Do you know how to spot Orion in the night sky?

Do you know how to spot Orion in the night sky?

Long winter nights are perfect for sky watching! In this video, Planetarium Astronomer Scott Young will show you how to find the constellation Orion and the Winter Triangle.

Find the next showing of Manitoba Skies on the Planetarium schedule.

Join us for Dome@Home on the last Thursday of the month at 7 pm. We’ll be live on both Facebook and YouTube.

Do you know how we conserve the dioramas? Part 2

Did you know that vibrations and gravity can change the dioramas in the Museum Galleries? These dioramas are cared for by our Conservation team, who have a variety of challenges in their up-keep and must constantly adapt to find solutions to issues that arise! Learn about some of the work of a conservator in this video with Assistant Conservator Loren.

To learn more about diorama conservation in Loren’s recent blog post, click here.

Winnipeg 150: The Winnipeg Gallery

The city of Winnipeg turns 150 this year, with today being the anniversary of the first meeting of City Council! Join Curator of History Dr. Roland Sawatzky in the Winnipeg Gallery to learn some of the amazing stories shared in this space.

This series will continue throughout 2024, so keep an eye out for more #Wpg150 videos!

Do you know how we conserve the dioramas? Part 1

As you travel through the Manitoba Museum, you’re transported to various places and times by the dioramas in the galleries. These dioramas are cared for by our Conservation team, who have a variety of challenges in their up-keep and must constantly adapt to find solutions to issues that arise! In this video, Assistant Conservator Loren shows us his favourite diorama and shares a bit of the upkeep that goes into preserving it.

Come back next week to watch part 2! To learn more about diorama conservation in Loren’s recent blog post, click here.

Did you know light can damage the Museum’s collection?

You may have visited a museum and wondered why some spaces are a bit dark, or have motion sensor lights. It’s to minimize light damage on delicate artifacts! In this video, Senior Conservator Carolyn tells us how conservators work to protect objects on display from light damage, and how you can protect your treasures at home!

Climate Heroes: Youth Against Climate Change

Two youth wearing Youth Climate Alliance t-shirts engage with three young visitors at a pop-up exhibit.

By Mika Pineda, Learning and Engagement producer for Youth Climate Action at the Manitoba Museum

Working with youth always fascinates me. Their enthusiasm, creativity, and eagerness to learn are contagious; even tackling a complicated topic such as climate change is something that they are ready to take on.

Climate change is a global concern.  It is the long-term change in the Earth’s overall temperature, with massive and mostly permanent effects.  You see, climate change solutions are not simple for many, but for youth, you would be surprised with what they can come up with given the opportunity.

Young people play an important role in combating the climate crisis. They hold power in making a difference in the community and accelerate climate action. With youth’s increasing awareness and knowledge about climate change, many institutions are stepping up to provide a platform for them to pursue their climate change advocacies.

 

Participants host events to raise awareness and start important climate conversations. ©Manitoba Museum

The Manitoba Museum launched its first-ever Youth Climate Alliance program in March 2023. The Youth Climate Alliance is a group of high school students, age 14-18, who work together to better understand climate change and its impacts. Through a series of workshops and training, the Youth Climate Alliance host events “by and for” youth.

Since then, the program has had two cohorts with each cohort tackling various issues surrounding climate change – from global and local impacts of climate change to clothing and fast fashion. The participants of the Youth Climate Alliance organize and develop an event that aims to raise awareness and start important climate conversations with their fellow youth and even adults.

A group of nine youth and a Museum staff member smiling together. All are wearing matching t-shirts with an illustrated globe and the words “GenAction! / Youth Climate / Alliance”. On the right side of the group is a sign reading, “Our Changing Climate”.

The Climate Alliance works together to better understand climate change and its impacts. ©Manitoba Museum

Three youth wearing Youth Climate Alliance t-shirts stand behind a pop-up exhibit table with a shirt laid out in front of them. On a screen behind them text reads, "Clothing Materials that are Harmful:"

Do you know what your clothes are really made of? The Climate Alliance does! ©Manitoba Museum

While climate change is a big and complicated issue that the world is facing right now, programs such as the Youth Climate Alliance help provide a glimmer of hope to many, and with the start of the new year, the next cohort of the program is also around the corner!

Join the Alliance! The next cohort of the Youth Climate Alliance is now accepting applications.

Click here to find more details

Three youth wearing Youth Climate Alliance t-shirts stand behind a pop-up exhibit table with a container of water and two balloons floating in front of them.

