Preview Critical Distance AR Experience at Manitoba Museum

An Orca Pod in Winnipeg? Immersive AR Experience “Critical Distance” Launches at Manitoba Museum for Ocean Week 2025

Treaty 1 Territory, Winnipeg, MB – May 28, 2025 — Nature Canada and the Manitoba Museum invite media to an exclusive preview of Critical Distance, a groundbreaking augmented reality (AR) experience that immerses visitors in the world of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales of the Salish Sea on Canada’s West Coast.

Launching its Canadian tour in Winnipeg for Ocean Week 2025, Critical Distance transports visitors into the Salish Sea, home to a pod of endangered orcas known as the Southern Resident Killer Whales. Through social augmented reality, audiences follow eight-year-old Kiki and her family as they navigate the challenges of underwater noise and declining salmon stocks – threats driven by human activity.

The experience makes an emotionally powerful case for ocean conservation by blending technology and storytelling. Produced by Vision3, Critical Distance is going on tour with Nature Canada, in association with the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada.

Following the AR experience, Nature Canada invites visitors to join the movement to protect Canada’s ocean by connecting directly with ocean conservation experts through a “Ask the Experts” interaction. Visitors can ask whatever they want about the orcas, the threats to the Salish Sea, or the ocean in general. And they will receive real answers from experts including Indigenous elders, marine scientists, and nature advocates.

“It’s like sending fishy letters to Santa.” – Scott Mullenix, Exhibit Director, Nature Canada

MEDIA PREVIEW DETAILS

Date: Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Time: 9:00 am

Location: Manitoba Museum, 190 Rupert Avenue, Winnipeg

Opportunities:

• Experience the Critical Distance AR presentation
• Interview Nature Canada’s ocean conservation experts in-person
• Hear remarks about the national tour (including why we launched it thousands of kilometres from the coast)
• Light Refreshments

The following experts will be available for media interviews:

Adam Olsen  (SȾHENEP)
Lead Negotiator and Member, Tsartlip First Nation (W̱JOȽEȽP)

Julia Laforge
Protected Areas Policy Manager, Nature Canada, Ottawa

Rebecca Brushett 
Marine Planning and Engagement Coordinator, Ecology Action Centre, Corner Brook and Halifax

Representatives from Vision3, Nature Canada, The Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada, and Manitoba Museum will also be available for comment.

Note: The AR experience contains flashing lights and loud sounds. It is recommended for visitors aged 10 and up.

Learn more about Critical Distance in the provided video, courtesy of Microsoft: click here.

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To RSVP or request interviews, please contact:

Scott Mullenix

Communications Director
Nature Canada
Media@NatureCanada.ca | 613.366.4776 (call or text)

Brandi Hayberg

Manager of Marketing & Communications
Manitoba Museum
BHayberg@ManitobaMuseum.ca | 204.988.0614

Treaty No. 1 Territory – Winnipeg, Manitoba – May 22, 2025 –Today, the Manitoba Museum issued a formal apology to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, acknowledging that it has held Ancestral remains and associated belongings from these communities within its collections.

The Museum held a closed Ceremony and gathering in respect for the Ancestors and kinship communities, with the guidance of Spiritual Advisors. Representatives witnessing this important moment included Grand Chief Jerry Daniels of the Southern Chiefs’ Organization, Elders from the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Leaders from Inuit and Métis communities, Chiefs of First Nations Communities across Manitoba, as well as representatives of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. They were joined by the Manitoba Museum Board of Governors, the Indigenous Advisory Circle to the Museum, and Museum staff who help to care for the Ancestors.

Following a Pipe Ceremony, Manitoba Museum CEO, Dorota Blumczyńska provided an official apology on behalf of the Museum.

“We sincerely and profoundly regret that the Museum has held Ancestors of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities within our collections for decades. In doing this, we know we have contributed to and played a role in colonialization. We apologize for our actions, inactions, and failures, past and present. We know that what is required now is that our actions be transparent, honest, and meaningful. This apology is just the beginning of the Homeward Journey of the Ancestors,” said Blumczyńska.

