Did you know about Menelik Lodge No. 528?

Did you know that the Menelik Lodge was founded by the Winnipeg Union of Sleeping Car Porters to support the Black community? Many of the families that were part of the founding of the organization are still here in Winnipeg today.

Learn more with Roland Sawatzky, Manitoba Museum Curator of History, and Naomi Dennie, a teacher in Seven Oaks School Division and creator of the Amplify Us podcast, as they share more about Winnipeg’s “Elks”. Find more details in their recent blog post Menelik Lodge No. 528 here.

#DYK Manitoba has no truly red wildflowers? Find out why in this video with Dr. Diana Bizecki Robson, our Curator of Botany.

Did you know that this bejeweled ram’s head in the HBC Gallery has wheels on the bottom? It’s a snuff mull from the 1800s.

Learn more about this peculiar artifact with Erin from our Learning and Engagement team!

Did you know that this quilt crossed the Atlantic during war-time only to find its way home over 70 years later? 
   
When the weather turns cold, many of us reach for the warmth and comfort of a handcrafted quilt or afghan. During WWII, local volunteers gathered in Steep Rock, MB to create Red Cross quilts for civilian victims of the war. Across the Atlantic, at Dudley Road Hospital in Birmingham, England, a Matron passed their gift on to Cynthia (Betty) Craddock. Her husband Joe was serving in the army when their only son Anthony was born in 1945.

Anthony’s earliest memories are “of this quilt being on my bed and keeping me warm when times were hard. With no central heating, frost would often appear on the inside of the window.” The young Anthony remembers reading the message on a tag on one corner of the quilt. Betty treasured the gift for many years until finally they decided that it was time for the quilt to be sent home. 
   
You can see the quilt along with photos of Betty and Anthony Craddock in our Parklands Gallery.

Did you know there’s an “Easter egg” in the Ancient Seas exhibit of the Earth History Gallery? The animators told us that they hid a Coke can in the boulder field!

Hidden features in video games and films are often called “Easter eggs.” Museum exhibits can also include secret elements, some of which are not even known by most museum staff! When we built the Parklands Gallery, the team hid some “entertainment” – you have likely seen the black bear hiding in the cave, but do you know about the place where two visitors can reach into narrow passages in the cave wall, until their fingers touch? 
 
What “Easter eggs” have you found in the Museum?