Pencil crayon illustration of a fish grey-beige fish in profile. The upper back fins have reddish-orange tips, and the end of the tail is faintly orange.
November 18, 2022

Making a Splash in the Indian Ocean

An international contribution to understanding life on Earth

Making a Splash in the Indian Ocean

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

During the current pandemic, we have all become used to the idea of virtual connections and well aware of opportunities to serve communities at home and even around the world. This is nothing new for scientific research at the Manitoba Museum – it has been reaching global audiences since we opened in 1970.

 

Image below: Museum exhibitions, like the new Prairies Gallery, are the result of scientific research and collaborations which provide both the specimens and their interpretation that visitors see when they visit. © Manitoba Museum/Ian McCausland 

The Global Reach of Museum Science

The natural world isn’t bound by provincial and national borders, so scientific discoveries at the Manitoba Museum, made available in international publications, inform scientists, conservationists, and policy-makers here in Manitoba and abroad. Expertise in the Natural History section extends to animals and plants, both living and fossil, that occur around the world. 

Book cover featuring a school of yellow and white fish swimming downwards in a group. Title reads, “Volumes 1-5 / Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean”.

Fishes on the other side of the World

The Museum has recently collaborated on a comprehensive guide to the coastal fishes of the western Indian Ocean, an area including the Red Sea, east coast of Africa, and Madagascar to the southern tip of India. This project, spear-headed by the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, involved over 100 contributors from 20 countries, including the Manitoba Museum.

The five volumes include descriptions of 3500 species of fishes and their distributions over the largest area of ocean ever to be covered by a publication of this kind. Because it is available online for free, it is a valuable resource for local fishermen, educators, conservationists, and governments – regardless of economic status – providing baseline data to understand and conserve ecosystems and manage fisheries resources.

Image above: Known from only four specimens in museum collections, Winterbottom’s goby (Callogobius winterbottomi Delventhal & Mooi) was first recognized during detailed study at the Manitoba Museum. ©Manitoba Museum

Museum Science – Collaboration and Community Impact

These kinds of partnerships are a direct result of the expertise that the Manitoba Museum brings to the scientific community through original research. In turn, these scientific contributions shape how society understands and responsibly engages with the environment. The work of Manitoba Museum scientists and their national and international collaborators not only helps to understand and conserve the natural ecosystems at home, but makes an impact around the world.

Dr. Randy Mooi wearing green rubber boots and waterproof pants crouching in a boggy area looking at something near the ground. It is night and he is holding a small flashlight.

Most Manitoba Museum scientific research is focused on Manitoba, including spring frog surveys by Curator of Zoology Randy Mooi that examine possible distribution changes due to climate change. Many discoveries, though, have applications well beyond our provincial borders. (Pictured. © P. Taylor)

Dr. Randall Mooi

Dr. Randall Mooi

Curator of Zoology

Dr. Mooi received his Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Toronto working on the evolutionary history of coral reef fishes. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in the Division of Fishes of the Smithsonian Institution…
Meet Dr. Randall Mooi

Winnipeg Grotesque

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

Gargoyles once roosted above the streets of historic Winnipeg, and if you look closely a few might still linger, jeering at passersby. The best set of Winnipeg gargoyles, or in this case “grotesques,” were found on the old Winnipeg Tribune Newspaper building, and the Manitoba Museum is now home to four of them.

The six-storey Tribune building was designed by Chicago architect John D. Atchison for the successful Winnipeg Tribune newspaper, completed in 1914. It was remodelled in 1969 to look more modern, and the grotesques were removed and given to various employees. The Tribune closed in 1980, after which the building was demolished.

Most of the grotesques are still in private hands and have moved around the country, but two of the original terra cotta figures can be seen in the Winnipeg Gallery. We have also added four replicas to one of our buildings in the Winnipeg 1920 cityscape.

Black and white photograph of a rectangular six-story office building. Accent pillars rise up between each column of windows and there is a grotesque at the top of each, and a grinning head at the bottom.

The Winnipeg Tribune Building, 1914, built at 257 Smith St. Fourteen grotesques lined the top of the building, while fourteen heads stared down from the top of the first storey. Image: University of Manitoba Libraries

Architectural sketch showing a crouching grotesque on the building from the front and from the side.

In his design, Atchison sketched in grotesque figures leaning off the top of the building. The final grotesques were made with terra cotta, a type of ceramic, in the American Terra Cotta and Ceramic Co. factory in Illinois. Image: Archives of Manitoba

Architectural sketch showing a grotesque head on the building from the front and from the side.

The heads were located at the bottom of exterior columns. Atchison included neo-Gothic elements in some of his designs, and such grotesques completed the look. Image: Archives of Manitoba

Grotesques and gargoyles were originally found on medieval cathedrals, but here we see them on a business in downtown Winnipeg in 1914. Why? There were six original figures on the Tribune that repeated, making a total of fourteen.

Beige-coloured terra-cotta figure sitting perched on something, holding scissors in one hand and a sheet of paper in another.

