Rebecca Watson, Author at Manitoba Museum

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

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!

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!

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

You may have heard of spear points or arrowheads before, but have you heard of atlatl dart points? In this video, Curator of Archaeology Dave Finch takes us through a quick history of projectile points in Manitoba and shows us how an atlatl works!

Winnipeg, MB: December 5, 2023 – The Manitoba Museum is pleased to have welcomed two new curators in 2023. David Finch joined the Museum as the Curator of Archaeology earlier this year; and Dr. Joe Moysiuk has taken on the role of Curator of Palaeontology and Geology as of November 6.

Born in Winnipeg and raised in Northern Manitoba and Northwest Ontario, David Finch is an archaeologist and ethnohistorian whose research focus lies in community-based archaeology, which involves forming partnerships with communities to tell the stories that matter to them.

Finch’s primary role at the Manitoba Museum will be to oversee the care and management of the archaeology collection at the Museum. This includes monitoring and tracking over 2.5 million artifacts (mostly from Manitoba), working with conservators to make sure that the artifacts are safe and stable, and managing new additions to the collections. Finch will also handle loans of artifacts for research and display purposes, help design exhibits in the museum galleries, and share advice and information with visitors and media.

Finch hopes to use his role as a platform to work with Indigenous and other communities as a partner on research and training.

“It’s good to be back home in Manitoba, and I am looking forward to applying what I’ve learned while away. We have an amazing history here, and I am honoured to be involved in its stewardship.” – David Finch, Curator of Archaeology, Manitoba Museum

Dr. Joe Moysiuk’s expertise centers on the oldest animal fossils and insights they provide about the evolution of major groups. Much of his research has focused on early arthropods, distant relatives of modern insects and spiders.

Moysiuk hails from Toronto and has taken part in palaeontological field work across Canada, notably including major expeditions to the Burgess Shale in B.C. that have unearthed new and noteworthy fossil species from the dawn of animal life. He has also enjoyed many opportunities to share these discoveries with the public, including through museum exhibitions and public talks.

At the Manitoba Museum, Moysiuk will oversee the care of roughly 35,000 fossil, rock, and mineral specimens and will work strategically to enhance collections from understudied regions.

“Manitoba boasts an almost unfathomably ancient rock record, preserving evidence of the myriad changes undergone by the Earth and life through deep time. I’m greatly excited by this chance to explore and communicate these stories, which are profoundly relevant, not only to Manitobans, but globally.” – Dr. Joe Moysiuk, Curator of Palaeontology and Geology, Manitoba Museum.

Dr. Joe Moysiuk looks forward to expanding his research focus to rare fossil deposits exhibiting soft tissue preservation in Manitoba.

“We are thrilled to welcome David Finch and Dr. Joe Moysiuk to the Manitoba Museum’s curatorial team. Each of them brings new insights and community collaboration, and will help continue to enhance the Museum collections for present and future generations.” – Dorota Blumczyńska, CEO, Manitoba Museum.

Click here to meet the Museum’s entire Curatorial Team

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Media Contact: 

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

Giving Tuesday is the world’s largest generosity movement, unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. In past years, Giving Tuesday has seen over $50 Million donated in Canada in just a 24-hour period.

This Giving Tuesday, which fell on November 28, the Manitoba Museum launched a goal to raise $50,000, with every dollar raised matched by the Carolyn Sifton Foundation. Each donation helps ensure the Museum remains a vibrant centre of learning for generations to come. But our work isn’t done: the Foundation has generously extended their matching deadline, meaning your donation today can make twice the impact.

The Museum provides that unique element of opening those doors into the past but also creating pathways that lead out into the future.

Mike Jensen, Programs and Volunteer Coordinator

A family of four stand in front of a Museum diorama containing several caribou. One of the adults leans down to point something out to a child in a wheelchair, and the other adult stands behind holding a toddler.

Your support ensures the Manitoba Museum remains place that is accessible and welcoming to all in our
community. ©Manitoba Museum/Rejean Brandt.

A Museum staff person standing in front of a rolling white board in the Museum Galleries presenting a virtual class to a group of students visible on a smartphone held in frame.

How will your donation make an impact?

Your support is critical to the success of so many different facets of the Museum’s work:

Continued support for ground-breaking research: Research conducted at the Manitoba Museum has won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, extended the fossil records of animal groups by millions of years, explored the achievements of Indigenous Peoples and cultural communities in Manitoba, and uncovered new species.
Engaging programming for schools & public: The Manitoba Museum offers immersive learning
and discovery through both exciting and engaging public workshops and incredible curriculum-based
experiences for school groups – in fact, in 2022/23 the Museum engaged with 65,955 young minds through education programs, both on-site and virtually.
Creating a Museum that belongs to all Manitobans: Through the Access for All program, thousands of community members enjoy complimentary access to the Museum each year. Visitors engage in memorable learning experiences that bridge our understanding and love of history, nature, and science with today’s reality and hopes for the future.