“We promise that no Ancestors will enter the Museum in the future.”

This apology to communities, is part of the Homeward Journey, which began at the Manitoba Museum in 2022. Guided by the Indigenous Advisory Circle and with a Spiritual Advisor’s blessing, Homeward Journey aims to identify and bring home Ancestors to their kinship communities.

The important work will take several years and will be led by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, in preparation, during, and after the Ancestors’ return.

The apology represents a significant milestone in the Manitoba Museum’s commitment to rematriation / repatriation – the return of Ancestors and associated belongings. Kevin Brownlee, former Curator of Archaeology, and member of Norway House Cree Nation (Kinosao Sipi) cared for the Ancestors and advocated for the establishment of dedicated funding for rematriation / repatriation of Ancestors and belongings. The Museum began the Homeward Journey in 2022 when the Museum committed to correct this historic injustice. The Museum’s Board of Governors regretfully acknowledged that bringing the Ancestors home was long overdue and took steps to set the work in motion.

“The Museum is committed to rebuilding trust with these communities, repairing those important relationships, and moving forward in a good way,” said Blumczyńska.

For more information about the Manitoba Museum’s Homeward Journey project please click here.

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Brandi Hayberg
Manager of Marketing & Communications
BHayberg@ManitobaMuseum.ca
204-988-0614

(Winnipeg, MB/Toronto, ON: May 14, 2025) – Palaeontologists at the Manitoba Museum and Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) have discovered a remarkable new 506-million-year-old predator from the Burgess Shale of Canada. The results are announced in a paper in the journal Royal Society Open Science (https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.242122).

“Mosura has 16 tightly packed segments lined with gills at the rear end of its body. This is a neat example of evolutionary convergence with modern groups, like horseshoe crabs, woodlice, and insects, which share a batch of segments bearing respiratory organs at the rear of the body,” says Joe Moysiuk, Curator of Palaeontology and Geology at the Manitoba Museum, who led the study.

The reason for this intriguing adaptation remains uncertain, but the researchers postulate it may be related to particular habitat preference or behavioural characteristics of Mosura that required more efficient respiration.

With its broad swimming flaps near its midsection and narrow abdomen, Mosura was nicknamed the “sea-moth” by field collectors based on its vague appearance to a moth. This inspired its scientific name, which references the fictional Japanese kaiju also known as Mothra. Only distantly related to real moths – as well as spiders, crabs, and millipedes – Mosura belongs on a much deeper branch in the evolutionary tree of these animals, collectively known as arthropods.

“Radiodonts were the first group of arthropods to branch out in the evolutionary tree, so they provide key insight into ancestral traits for the entire group. The new species emphasizes that these early arthropods were already surprisingly diverse and were adapting in a comparable way to their distant modern relatives.” says study co-author Jean-Bernard Caron, Richard M. Ivey Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology at ROM.

Several fossils of Mosura additionally show details of internal anatomy, including elements of the nervous system, circulatory system, and digestive tract.

“Very few fossil sites in the world offer this level of insight into soft internal anatomy. We can see traces representing bundles of nerves in the eyes that would have been involved in image processing, just like in living arthropods. The details are astounding,” Caron adds.

Instead of having arteries and veins like we do, Mosura had an “open” circulatory system, with its heart pumping blood into large internal body cavities called lacunae. These lacunae are preserved as reflective patches that fill the body and extend into the swimming flaps in the fossils.

“The well-preserved lacunae of the circulatory system in Mosura help us to interpret similar, but less clear features that we’ve seen before in other fossils. Their identity has been controversial,” adds Moysiuk, who is also a Research Associate at ROM. “It turns out that preservation of these structures is widespread, confirming the ancient origin of this type of circulatory system.”

