©Manitoba Museum

Diorama of a black-crowned night heron perched on a dead tree among cattails and reed grass in front of a painted backdrop of prairie marsh and blue sky.

Listen for the calls of a black-crowned night heron among the cattails and reed grass in the prairie marsh. Image ©Manitoba Museum