Lake Winnipeg Exhibit Takes Shape!

Lake Winnipeg Exhibit Takes Shape!

Today is Day One of the installation of the Science Gallery’s new exhibit, Lake Winnipeg: Shared Solutions! Lake Winnipeg is one of the most endangered lakes in the world, due to its huge watershed – water from four provinces and four U.S. states, from as far as the Rockies, flows into our Lake, carrying nutrients and pollution from cities, farms and industries. This state-of-the-art exhibit allows visitors to explore our local Great Lake and try to find solutions to this pressing problem. The exhibit features a high-tech lake simulator, the Watershed of the Future, which lets visitors take control of the decisions that affect the lake’s health. Do we improve the city’s sewer systems, or look for better ways to fertilize crops? You decide! The Watershed of the Future is based on information provided by dozens of scientists and industry experts, and shows not only the effect of your decisions on the Lake’s health, but also on the economy and the quality of life of Manitobans. The exhibit also features a live Lake Winnipeg ecosystem, natural history specimens, satellite imagery, and information on how you can do your part, at home or work, to help save our Lake.

We’ll be posting behind-the-scenes images and commentary as the exhibit is installed, so you can peek behind the curtain and see how the magic happens here at The Museum. The exhibit is scheduled to open on World Water Day, Saturday, March 22, 2014!

An artist's rendering of a three-part exhibit containing a digital activity, a watershed table, and an interactive station.

A early overview of the Lake Winnipeg: Shared Solutions exhibit.

A grainy photo looking over a low half wall with three porthole windows towards a sloping watershed table, and a brightly illuminated rectangle section of wall where a aquarium tank will be installed.

Lake Winnipeg Ecosystem going in. Live animals will reside here soon!

Close up on a Manitoba watershed map and digital touchscreen on an exhibit wall.

Satellite images of Lake Winnipeg are overlaid on a giant map of the watershed.

An exhiit under construction in the Manitoba Museum Science Gallery. A table holds boxes, papers, and tools in the foreground.

Installation continues.

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.