The Discovery Room presents: Natural Wonders: A Celebration of Biodiversity. The Museum is celebrating International Biodiversity Year with a temporary showcase of unique natural history collections that are normally not on display.

Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Guides in Canada. This Foyer case display takes a look at a century of guiding in Manitoba.

With four temporary exhibitions, two fantastic new permanent exhibits, Planetarium laser shows and improved programming in our galleries, there has never been so many great reasons to visit The Manitoba Museum. We are open every day this summer, from 10am to 5pm including holidays. Continue reading ‘Your summer adventure starts here!’

Have you owned a telescope for years, but all it does is collect dust in your basement? Having trouble telling Orion’s belt from Cassiopeia’s throne? Does looking at the night sky cause you to scratch your head in wonder? Then we have the answer for you!

The Manitoba Museum is hosting a six-evening program on the basics of astronomy this fall. Eyes to the Skies will take participants on an in-depth tour of our night sky including constellations, planets, the Moon and much, much more.

Using images and video, hands-on demonstrations, handouts and the unique technology of the Planetarium Star Theatre, even the most beginner of stargazers will be able to navigate the night sky like a pro by the end of this course.

The fall session begins on Wednesday September 22^nd, 2010 and runs six consecutive Wednesdays until Oct. 27^th from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. nightly. For more information, contact instructor Mike Jensen at 988-0613 or mjensen@manitobamuseum.ca. The cost is $125 per person ($99 for Museum members). To register, please call 988-0626 or email programs@manitobamuseum.ca.

New activities for families of all ages are now located throughout the Museum galleries. There are 27 different Bingo and I Spy sheets to choose from in almost every gallery. Hundreds of pictures of interesting and curious specimens and artifacts are used to encourage discovery and learn something new about our treasures; there’s a story with each picture for visitors to explore.

These games are meant for all ages—the questions in the “I Spy” games and pictures in the Bingo games vary in complexity!”

Pick up your passport at Museum Reception for a guide to all the new family fun.

Winter Hours resume September 7th

Tuesday to Friday       10:00 – 4:00

Saturday and Sunday 11:00 – 5:00

CLOSED MONDAYS

 Planetarium is closed for annual maintenance September 7 – 10 (daytime)

Laser shows are being held over for one more week!

Thursday, September 9          

British-N-Vasion @ 7:15pm

Laser Pink Floyd @ 8:30pm

 Laser Queen @ 9:45pm

Friday, September 10 

Laser Daft Punk @ 7:15pm

 British-N-Vasion @ 8:30pm

Laser Queen @ 9:45pm

 Laser Pink Floyd @ 11:00pm

 Saturday, September 11         

A Brief Mystery of Time @ 1:00 & 4:00 pm

Laser Daft Punk @ 7:15pm

British-N-Vasion @ 8:30pm

 Laser Queen @ 9:45pm

 Laser Pink Floyd @ 11:00pm

 Sunday, September 12           

A Brief Mystery of Time @ 1:00 & 4:00pm

While many people believe that protecting native plants and animals is important, others think that they are expendable, especially when there are hungry people to feed.  There is pressure now more than ever to bring marginal lands into cultivation to meet our growing need for food.  However, the true value of wild lands to humanity is not always evident, and scientists continue to discover new and fascinating connections between plants and animals.

 Dr. Diana Bizecki Robson, The Manitoba Museum’s Curator of Botany, has been studying the pollination ecology of native plants for several years.  Recently she documented the insects that pollinate the nationally rare Western Silvery Aster (Symphyotrichum sericeum) plant that grows in sandy, tall-grass prairies.  One of the things she discovered was how this rare plant, and other tall-grass prairie species, is connected to both crop plant pollinators and predators of crop pests.  Before and after crop plants flower, their pollinators rely on native plants to survive.  Although Western Silvery Aster is rare, it produces flowers at a time when most crop plants are going to seed, potentially providing much needed nectar to pollinating insects.  Canadian crop plants that benefit from wild pollinators like bumblebees and leaf-cutter bees include alfalfa, canola, flax and sunflower to name a few.

 Native plants may also help increase populations of insect predators of crop pests.  Bee fly larvae parasitize grasshopper eggs, Tachinid fly larvae parasitize the caterpillars of Fall Armyworms (Spodoptera frugiperda) and Corn Earworms (Helicoverpa zea), and Toxomerus larvae eat aphids.  The adults of these insects have been observed feeding on the nectar and pollen of native plants, including Western Silvery Aster.

 So how important might these insects be for crop production?  The annual economic value of ecological services, such as pollination and pest control, provided by wild insects was estimated to value $57 billion in the U.S. alone.  We know that these beneficial insects need wild prairies, hedgerows, shelterbelts and forests to live in, and yet the pressure to cultivate these areas continues to grow.  Ironically, more food can be probably be produced by cultivating less land, and even replanting some areas with native vegetation.  Recent research from Simon Fraser University suggests that leaving 30% of all land in an agroecosystem uncultivated to provide habitat for wild pollinators will maximize crop yields and profit for farmers.

“By pointing out the connections between beneficial insects and wild plants I’m hoping to encourage farmers and rural landowners to conserve those little patches of prairie and forest remaining on their property,” says Dr. Robson.  It turns out that what was once considered to be “waste land” may be very valuable after all.

Dr. Robson is involved in the Canadian Pollinator Initiative, which was started by scientists to increase pollinator research in Canada.  The Museum gratefully acknowledges the financial support of WWF-Canada, the Government of Canada, Manitoba Conservation and The Manitoba Museum Foundation Inc.

The Manitoba Museum will become a Mecca of Manitoba music on July 1, complete with rare memorabilia, fascinating exhibits, vintage guitars, live entertainment – and even disco balls.

“It’s a celebration of all aspects of Manitoba music,” explains John Einarson. Einarson, one of Manitoba’s most noted and respected music historians, is the curator of Shakin’ All Over: The Manitoba Music Experience.

The exhibit is a multi-media celebration of music in our province over time. Each genre of music will have a semi-circular “pod” space allocated to it, in which you can view artifacts, learn history, and hear the music specific to that genre. The themes of the pods are: Country, Folk, Jazz, Classical & Opera, First Nations, Métis, Franco-Manitoban, Blues, Children & Family and Rock ‘n Roll. Continue reading ‘Celebrate Manitoba’s Musical Legacy with Shakin’ All Over’

This community-based exhibit celebrates 50 Years with the Filipino-Canadian Community in Winnipeg.

Filipino Youth in Action brings us this wonderful display of portraitures, replicas of documents, photographs, and oral histories surrounding the waves of Filipino migration to Winnipeg.

June 18 to September 26 in Festival Hall. Free for members.

A community exhibit by Aksyon Ng Ating Kabataan (ANAK), Inc.

From 8pm to midnight on Saturday, September 25, enjoy FREE tours of the award-winning Museum Galleries, with new groups leaving every 30 minutes. Every tour will cover a different topic and will try to accommodate the visitors’ interests.

This rare opportunity will only be available during Nuit Blanche.