Simple machines: Pulley Chairs!

How do pulleys work? Join Adriana in the Science Gallery to learn about these simple machines exhibited in the pulley chairs!

Simple machines: Pulley Chairs!

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

How do pulleys work? Join Adriana in the Science Gallery to learn about these simple machines exhibited in the pulley chairs!

Which chair would you choose to race in?

See October’s Eclipse (safely!)

Posted on by Scott Young

UPDATED: Oct. 6, 2023

On Saturday, October 14, 2023, worlds will align. The Moon will pass between the Sun and the Earth, casting a shadow on our planet that will sweep across North America. For viewers in a narrow path from Oregon through Texas and into Central America and Brazil, the Moon will appear to almost cover the sun, leaving a thin ring of sunlight around its edge: an annular (or ring) eclipse. 

For most of the rest of the continent, the alignment isn’t perfectly central. The Moon will cover only a part of the Sun, resulting in a partial eclipse. NO matter where you are, a solar eclipse is still a fascinating chance to see the solar system’s motion in action in real time

IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNING:

The Sun is very bright, and if you look at it too long you will damage your eyes permanently. It’s no more dangerous during an eclipse than it is any other time, but people don’t usually stare at the sun for three hours except during an eclipse. A partial or annular eclipse is still too bright to safely observe without special eye protection.

So how can you observe the eclipse safely? 

Other safe solar filters include a #14 welder’s glass (ONLY #14, the lower numbers are not safe for solar viewing), and special solar filters sold by telescope stores. Again, avoid online dealers you’ve never dealt with before. No other material is safe, despite what you might read online. You can’t use dark glass, mylar balloon material, exposed photographic film, or CDs to watch the eclipse.

 

Two pairs of eclipse glasses on a glass shelf below two racks full of unfolded eclipse glasses. One pair features a design with a close-up of the sun, and the other features a solar eclipse. The Manitoba Museum logo is on the arm of the glasses.

The safest way to observe the eclipse is by using special solar eclipse glasses from a certified dealer. You can get them at the Manitoba Museum’s giftshop for $3 a pair (discounts for class sets of 25 are available). You can email the shop to reserve your pair, or arrange for class sets for your school. Do not order them online at this point, as unfortunately there are more fake eclipse glasses than real ones available this close to the event. Saving a dollar while risking your eyesight for the rest of your life is not worth it. (Besides, all money spent at the Museum’s Shop goes to support our programs and activities!)

Buy your eclipse glasses today!

If you’d like a closer view of the eclipse, you can follow these instructions to make a solar projector out of a pair of binoculars and some cardboard.

Another safe way to view the eclipse is to join an eclipse party. Many astronomy clubs, planetariums, and science centres will host events to share the eclipse with their audiences. In Winnipeg, the various astronomical groups are joining forces to host a free eclipse viewing party at Assiniboine Park in the Kitchen Garden, just outside The Leaf. Solar glasses will be available, and safely-filtered telescopes will provide close-up views as the Moon moves across the sun’s face.

Circumstances for Manitoba

Eclipse PhasesTime
Eclipse Start10:28 am CDT
Eclipse Maximum11:42 am CDT
Eclipse End1:00 pm CDT

Depending on where you are, you will have a different view of the eclipse. In general, locations in the southwestern part of the province are closer to the center line, and will have a longer eclipse with more of the Sun covered. In Winnipeg, the solar disk will be about 40% covered, with a duration of just over two-and-a-half hours. In contrast, Churchill, Manitoba will only see the sun about 25% covered.

To get a detailed set of times for your location, you can visit this site and enter your location in the search bar at right. It will calculate exactly when the eclipse begins for your location and what you can expect to see.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

Did you know there are TWO solar eclipses coming up?

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

Did you know there’s not one, but TWO solar eclipses coming up over the next few months?

In this video, Planetarium Astronomer Scott Young tells us when the eclipses are and why eclipse glasses are so important if you’re planning to watch them.

The Role of Museums in the Age of Truth and Reconciliation

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

By Amelia Fay, Curator of Anthropology & HBC Museum Collection

With Orange Shirt Day (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation) on the horizon, folks might be thinking about their role in Truth and Reconciliation. Many Indigenous leaders have argued the need to understand the truth before reconciliation, and this is where museums can step in and play an important role.

Although museums carry a lot of colonial baggage, my colleagues and I at the Manitoba Museum (past and present) have been  working hard to make our museum a safe space to learn about history. Not only do we have some great exhibits and programs to help visitors engage with difficult histories, we also have a lot of resources available on both our website and YouTube channel that you can view from home.

Not sure where to begin? Below are a few topics that I think are a great starting place, no matter where you are in your reconciliation learning journey.

  • The colonial process in Canada started long before Confederation, so I encourage visitors to reconsider the history of the fur trade, including the early beginnings of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Watch the following video to learn more about the Hudson’s Bay Company Royal Charter.

  • What does the phrase ‘We Are All Treaty People’ mean? Visit our friends at the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba’s Agowiidiwinan Centre at the Forks and then come check out the numerous Treaty exhibits throughout the Museum Galleries.
  • Take time to learn more about Residential Schools in Manitoba, visit the schoolhouse exhibit in the Prairies Gallery and  use the digital kiosks embedded in the desks. You can also see the same information on our website when you visit ManitobaMuseum.ca/ResidentialSchools.

For many non-Indigenous readers, learning more about these topics might bring up a lot of feelings and make you uncomfortable, and that’s okay. The important thing is to not dismiss information that challenges what you knew about Canadian history, but instead sit with the discomfort and think about why you might feel this way. Part of our shared journey towards reconciliation involves hard work like this, but it’s important work that we all must undertake.