Of the 61 fossils of Mosura, all except one were collected by the ROM between 1975 and 2022, mostly from the Raymond Quarry in Yoho National Park, British Columbia. Some also came from new areas around Marble Canyon in Kootenay National Park, 40 km to the southeast, which have revealed spectacular new Burgess Shale fossils, including other radiodonts: Stanleycaris, Cambroraster, and Titanokorys. One previously unpublished specimen of Mosura collected by Charles Walcott, the discoverer of the Burgess Shale, was also studied.

“Museum collections, old and new, are a bottomless treasure trove of information about the past. If you think you’ve seen it all before, you just need to open up a museum drawer,” Moysiuk says.

The Burgess Shale fossil sites are located within Yoho and Kootenay National Parks and are managed by Parks Canada. Parks Canada is proud to work with leading scientific researchers to expand knowledge and understanding of this key period of Earth’s history and to share these sites with the world through award-winning guided hikes. The Burgess Shale was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 due to its outstanding universal value and is now part of the larger Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site.

Many radiodont fossils can be seen on display in ROM’s Willner Madge Gallery, Dawn of Life, in Toronto, and a specimen of Mosura will be exhibited for the first time at the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg later this year.

For 50 years, ROM has been at the forefront of Burgess Shale research, uncovering dozens of new fossil sites and species. Located in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks of British Columbia, the Burgess Shale fossils are exceptionally preserved and provide one of the best records of marine life during the Cambrian period anywhere. Home to the world’s largest Burgess Shale collection, ROM shares these extraordinary fossils through global research, an award-winning online resource, and its newest permanent exhibition: the Willner Madge Gallery, Dawn of Life.

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Media Contact & Information

Image Gallery: A collection of images and a document with image captions & credits can be found here.

Dr. Joe Moysiuk

Curator of Palaeontology and Geology, Manitoba Museum

Research Associate, Royal Ontario Museum

Adjunct Professor, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan

204 988 0648; JMoysiuk@ManitobaMuseum.ca

Dr. Jean-Bernard Caron (bilingual)

Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology, Royal Ontario Museum

Associate Professor, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto

416 586 5593; JCaron@rom.on.ca

Brandi Hayberg

Manager of Marketing & Communications, Manitoba Museum

204 988 0614; BHayberg@ManitobaMuseum.ca

David McKay

Senior Publicist, Royal Ontario Museum

416 586 5559; DavidM@rom.on.ca

TEMPORARY EXHIBITION REVEALS TREASURES FROM THE VAULT

Treaty 1 Territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba (May 13, 2025) – A temporary exhibition delving into the “What, Where, How, and Why” of museum collections opens today at the Manitoba Museum.

The Museum Collection Illuminated presents a snapshot of the diverse and extensive work undertaken throughout the Museum’s history of collecting. Research, conservation, exhibitions, and programs are featured in videos showing behind-the-scenes conservation and field work, interpretive panels, and a timeline graphic, alongside answers to frequently asked questions.

“This exhibition explores how and why we have museum collections, what we do with them, and how we preserve them. Visitors will not only gain a better understanding of how and why we collect artifacts and specimens, but also why museums are important cultural institutions.” – Dr. Amelia Fay, Curator of Anthropology and the HBC Museum Collection.

The Museum Collection Illuminated showcases unusual artifacts and specimens, hand-selected from the vaults by the Museum curatorial team for their unique qualities, including an 11lb Giant Puffball mushroom, a gloriously gaudy bison horn chair from the 1880s, a 500 BCE Archaic period wine pitcher, and more.

The exhibition had been displayed previously during the height of COVID restrictions in 2021 at a time when the Museum was subject to closures and restrictions which greatly impacted visitation.

“As we enter our 55^th anniversary, its timely to reintroduce this exhibition to allow more visitors the opportunity to experience these significant and breath-taking artifacts and specimens representing the Museum Human and Natural History collections as we continue to celebrate community collaborations, scientific research, conservation achievements, and the continued commitment to public programs at the Museum. – Seema Hollenberg, Director of Research, Collections, and Exhibitions.