Each of the six figures was representative of a newspaper job: 

  • City Editor, complete with scissors (pictured. MM H9-37-581) 
  • The Printer, holding an ancient printing press 
  • The Fish Story Teller, holding a huge fish. 
  • This likely represented a keen member of the public embellishing a story for a reporter. 
  • The Contributor (reporter) 
  • The Proof Reader 
  • Newsboy 

Oddly, the grotesques were all wearing medieval clothing, complete with cloaks and pointy shoes! In other words, it was a whimsical affair – a modern office building with a gothic flair. There was even a legend that the figures resembled the  actual people working at the paper.

Frightening Fact!

A gargoyle is a stone figure that also acts as a waterspout to carry rainwater away from the building – the water is usually funneled out of the mouth of the figure. The word gargoyle comes from the Old French gargouille, meaning “throat.” Other decorative figures on buildings are known as grotesques.

Dr. Roland Sawatzky

Dr. Roland Sawatzky

Curator of History

Roland Sawatzky joined The Manitoba Museum in 2011. He received his B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Winnipeg, M.A. in Anthropology from the University of South Carolina, and Ph.D. in Archaeology…
Meet Dr. Roland Sawatzky

Orange Shirt Days @ the Manitoba Museum

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

Orange Shirt Day has been recognized in Manitoba since 2017. The orange shirt is a symbol of remembrance for Indian Residential School Survivors which originated with the experience of Phyllis Webstad of the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation. She shared her story of how her new orange shirt was taken away from her on her first day at St. Joseph Mission Indian Residential School, leaving her feeling worthless and insignificant.

Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation answer the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) call for a national day of remembrance as a way for Canadians to publicly commemorate the history and legacy of Indian Residential Schools and the resilience of Indian Residential School Survivors, their families, and communities. 

A Museum staff person wearing an orange t-shirt standing behind a table in the Welcome Gallery speaking with three Museum visitors. In the background, further inside the gallery is signage and banners for Orange Shirt Days.

To honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the Manitoba Museum will be hosting its second annual Orange Shirt Days with special all-day programming and free admission from Friday, September 30 to Sunday, October 2, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, provided with the support of the Province of Manitoba.

Programming in the Museum Galleries will be focused on the history of Indian Residential Schools and the TRC Calls to Action. The Museum was humbled by visitors’ earnest response to last year’s event and looks forward to providing an opportunity for visitors to learn, reflect, and respond to the legacy of Indian Residential Schools as part of our collective journey towards Reconciliation.

“I felt inspired, educated, and ready to take what I have learned and apply it to environments around me (family, friends, work, etc.)”

– 2021 Orange Shirt Days participant

Visitors will follow a self-guided tour through the Museum Galleries to discover many exhibits relevant to the history of Indian Residential Schools and the TRC Calls to Action. Along the way they will hear Indigenous voices and perspectives in videos from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. Finally, at the Manitoba Cares station, visitors will share their thoughts and make their own commitments to take action for Reconciliation.

There will be special showings in the Planetarium of Legends of the Northern Sky, which features two stories that exemplify how the Indigenous people of North America connect with the night sky in fundamental ways that resonate with their world. Visitors will also have access to hands-on experiences in the Science Gallery.

Join us for a time of learning, reflection, and response.

Three days of free admission to all areas from September 30 to October 2. No tickets required. 

Top Flight: The Churchill Rocket Range

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

By Tamika Reid, Volunteer Researcher, and Roland Sawatzky, Curator of History, Manitoba Museum

Churchill, Manitoba is well known for its scenic arctic landscape, polar bears, and vibrant northern lights, but did you know that Churchill was once home to the most active rocket range in Canada?

While the Churchill Rocket Range was in regular operation, between 1957 and 1985, Churchill hosted an international array of scientists, technicians, students, contractors, and military personnel. Through their pioneering studies, Manitoba has a permanent place in the history of early rocket development, and research into the mysteries of the upper atmosphere and aurora borealis. This work enriched humanity’s understanding of the thin layer surrounding our fragile planet.

Ken Pilon worked at the Churchill Rocket Range in the early 1980s as a meteorologist, supporting winter launches by providing crucial wind and temperature information. The northern climate made blizzards and high surface wind speeds a concern for launch trajectory. Pilon worked with a team of up to 60 people. “The hours and working conditions were extreme at times, but I never heard a single complaint from any of them,” said Pilon.

A large, bright sphere in the night sky as a rocket is launched with clouds of smoke erupting down from it over the launch site. In the foreground are starkly lit trees on a snowy landscape.

An Aerobee rocket is launched in the darkness of winter, in February 1981. The glare of the fuel combustion casts stark shadows among the surrounding trees. Photo by Ken Pilon.

A rocket streaming up into the night sky with a bright tail behind it. In the dark blue night sky, light lines of aurora and stars are visible.

A two-stage rocket is launched into the Aurora. Both the first stage booster and the second-stage rocket ignition are visible. Photo by Ken Pilon. 

