Manitoba’s three bat species that migrate. Museum specimens of, from top to bottom, a silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis), and hoary bat (L. cinereus). By Dr. Randall Mooi, Curator of Zoology, Manitoba Museum October is when bats – or their silhouettes, at least – are hard to miss! You’ll likely come across multiple houses this month proudly displaying these winged wonders alongside jack-o-lanterns and witches. However ..read more

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 ..read more

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

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 ..read more

The beautiful Ancient Seas animations are projected onto a large curved screen, transporting you to an undersea world 450 million years ago. By Dr. Graham Young, Curator of Geology & Paleontology, the Manitoba Museum Walking into the Manitoba Museum’s Earth History Gallery, you see an enticing undersea scene in the middle distance. Passing through an opening, you find yourself in a small room that feels like an underwater observatory. Here ..read more

This banner has seen many marches, rallies, and protests in the fight for queer rights. Gays for Equality evolved through the years to become Rainbow Resource Centre today. The banner was used at the first official Pride parade in 1987, and is on exhibit at the Museum from May 26. It will be donated to the Manitoba Museum, which continues to welcome more artifacts related to the 2SLGBTQ+ experience in ..read more

During this cold March, the new Prairies Gallery is a comfortable place to explore the diversity, adaptations, and life histories of some of Manitoba’s wildlife. For many visitors, especially the young, the exhibits often provide the first close look at the details of insect wings and wolf teeth, the first chance to explore life underground, or to experience the wonder of just how many other animal species are fellow Manitobans ..read more

Fungi grow just about everywhere and yet we are usually ignorant of their presence until they produce mushrooms in our lawns or mold on the food in our fridge. Although they are common components of ecosystems (and, disconcertingly, our fridges!), and essential for nutrient recycling, we actually know very little about them. What are fungi? A long time ago, fungi were considered plants because they don’t move like animals do ..read more

A young girl checks out a cheeky beaver, one of Canada’s most famous aquatic animals. ©Manitoba Museum/Ian McCausland Mika Pineda, Learning and Engagement Producer for Youth Climate Action at the Manitoba Museum, shares her thoughts on one of Earth’s most precious resources – water. Learn more about the importance of water with month-long water-based programming at the Manitoba Musuem kicking off this World Water Day, March 22. I always find ..read more

Written by Aro van Dyck, Collections Technician, Natural History My first day at the Manitoba Museum began with a guided behind-the-scenes tour through the research labs, workshops, and collections storage rooms that are not accessible to the public. On a tight schedule, I got to see a little bit of everything, but when the tour was over I knew I needed to see so much more. Through the next week ..read more