Our province is constantly changing and evolving. How does that reflect here at the Manitoba Museum? How can we be a place where people can come see themselves, and also feel like they are part of it, and part of the history going forward?

Dr. Amelia Fay, Curator of Anthropology and HBC Museum Collections

A Museum staff person standing in front of a display case containgin a number of Indigenous artifacts, including a cradleboard.

How can you help?

Your donation can help us continue to serve our community and remain a place of belonging and learning for all. We invite you to join the Giving Tuesday movement to help us to build a better future, together. Visit ManitobaMuseum.ca/Donate to contribute today.

Help us build a better future, together

The popular Indigenous Motherhood Tour is just one of the incredible public programs made possible through our donors. ©Manitoba Museum

Does your house shift with the seasons? So does the Nonsuch! Learn how the Conservation Team tracks the expansion and contraction of the Nonsuch in this video with Senior Conservator Carolyn Sirett.

The Nonsuch is the largest artifact in the Museum Collection and requires specialized conservation. Join Senior Conservator Carolyn as she takes us through some of the regular tasks they carry out on the Nonsuch – including a trip up the rigging!

Check back next week for part 2.

Posted on: Wednesday November 8, 2023

Dearest Manitoba Museum friends,

First, thank you for being here. I appreciate how much information we receive on any given day, and how overwhelming it can feel. We often ask ourselves, ‘Is this message relevant to me or do I just delete it or move on?’ Fair question, and a necessary one if we want to create a life most meaningful to each of us. This message, aka my introductory blog, is one such piece of communication I hope you don’t automatically move on. I’m going to try my best to make reading this message worthy of your time and attention.

To begin, for those of you I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting, my name is Dorota Blumczyńska and I am the CEO of the Manitoba Museum. I joined the Museum two and a half incredible years ago. I say incredible because my life has been forever changed by what I’ve learned, unlearned, and re-learned in this seemingly short time. Leading this important organization is one of the greatest honours of my career, my life. Every day brings with it new insights, new challenges to overcome, new opportunities to embrace, and new uncertainties to leap into. More about that in a bit.

Why a blog? Although engaging with our communities is an important part of my role at the Museum, it isn’t something I get to do as much as I would like. The day to day realities of leading a museum are dynamic and demanding; they require paying attention simultaneously to what’s on the horizon and what’s right in front of us. I enjoy the challenges that come with supporting a fantastic team and doing hard and heart work, in balance with opportunities to be with the people and planet we do all of it for. That’s where this blog comes in: it’s my way of being present with you, our community, while serving the needs of the moment. In time, as we get to know each other, I hope to hear from you, respond to questions, and offer my insights on museum work and why it matters. These are some of my goals.

So, a little about me. I came to Canada with my parents and four siblings in 1989. We were brought here as Privately Sponsored Refugees – meaning a community who had never met us agreed to support our family during our first years here; everything from finding work, housing, learning English, to understanding our new country. As it is for many migrants, life in Canada in those early years was very difficult. The most basic things proved more complicated than any of us had imagined. In time however, we began to make friends and it was the warmth and welcome of others that helped us feel like we had found home again.

Community, I’ve learned, both professionally and personally, is what makes life a less arduous journey. The mere presence of others, those who witness our milestones, celebrate our successes, grieve our losses, and accompany us in the most beautifully mundane moments, enriches our existence.

My own life was enriched two and half years ago when I was invited to be a part of the Manitoba Museum team.

It was enriched years earlier when my family was selected for re-settlement.

And it continues to be enriched by every chance I get to welcome you, our community, into relationships with us.

This past year, as you can see from our spectacular new website and changes to many of our physical and online spaces, has been a year of continued transformation. Improvement not for the sake of improving, but with the goal of bringing us closer together, in proximity to each other’s stories.

This CEO corner, the first of many blogs from me to you, will help us get to know one another a bit more, encourage us to be curious about each other’s perspectives, and will create a space where we can ask and answer questions, explore complicated topics, and perhaps, demystify some of the myths and mysteries of museums today.

Museum Galleries

Planetarium

Science Gallery

Hearts of Freedom shares the impactful stories of Southeast Asian refugees

Hearts of Freedom shares the impactful stories of Southeast Asian refugees

About Hearts of Freedom

Did you know where the HBC Museum started?

Snowball race! At-home science experiment

Do you know the spices of gingerbread?

Did you know about atlatl dart points?

Manitoba Museum welcomes two new Curatorial staff in 2023

Building a Better Future, Together.

How will your donation make an impact?

How can you help?

Did you know how we care for the Nonsuch? Pt. 2

Did you know how we care for the Nonsuch? Pt. 1

Welcome to the CEO’s Corner

Posted on: Wednesday November 8, 2023