The Museum Collection Illuminated is now open in the Manitoba Museum’s Discovery Room and will be on display until May 2026. Entrance into this temporary exhibition is included with a Manitoba Museum All Attraction Pass. Manitoba Museum members and Indigenous Peoples can access this exhibition at no charge. Click here to plan your visit.

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Media Inquiries: 

Brandi Hayberg
Manager of Marketing & Communications
BHayberg@ManitobaMusuem.ca

NEW EXHIBITION AT THE MANITOBA MUSEUM

Members of the media are invited to the Manitoba Museum to preview The Museum Collection Illuminated, a temporary exhibition opening May 13, 2025 in the Museum’s Discovery Room.

The Museum Collection Illuminated explores the “What, Where, How, and Why” of museum collections and presents a snapshot of the diverse and extensive work undertaken throughout the Museum’s history of collecting. Research, conservation, exhibitions, and programs are featured in videos showing behind-the-scenes conservation and field work, interpretive panels, and a timeline graphic, alongside answers to frequently asked questions.

The exhibition showcases unusual artifacts and specimens, hand-selected from our vaults by our curatorial team for their unique qualities, including an 11lb Giant Puffball mushroom, a gloriously gaudy bison horn chair from the 1880s, a 500 BCE Archaic period wine pitcher, and more.

Members of the media are invited to preview the exhibition by appointment between 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm on Monday, May 12, 2025. Please contact Brandi Hayberg at BHayberg@ManitobaMuseum.ca to arrange a preview.
The following exhibition contributors will be available for interviews:

• Dr. Amelia Fay, Curator of Anthropology and the HBC Museum Collection.
• Dr. Joseph Moysiuk, Curator of Palaeontology & Geology

The Museum Collection Illuminated will be open to the public starting Monday, May 13, 2025. Entrance into this temporary exhibition is included with a Manitoba Museum All Attraction Pass. Manitoba Museum Members and Indigenous Peoples can access this exhibition at no charge.

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Media Inquiries: 

Brandi Hayberg
Manager of Marketing & Communications
BHayberg@ManitobaMusuem.ca

Treaty No. 1 Territory – Winnipeg, Manitoba, (March 31, 2025): This Spring Break will be the last chance to see the Manidoo Miiniigooizowin, A Gift from the Creator exhibit at the Manitoba Museum. Manidoo Miiniigooizowin celebrates the beauty and resilience of the Anishinaabe and Dakota peoples and commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO).

Featuring objects from the 32 member Nations represented by SCO, the exhibit is a celebration of the past, present, and future. Many of the objects in this exhibit have been generously shared by individuals and families who proudly represent their respective Nations, and all were designed or made by talented artists and makers from the SCO member Nations.

“To commemorate SCO’s 25th anniversary, we wanted to celebrate the artistic talents and skills of our Anishinaabe and Dakota citizens and ancestors. This exhibition successfully demonstrated the breadth of artists at various stages of their professional and creative trajectories, incorporating both traditional and contemporary ideas and concepts. As our exhibition comes to a close, SCO extends our gratitude to all who visited and learned from Manidoo Miiniigooizowin. We give thanks to the artists and donors who provided such beautiful items to share in the exhibit. We also thank the Elders who gifted the exhibition with its name; to our co-curators Amanda McLeod and Dr. Amelia Fay; and to all those at the Manitoba Museum who assisted. I encourage everyone who has not yet viewed Manidoo Miiniigooizowin to visit the Manitoba Museum before it closes.” – Grand Chief Jerry Daniels, Southern Chiefs’ Organization

The exhibit also includes historical objects from the Manitoba Museum collections —community treasures from decades past. With both the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ on display, Manidoo Miiniigooizowin showcases a walk through many Dakota and Anishinaabe generations.