Low viewing platforms and ramps built into a snowy landscape looking towards two larger industrial buildings in the distance.

The Churchill Rocket Range, 1975. Photo by Ron Estler. 

A long plume of smoke rising straight up from the ground to high in a cloudy sky where a rocket launches upwards. On the ground, a pointy building surrounded by evergreen trees on a snowy landscape.

A recent episode of Dome@Home, a bi-weekly virtual program hosted by Planetarium Astronomer, Scott Young, featured Pilon’s artifacts and images. In response, a viewer from Colorado, Dr. Ron Estler, contacted the Museum and shared his experience as a graduate student at the Churchill Rocket Range, along with more photographs.

For six weeks in 1975, Estler was part of an Aerobee 150 rocket launch funded by NASA, through John Hopkins University. Studying Chemical Physics, Estler was tasked with overseeing electron spectrometers to be launched with the Aerobee, for analyzing the energy of electrons.

Having visited Churchill last March for the first time since working there as a student, Estler is already planning another trip north. On the way, he plans to visit the Manitoba Museum. “It will remind me that I played a very small role in something much bigger and fundamentally important to the knowledge of our own planet,” said Estler. 

The Manitoba Museum is planning a future exhibit on the Churchill Rocket Range to highlight stories like these, and the role of the Rocket Range in space and science research. You can see a Black Brant V, a type of rocket also used at the Churchill Rocket Range, in the Science Gallery at the Manitoba Museum.  

Dr. Roland Sawatzky

Dr. Roland Sawatzky

Curator of History

Roland Sawatzky joined The Manitoba Museum in 2011. He received his B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Winnipeg, M.A. in Anthropology from the University of South Carolina, and Ph.D. in Archaeology…
Meet Dr. Roland Sawatzky

Secrets in Stone: Finding Fossils in Manitoba’s Limestones

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

By Dr. Graham Young
Past Curator of Geology and Paleontology

When you hear the word “fossil”, you probably think of giant dinosaurs, or perhaps marine reptiles such as Morden’s “Bruce”, but fossils actually include all evidence of past life. Fossils may be the remains of plants or animals, such as leaves or bones, and they also can be tracks or traces made by animals. Fossils tell us about the evolution of life, the age of rocks, and the environments of the distant past. 

For many Manitobans, the most familiar fossils are those in our beautiful limestones. On almost any block in Winnipeg you can see Tyndall Stone walls packed with fossils! Our limestones document the rise and fall of a series of warm, salty inland seas. Rocks from the Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian periods of geological time, about 450 to 380 million years old, hold varied remains: corals, brachiopods (lamp shells), cephalopods (relatives of squids), trilobites (relatives of crustaceans), and other groups. These can be seen near Manitoba’s Great Lakes, in the Grand Rapids Uplands, and across the Hudson Bay Lowland. 

View into a Museum diorama. Seafloor scene showing various corals, sponges, seaweeds, and sea creatures.

The Ordovician seafloor diorama depicts sea life in the Winnipeg area about 450 million years ago. Manitoba is a big place, a bit bigger than France, and much of it is still poorly known. Fossil-rich rocks occur in many parts of Manitoba, and new discoveries are made every year, by both professional and amateur paleontologists.

Two photographs, side-by-side. On the left a section of rock with a fossil in the centre, a rectangular outline chiselled around it. On the right, the same fossil, now prepared. The rock trimmed back, and the fossil more clearly revealed. The prepared fossil sits in a padded wooden box.

Part of the skull of a Devonian age fossil fish (about 390 million years old), as it was in the field (left) and after preparation at the Manitoba Museum (right). (MM-V-3184) 

Dr. Graham Young, wearing a red vest with a white pail beside him, kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a pile of rocks, examining two thin pieces more closely. Further back to the right side of the photo another individual sits on a rock with a pail in front of them. In the background is open water.

Manitoba Museum staff collecting fossils from a site near Churchill that has yielded some of the world’s oldest horseshoe crabs.

Anyone searching for fossils should know that Manitoba’s heritage laws protect fossils and archaeological artifacts. If you plan to do serious collecting, you should apply for a provincial Heritage Permit. If you find a significant fossil in bedrock, and you do not have a permit, please consider taking a photo, recording location information (such as latitude and longitude), and sharing that information with the Manitoba Museum or the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, or with Manitoba Historic Resources.

To walk across private land to look for fossils, ask permission from the landowner. Fossil hunters should also take basic precautions – tell others where you are going, wear appropriate clothing, and carry water and food. 

Dr. Graham Young, who has worked at the Manitoba Museum since 1993, recently received a significant honour. The trilobite species Glossopleura youngi, newly discovered in rocks in the Northwest Territories, was named for Dr. Young in a scientific publication by former student Neal Handkamer. 

Discover more about fossils from Manitoba and beyond in the Museum Galleries and at Ultimate Dinosaurs! Open daily from 11 am to 5 pm until September 5, 2022. 

The head and tail of a large dinosaur curling around the edge of the frame onto a black background. Text reads,