This amazing Chinese alcove bed was donated to the Museum about five years ago, and we recently had a chance to set it up and get some beautiful documentation photos taken.
Find out about some of the research being done on the bed and take a closer look at the details in this video with Curator of History Dr. Roland Sawatzky!
What is a “brood parasite”? Find out in this video with Learning & Engagement Producer Erin, as he tells us about a ‘piggybacking’ bird.
Learn more about fascinating Manitoba birds in the Prairies Gallery!
Last year the Manitoba Museum piloted a new program to provide community members increased access to Museum collections. Weekday appointments to view collections are sometimes difficult for folks who work full-time or are enrolled in school. This program was developed through discussions with artists, makers, and interested community members. We decided on a free open-access event on a weekend, one where people could sign up and come and spend a few hours looking at many items cared for in storage, rather than on display in the Museum galleries.
Since the majority of the HBC and Anthropology Collections are of First Nations, Métis, or Inuit origin, we structured the initial sessions with preference given to individuals who self-identify as Indigenous. Due to tight collections storage spaces, we kept each session to a maximum of 10 participants. A smaller group setting created a nice, intimate learning environment for discussion, and enabled us to move freely within collection storage as a group.
Participants exploring the Anthropology Collection. ©Manitoba Museum
One of many drawers within the HBC Museum Collection featuring wall pockets with beadwork and quillwork. ©Manitoba Museum
For these sessions we brought in skilled artists to discuss the objects with the group and to share learning experiences in traditional artistic techniques. We were very fortunate to feature Jennine Krauchi and Cynthia Boehm at our first session, and Tashina Houle-Schlup and Cheyenne Schlup for the second session. All four of these artists are not only incredibly skilled with beadwork, embroidery, and quillwork in their own artistic practices, but also knowledgeable on historic pieces within the Museum’s collections. Participants were able to learn so much through this collaborative structure with community artists and makers.
Cheyenne Schlup sharing knowledge with participants (note his beautiful work in the background). ©Manitoba Museum
Artist Jennine Krauchi shows session participants several beautifully beaded artifacts stored with care ©Manitoba Museum
Based on the success of this program last year, we hope to offer 3-4 more sessions in the upcoming year, featuring different artists to share these wonderful collections with interested community members. If you’re interested in participating, keep your eyes on the Museum’s website and social media for the next session!
Don’t miss out on our special Mother’s Day tour From Talk to Table: Indigenous Motherhood on May 12. This tour explores parenting throughout time on Turtle Island and includes include an in-depth tour of Indigenous artifacts in the Museum Galleries and behind-the-scenes.
Canadian armed forces are part of the historical fabric of Winnipeg. Join Dr. Roland Sawatzky to learn about some Winnipeg veterans whose artifacts are on display in the Winnipeg Gallery.
This series celebrating Winnipeg’s 150th anniversary is ongoing throughout 2024, so keep an eye out for more #Wpg150 videos!
Tashina Houle-Schlup is the Head of Indigenous Programming & Engagement and we love having her on the Museum team! In this video, tag along on a day in her life here at the Manitoba Museum.
Learn more about the Indigenous Artists Market and how to become a vendor here.
Join our team! We’re looking for an Indigenous Learning Facilitator through the Young Canada Works program. This person will work closely with Tashina, sharing knowledge of Indigenous content in exhibits, and assisting in developing and delivering programs with a specific focus on Indigenous cultures for all Museum audiences. Find full position details here.
The Manitoba Museum celebrated its 50th anniversary at its current Rupert Avenue location in 2020, but did you know that collecting and preserving artifacts and specimens in Manitoba started in an official capacity around 1879? That year, the Scientific and Historical Society of Manitoba was founded, with a mission to research and preserve the scientific and historic work being done in the province.
While a formal museum had yet to be created, both the Scientific and Historical Society and private collectors put on temporary exhibitions throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries at various venues and private residences throughout the province.
In 1932, the collections-specific Manitoba Museum Association, an unincorporated entity, was established and an official brick-and-mortar museum opened at the Winnipeg Civic Auditorium, which also housed a concert hall and the eventual Winnipeg Art Gallery. On December 15 of that year, its inaugural exhibit about butterflies and moths soft-launched with subsequent exhibits opening as equipment, such as glass cases, were purchased. By May 1934, 50,000 visitors from around the world had made a visit to the new Manitoba Museum.