“This was a wonderful opportunity for co-curation, relationship building, and a chance to bring belongings from the collection to public display alongside the contemporary works. It has been a joy to see visitors’ eyes light up upon entering this exhibit, and to bring something new and exciting to the Museum experience.” – Dr. Amelia Fay, Curator of Anthropology and HBC Museum Collection.

After a year on display in the Manitoba Museum’s Welcome Gallery and Discovery Room, the exhibit will close on Sunday, April 6, 2025. Entrance to the exhibit is included in a Manitoba Museum All Attractions Pass, available online at ManitobaMuseum.ca. The Manitoba Museum offers complimentary admission for First Nation, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

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Media Contact: 

Brandi Hayberg
Manager of Marketing & Communications
204-988-0614
BHayberg@ManitobaMusuem.ca

Treaty No. 1 Territory – Winnipeg, Manitoba: December 12, 2024 – The Manitoba Museum is ringing in the new year with their first ever Bead-A-Thon, hosted by renowned Métis beadwork artist Jennine Krauchi and the Manitoba Museum’s Head of Indigenous Programming & Engagement, Tashina Houle-Schlup.

Taking place Sunday, January 5 from 10 am to 3 pm in the Museum’s Alloway Hall, the Bead-a-Thon will include a day of mini ‘learn-to-stitch’ tutorials, an ‘Artist Open Mic’, and food vendors such as Indigenous, woman-owned businesses Sharecuterie and Anishinaa-Bakes. Attendees will also enjoy pop-up visits from the stunning historical beadwork found in the Museum collection.

“This event is inspired by the grandmothers – the ancestral belongings of the Museum collection. These are works of art that were designed, stitched, beaded, quilled, and sewn by Indigenous women throughout history. Several of these beautiful pieces will be shared with Bead-A-Thon participants at three separate times throughout the day to help fuel their inspiration for their own beadwork,” said Tashina Houle-Schlup, Head of Indigenous Programming & Engagement at the Museum.

The Bead-a-Thon is an opportunity for beaders of all experience levels to enjoy time with community to share, learn, and bead together. Whether you’re an experienced beader, a keen learner, or have never held a needle, this fundraising event welcomes all to share skills, meet new people, and connect on a personal level with ancestral belongings cared for by the Museum.

“As the Head of Indigenous Programming & Engagement at the Museum, I often see numerous artists visiting the grandmothers in our collections to examine the materials used, take measurements, and, most importantly, connect with these significant works. This event aims to extend that access to others seeking to connect with their Indigeneity. Additionally, it offers an opportunity for non-Indigenous members of our diverse community to learn more about Indigenous people and cultures, thus fostering an appreciation for our rich history and beautiful way of life,” said Houle-Schlup.

Tickets are on sale now on a ‘pay what you can afford’ scale and a 50/50 draw will close out the day. This inaugural fundraiser will support the Manitoba Museum’s Access for All program which offers a wide array of community initiatives including free admission on First Fridays, subsidized supplies and workshop fees for the Museum’s Indigenous art workshop series, and complimentary field trips for children from every corner of Manitoba.

To learn more and to purchase tickets for the Bead-a-Thon click here.

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Media Contact: 

Brandi Hayberg
Manager of Marketing & Communications
204-988-0614
BHayberg@ManitobaMusuem.ca

(Winnipeg, MB: December 3, 2024) – The Manitoba Museum has a brand-new, permanent exhibit, and we invite visitors to pounce on the chance to see this exciting addition to our Museum Galleries. The Cougar – Manitoba’s Big Cat is an extraordinarily in-depth look at one of the most enigmatic creatures to roam our province.

Many are surprised to learn that cougars are found in Manitoba at all. Though they’ve likely existed here for thousands of years, confirmed records are only available from the last 50 years. These elusive cats are seen across the southern half of the province, with most records from forested regions like Duck Mountain, Riding Mountain, and Turtle Mountain.

