“We are delighted to be hosting this new community exhibit, which highlights the important role that exploration has played in our province’s history,” says Claudette Leclerc, The Manitoba Museum’s CEO.  “Community partnerships are critical to the success of The Manitoba Museum and enable us to focus on what makes Manitoba such a special place to live.”

“The FORT ROUGE exhibit is aimed at raising awareness among Manitobans of the significance of la Vérendrye as a major figure in Western Canadian history, and an important symbol for Manitoba’s Francophone community,” says Michel Loiselle, Captain of La Companie de La Vérendrye.

In the Museum’s Discovery Room, the exhibit tells the story of La Vérendrye’s voyages in his quest to reach the Pacific Ocean and the riches of the Orient. It features a 18th Century map of the West, La Vérendrye’s personal artifacts, a life-like mannequin of him and a model of Fort Rouge. For more information, visit www.FORTROUGE275.ca

The exhibit will run from May 2 to September 26, 2013.

Starting this Saturday, May 18 until Labour Day weekend (September 2) you can enjoy The Manitoba Museum every day of the week!

We are open daily (Monday to Sunday) 10:00 am to 5:00pm.

Please note that The Museum Galleries, Science Gallery and Planetarium will be open on Victoria Day (Monday, May 20).

Now is the perfect time to experience a day in the life of an astronaut, since Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is currently in space at the International Space Station.

For most of us, having the chance to operate Canadarm 2 at the International Space Station is merely a dream. Which is why The Manitoba Museum’s Science Gallery’s newest exhibit Living in Space represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for space enthusiasts of all ages. Open since December 2012, Living in Space will run throughout 2013. Admission is included with the purchase of a Science Gallery single ticket or combo (and is free for Museum members).

“This is a great exhibit about Canada’s ongoing adventure in space, on display here in Manitoba at the same time that the International Space Station has its first-ever Canadian commander, Chris Hadfield,” says Scott Young, Manager of Science Communications and Visitor Experiences. “Two words:  Space Toilet!”

Living in Space’s highlightsinclude a giant Earth sphere, a giant playable guitar, a robotics simulator, an electronic touch table to simulate the experience of eating in space, Zeno Motion Panels, and a collection of unique space artefacts contributed by our Canadian astronauts, including Robert Thirsk’s sleeping bag, Chris Hadfield’s space guitar and Julie Payette’s flight suit.

For more on the exhibit, see CTV’s coverage of Chris Hadfield’s voyage along with the exhibit:  http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/video?playlistId=1.1099044

The brand new Digistar® 5 All-Dome digital projection technology is now open to the general public. This is the biggest improvement the Planetarium has received in its 42-years of operation.

To see the schedule of new shows, please click here.

“We are delighted to entrust this Black Brant 5 rocket to The Manitoba Museum,” said Mr. Boitson. “We know that The Museum is the perfect place to display the Black Brant rocket fo the enjoyment of Manitobans today and for future generations. The Black Brant is an important piece of Manitoba’s heritage and showcases one of Manitoba’s significant contributions to the field of rocketry to space science.”

Claudette Leclerc, CEO of The Manitoba Museum said, “The Black Brant rocket is science in Manitoba at its best and a signficant part of Manitoba’s science and engineering history. We are truly honoured that Magellan Areospace has chosen The Manitoba Museum’s Science Gallery to be the custodian of this history. The Black Brant rocket will become an iconic focal point to illustrate the importance of Manitoba’s aerospace industry. We can’t wait to get it into our Science Gallery as soon as possible.”

La Vérendrye’s Quest for the Western Sea, a new display in our Grasslands Gallery, tells the story of the colonial soldiers who protected the borders of New France.  In 1731, French King Louis XV and the administration of New France sent the famous explorer west of the Great Lakes to find a path to the Western Sea.  They hoped he would be able to reach the riches of the Orient and to expand the fur trade into the West.  The exhibit includes uniforms, maps, artifacts and reproductions provided by the company.

The exhibit is free with Museum Galleries admission.

Clarence Tillenius was born in 1913 in the Interlake region of Manitoba. He was initially self-taught in wildlife art, and made many long expeditions into isolated areas to sketch animals in their natural habitat. In 1936 he lost his painting arm on a CNR construction job, but a year later was taking painting classes with Alexander J. Musgrove to rehabilitate.

The artist’s work came to wide public attention through the distribution of Monarch Life Assurance calendars in the 1950s and 1960s. His paintings were widely used as education tools to teach children about Canadian wildlife.

Tillenius created wildlife dioramas for museums across Canada.  Five of these are exhibited in The Manitoba Museum, including the iconic Buffalo Hunt and Polar Bear.

Clarence Tillenius created works that inspired younger generations. Environmental groups, schools, scientists and museums have collaborated to support his mission to create not only an appreciation of nature, but a way to protect Canada’s wilderness.

“I believe that there is in the universe an underlying rhythm, a stream of life common to all ages; that the work of an artist who could tap into that rhythm would be timeless, it would be understood in any age, since man himself is bound by, and responds to, the same rhythm as the animals.

When that rhythm calls me to a universe other than this one; I ask each of you, who wish to remember me, to look at my paintings or my dioramas. As long as my work is appreciated by the generations that follow, my work will have tapped into that rhythm and will be timeless; even though I have now crossed that great Divide.”  – Clarence Tillenius, 1913-2012

Tuesday to Friday                                           10:00am – 4:00pm

Saturday & Sunday                                          11:00am – 5:00pm

** Please note that we are CLOSED on Mondays. Summer hours will resume in May.

For a chance to win a Museum Family Membership and other great prizes, simply email a high-resolution photo of you and/or your family or friends in the Museum to contest@manitobamuseum.ca, along with a brief caption and contact information.

All applicable photographs will be shared on our Facebook fan page.

After submitting your photo, you will automatically be entered into the draw.  The contest will be open until October 28th, and winners will be announced shortly thereafter.