Exhibits at the old Manitoba Museum in the Winnipeg Civic Auditorium, circa 1940s. Image: © Manitoba Museum
Exhibits at the old Manitoba Museum in the Winnipeg Civic Auditorium, circa 1940s. Image: © Manitoba Museum
The Manitoba Museum operated with a small staff and a group of volunteers, advisors, and honorary curators. Honorary (volunteer) curators of botany, vertebrates, invertebrates, and “ethnology” were all professors from the University of Manitoba, with honorary assistants to the curators coming from both academia and the community. These roles focused on collecting specimens and artifacts, creating exhibits, and presenting lectures on relevant topics.
The History and Archaeology departments occasionally still reference the original accession ledgers that date to the inception of the museum. These ledgers detail basic information about objects acquired from the public – listed under the headings of donor (or vendor), locality, object, and particulars. The history objects were divided into four separate categories – Firearms & Military, History & Early Settlers, Ceramics, and Numismatics. The archaeological objects were accessioned into a single ledger by date. Not to worry, our conservation department has since encapsulated the individual pages for longevity’s sake.
Sample of page from old Manitoba Museum history accession ledger. Image: © Manitoba Museum
Photograph of H8-62-207, a pewter snuff box donated to the old Manitoba Museum on March 29, 1934 by Mrs. Andrew K. Stephens, as listed on the sample ledger page. Image: © Manitoba Museum
In 1965, the Manitoba Museum Association was dissolved by provincial legislation in favour of the incorporation of the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature and the Manitoba Planetarium. Construction of the Museum at 190 Rupert Avenue was underway by the late 1960s, designed by Winnipeg-born architect Herbert Henry Gatenby Moody (leave some names for the rest of us, sir!). While the new facility was being constructed, the existing collections were put in storage.
The new incarnation of the Museum presented its first galleries in 1970 – just in time to commemorate Manitoba’s centennial. The iconic bison diorama greeted the first visitors and ushered them into the former Grasslands gallery. This era also saw the advent of paid curatorial positions for the first time in the Museum’s history.
Between 1970 and 1976, the Earth History, Urban (Winnipeg 1920), Nonsuch and Arctic/Subarctic galleries opened, and 1980 and 2003 saw the introduction of the Boreal Forest Gallery, HBC Gallery, Parklands/Mixed Woods Gallery, and the Science Gallery to the lower level.
Image: Manitoba-born artist Clarence Tillenius is pictured here painting the backdrop of the Pronghorn diorama in the Grasslands Gallery at 190 Rupert Avenue. Tillenius also painted the mural behind the Bison diorama in the museum’s Welcome Gallery. © Manitoba Museum
In 1997, the Museum dropped the “of Man and Nature” from its legal name and became known as the Manitoba Museum once again. Do people still occasionally ask if I work at the “Man and Nature”? Why, yes, they do.
Pictured above is a beaded coaster made by Mrs. Dinah Monias Beardy and donated to the museum in 1979. The coaster depicts the original Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature logo. Mrs. Beardy’s son is renowned artist Jackson Beardy, whose work is featured in the Boreal Forest Gallery. Image: © Manitoba Museum, H4-1-451
Cedar Lake amber is from the Cretaceous era, which means that dinosaurs were roaming through the forests at the time that it formed. Sometimes it can contain preserved insects or other small organisms, which give key insight into life at this time!
In this video, join Dr. Joe Moysiuk, Curator of Palaeontology & Geology, in the Natural History Collection storage to learn about some of the newest pieces in the collection!
Check out some Cedar Lake Amber on display in the Earth History Gallery!
Winnipeg citizens have been fighting inequality and racism for over one hundred years. Join Dr. Roland Sawatzky in the Winnipeg Gallery to learn about these contrasts within our city.
This series celebrating Winnipeg’s 150th anniversary is ongoing throughout 2024, so keep an eye out for more #Wpg150 videos!
Are you cheering on the Jets as they hit the playoff ice again tonight? In part two of our peek into the Winnipeg Jets collection, Cortney shows us some of the artwork relating to significant players in the hockey club’s history!
Check out some of the Jets Collection on display in the Winnipeg Gallery!
The Winnipeg Jets are going to the playoffs! Skate back through their history in this video with Cortney, as she shows you some of the neat artifacts in the Jets Collection here at the Museum. Come back next week for part 2!
Check out some of the Jets Collection on display in the Winnipeg Gallery!