A child engaging with a digital exhibit that is embedded in a wooden school desk. An adult leans over the desk from the side, resting their hands on the edge of the desk. Behind them, another child and an adult engage with a kiosk at a second desk.

The digital kiosk in our Prairies Gallery Schoolhouse exhibit provides opportunities for learning and reflection about the truth of residential schools. Image © Manitoba Museum/Ian McCausland

During Orange Shirt Days at the Manitoba Museum, two individuals reading orange sticky notes arranged on a teal wall under headings reading, "I feel / I learned / I will".

The Orange Shirt Day Reflection Wall encourages you to share
your thoughts and make a commitment to reconciliation. Image © Manitoba Museum

A recreation of a Hudson's Bay Company trading post in the Manitoba Museum HBC Museum Collection Gallery.

Visit the HBC Gallery to learn about the history of the Fur Trade and the
relationships between Indigenous Peoples and Euro-Canadian fur traders. Image © Manitoba Museum

Join us for a time of learning, reflection, and response at Orange Shirt Days @ the Manitoba Museum. Three days of free admission to all areas September 30 to October 2. No tickets required.

Dr. Amelia Fay

Dr. Amelia Fay

Curator of Anthropology & the HBC Museum Collection

Amelia Fay is Curator of Anthropology and the HBC Museum Collection at the Manitoba Museum. She received her BA in Anthropology from the University of Manitoba (2004), an MA in Archaeology…
Meet Dr. Amelia Fay

Did you know that Star-nosed moles can smell underwater?

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

Did you know that Star-nosed moles can smell underwater? Learn more in this video with Aro, Collections Technician of Natural History.

Did you know this camera’s fascinating history?

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

What year would you guess the first colour photograph to be printed the day after it was taken came out in a North American newspaper? Did you know that it was printed in Manitoba’s own Winnipeg Free Press?

The Manitoba Museum has 103 cameras in its collection, but one donated this year has a fascinating history! Learn more about this special discovery in this video with Curator of History, Dr. Roland Sawatzky.

Keep learning with Dr. Sawatzky’s blog post The Devin Tri-Color Camera here.

Did you know that we have a Barbie Collection?

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

Hi Barbie!

Did you know that museums collect contemporary objects in anticipation of future research, education, and exhibits well after we’ve all retired? This includes items like toys! Learn a bit about the history of Barbie with Rylee in this video in the Human History Collection.

Did you have any of these Barbies or their accessories?

The Eckhardt-Gramatté Collection and the material culture of death

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

CW// Death, thoughts of suicide.

When Sonia Eckhardt-Gramatté’s beloved husband Walter passed away, she kept many mementos of him. In this video, Collections Technician Cortney talks a bit about the Eckhardt-Gramatté Collection and the material culture of death.

The Devin Tri-Color Camera

Posted on by Roland Sawatzky

The Manitoba Museum is no stranger to cameras in our collection. We care for 103 of them, to be exact, ranging from the old tripod box cameras to some early digital cameras. But what was offered to us this year was very different from anything I had seen.

It was a 1930s Devin Tri-Color camera, made to take colour photographs in an era when artistic and journalistic black-and-white pictures dominated. Our newest camera donation became even more intriguing when I learned it was used in Winnipeg to take a very special picture.

The camera works by actually shooting three simultaneous black-and-white large negatives through three different filters (red, green, and blue), in different chambers. Additionally, inside the chambers are two reflective filters that allowed light through and reflected light to another chamber. As you can see, this makes for an oddly-shaped, heavy, unwieldly tank of a camera, one that could only be mounted on a tripod. But it worked!

In the hands of a professional, the results could be astonishing.

An angular vintage camera with a vaguely triangular-shaped back chamber behind the lens. Beside it blue, red, and green glass plates are displayed.

The Devin Tri-Color camera with its three glass coloured filters removed.

Three metal film holders lying flat on a light surface with green, blue, and red bars across the top.

Three film holders for three negatives to be used simultaneously. These would be placed directly behind the glass plate filters.

Photograph of the front page of an old newspaper featuring a large coloured photo of a procession moving down Main Street Winnipeg.

A clip from the May 25, 1939 edition of the Winnipeg Free Press found in a scrapbook in the Museum collection. H9-24-665

Our particular Devin Tri-Color camera was used to take a picture of the royal visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1939. It was then printed in the Winnipeg Free Press as a colour image, the first time in North America that a news event picture was printed in colour on the following day.

The picture shows the King and Queen with the Strathcona Horse escort on Main Street just north of Portage Avenue. The picture was taken at 11:05 am on Wednesday May 24, 1939, by Maurice Lyall who worked for Brigden’s of Winnipeg. His negatives were made into enlarged positives which were then processed by employees at the Winnipeg Free Press. They were printed in the newspaper in colour, a mere 18 hours after the photograph was taken.

David McMillan, retired professor of Photography and the History of Photography at the School of Arts at the University of Manitoba, purchased the camera from Brigden’s around 1975, and he donated it to the Museum in 2023.

But what did the printed Free Press picture look like? Archives usually only keep black-and-white microfilm or digital copies of old newspapers, so the colour image would have been lost in this transfer process. Luckily the Manitoba Museum has a big collection of keepsakes from the 1939 royal visit, and I remembered having seen some scrapbooks as part of that collection. Sure enough, one of scrapbooks held a clipping of that original May 25 newspaper print, in the original colour.

So the Museum now has both the original camera and an original newspaper print of the picture the camera took. Together at last!

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

Did you know that water was once transported within Winnipeg in wooden pipes?

Posted on by Rebecca Watson

Did you know that water was once transported within Winnipeg in wooden pipes?

Join Learning and Engagement Producer Corinne in the Winnipeg Gallery to learn what else these wooden pipes brought to Winnipeggers in the late 1800s.