“The Museum partners with Manitoba Wildlife officials and the Assiniboine Park Zoo to study and preserve any accidentally killed cougars,” said Dr. Randy Mooi, Curator of Zoology, adding, “Placing the skin and skeleton in a museum gives the animal a second life of sorts, a lasting legacy by making it available for scientific study to better understand cougars in Manitoba and to tell their story to the public.”

Because SK-10’s story is so extraordinary, the Manitoba Museum was determined to bring it to visitors as a permanent feature of the Parklands Gallery. The Cougar – Manitoba’s Big Cat features SK-10 dramatically lit as if by a full moon; his fully-mounted skeleton, which provides an incredible and unique look at the inner-workings of this powerful predator; illustrated interpretative panels; and interactive and touchable elements such as paw prints, scat (poop), and cougar purrs and screams, which provide a glimpse of cougar life in Manitoba.

Members of the media are invited to a behind-the-scenes tour of the new exhibit at 9:30 am on Wednesday, December 4. To RSVP or if you would like to arrange a one-on-one tour with Curator of Zoology, Dr. Randall Mooi, please reach out to the media contact below.

The addition of The Cougar – Manitoba’s Big Cat exhibit was made possible with generous funding from the Thomas Sill Foundation and The Manitoba Museum Foundation, and in cooperation with the Manitoba Wildlife Branch, the Assiniboine Park Zoo, researchers at the University of Alberta, and Parks Canada.

Click here for a Image Gallery

Click here to watch Dinosaur Valley Studios’ Reconstructing SK-10 video

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Media Contact: 

Brandi Hayberg
Manager of Marketing & Communications
204-988-0614
BHayberg@ManitobaMusuem.ca

Winnipeg, Manitoba – November 13, 2024 – The opportunity to see Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon planetarium experience is quickly coming to an end. As of December 31, 2024, Pink Floyd and NSC Creative – the firm behind the visual production of the show – will be permanently retiring all licenses for the digital planetarium show. The planetarium program originally opened in 2023 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic album, which was first released in a London planetarium in March of 1973.

With the help of modern technology, Pink Floyd’s planetarium show transports you through space and time. The show combines breath-taking views of the solar system and beyond, played out to 42 minutes of The Dark Side of The Moon. Each song has a different theme; some futuristically looking forward and some a retro acknowledgment to Pink Floyd’s visual history, all relating to a time and space experience, embracing up to the minute technology that only a planetarium can offer. The show is a truly immersive and all-encompassing sound and visual treat that will transcend reality and take you way beyond the realms of 2D experience.

“This isn’t the old-style ‘laser show’ of the past,” says Scott Young, Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum. “The show was produced to use the latest digital planetarium system, and Winnipeg is one of only a handful of planetariums in Canada equipped to show it.”

The Manitoba Museum Planetarium has had the pleasure of hosting multiple sold out runs of the show since its launch in 2023. This November the Planetarium’s schedule will include the final run of shows before the license expires in December.

“While the Planetarium is looking at other music-based shows, the Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon 50th anniversary experience will never be seen again,” says Young. “We literally have to delete the files. This really is the last chance to see the show.”

For music lovers looking for a more hands-on concert experience, come early and you’ll get the chance to explore the universe with an adult twist! Show attendees can enjoy beverages at a pop-up bar prior to showtime in the Museum’s Science Gallery and relive the explorations of their youth with hands-on science fun!

Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon plays at the Manitoba Museum Planetarium for select showings starting November 14. Doors will open one hour prior to the show to give attendees a chance to enjoy a beverage and explore the Museum’s Science Gallery.

Visit ManitobaMuseum.ca/DarkSide for show times and information.

View the image gallery here: Pink Floyd Images and Trailer

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Media Contact: 

Brandi Hayberg
Manager of Marketing & Communications
204-988-0614
BHayberg@ManitobaMusuem.ca

Scot Young
Planetarium Astronomer
204-988-0627
ScYoung@ManitobaMuseum.ca