The first cohort of the Alliance tackled the topic of global and local impacts of climate change. ©Manitoba Museum

Two smiling youth stand either side of a small rack of clothes. A poster on the rack reads, "Guess which items are fast fashion vs sustainable".

The second Climate Alliance cohort explored the issue of “fast fashion” and the industry’s impact on climate. ©Manitoba Museum

Hearts of Freedom shares the impactful stories of Southeast Asian refugees

Promotional graphic for Hearts of Freedom exhibition featuring six photographs of groups of refugees. Text reads,

Winnipeg, MB: January 2, 2024 – Stories of loss, stories of courage, stories of triumph. The Manitoba Museum is proud to host a pop-up exhibition which shares the emotional and impactful stories of Southeast Asian refugees who came to Canada between 1975 and 1985, and the stories of those who assisted them.

Impacted by the Vietnam War, the Lao Secret War, and the Cambodian Genocide, millions of refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were forced to flee their homelands and to seek safety in other countries. Hearts of Freedom: Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees tells the stories of these survivors, in their own words and through their unique perspectives, adding to the fabric of the Canadian history of immigration.

“At the Manitoba Museum, we strive to collect and tell the stories of all the peoples of our province. This is an important exhibition that shares the incredible history of the Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian people who escaped war and genocide to find a new home in Canada, and in Manitoba.” – Roland Sawatzky, Curator of History at the Manitoba Museum.

The exhibition, curated by Dr. Stephanie Phetsamay Stobbe and created in collaboration with the Hearts of Freedom Exhibition Committee, is comprised of a variety of panels detailing the stories of refugee journeys through photographs and shared memories captured in interviews. Each panel’s interpretive text gives the reader further insight into the paths and obstacles faced by those making the difficult and often dangerous expedition.

“This is the first museum exhibition in Canada that showcases the Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian experiences in resettlement and settlement in Canada, and their successful integration. It also highlights the contributions they have made and continue to make in Canada and around the world.” – Stephanie Stobbe, Curator of HOF – Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees and Professor at Canadian Mennonite University.

Hearts of Freedom: Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees, will open to the public in the Manitoba Museum’s Festival Hall on January 5, 2024, with an official opening event on January 19. The exhibition will be on display until April 7, 2024.

About Hearts of Freedom

The exhibition was created by Dr. Stephanie Stobbe and the Hearts of Freedom Museum Exhibition Committee, in collaboration with Canadian Mennonite University, Carleton University, the Canadian Museum of History, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, the Canadian Immigration Historical Society, the Vietnamese Canadian Federation, the Lao Association of Ottawa Valley, the Cambodian Association of Ottawa Valley, the Pacific Canada Heritage Centre – Museum of Migration, and the Manitoba Museum.

The Hearts of Freedom exhibition tour is funded in part by SSHRC and private funders.

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Media Contact: 

Brandi Hayberg
Manager of Marketing & Communications
Manitoba Museum
bhayberg@manitobamusuem.ca

Did you know where the HBC Museum started?

Before the Hudson’s Bay Company Museum Collection was donated to the Manitoba Museum, it was displayed elsewhere by the company. Learn how this tableau at the entrance to the HBC Gallery relates to the first HBC Museum in this video with Dr. Amelia Fay.

Check this spot out when you visit during Pyjama Days! Until January 7, 2024, we’re open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, with family fun in all three of our incredible attractions.

Buy your tickets today!

Snowball race! At-home science experiment

Here in Manitoba when our roads and sidewalks get icy in the winter, we may put down various kinds of deicer to help make slippery surfaces safer. But which deicer is faster? In this video we race salt, sugar, and beet juice – all of which have been tested as actual road deicer in various places!

Which do you think will melt snow fastest?

Try this experiment at home by following along with this video, or click here for the PDF instruction guide.

Music: “Maple Leaf Rag” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Join us for more winter science experiments during Pyjama Days @ the Manitoba Museum! Running 10 am to 5 pm from December 26 to January 7.

Buy your tickets today!

Do you know the spices of gingerbread?

Are you doing any baking this holiday season? In this video, learn about the four main spices that go into a classic gingerbread with Curator of Botany Dr. Diana Bizecki Robson!

To learn more about the roots, shoots, flowers, and fruits of gingerbread, read Dr. Bizecki Robson’s latest blog, click here: Roots, Shoots, Flowers, & Fruits: The Anatomy of a Gingerbread Cookie