Man and Nature at the Manitoba Museum
Winnipeg’s Manitoba Museum showcases both natural and human history
in the varied landscapes of Manitoba
Note: A newer version of this post exists which includes information on recent additions and changes to this museum. Please see Man And Nature In Manitoba Museum Galleries.
I love museums and the Manitoba Museum sounds really wonderful. I love that they have sound effects too! But mostly, I love the whole idea of that theme…interrelationship of human beings and the natural environment. First time I’ve heard a museum being so focused on a single topic. Though, it’s a fiarly broad one. Thanks for the tour! I enjoyed the photos.
Jacquie, it is a fairly broad topic. And, given the different areas within the province there is a lot of information in the museum.
We can spend hours in museums and the Manitoba Museum sounds fascinating. I especially liked the display that showed how the indigenous people adopted European technology while the European settlers adopted the native technology. It’s a great reminder that working together and learning from other cultures fosters respect and understanding. Anita
Anita, I liked those displays too – why I chose to highlight it in the post.
Wow, great images. I love the tipi. Sounds like a great place to visit.
Thanks Sabrina
Donna, once again you have given me a wonderful tour! The Manitoba Museum reminds me of the Vancouver, BC museum (which we love). If we ever get to Manitoba I will certainly have this on the must visit list!
I’ve never made it to the Vancouver Museum in the times I’ve visited Vancouver, although it has made it to my list of things to see there. I thought I might finally get there this May when I visited my daughter, but I ran out of time. Hopefully, on my next trip.
When a museum is done right it is a great place to learn history. It sounds like they really know how to bring history to life at Winnipeg’s Manitoba Museum!
Marilyn, the museum does make the history interesting. There are lots of things to appeal to children as well although I don’t expect they’d be interested in all of the information.
Hi Donna,
“Interpreting the past requires an interdisciplinary approach. Each perspective provides a different story; the more perspectives used, the better the interpretation.”
These word not only apply to history, but to everyday life. If only we could . . .
Reading about the Hudson Bay Co. is fun, too. I wrote a feature article in Detroit Hour magazine on 350 years of its history in terms of the fur business. The very first structure built there — Fort Pontchartrain — housed a fur trading floor and was the birth of the city of Detroit.
Thanks for taking us along on your tour of Manitoba Museum. I have great respect for anyone who visits — and really studies — their own region’s museums!
Regards,
Josie
Josie you are so right that the words apply to life as well as history. I didn’t realize the fur industry had such an impact on Detroit. As to visiting local museum’s, I think we are often so busy with our lives we only take time to do that kind of thing when on vacation in another place, but there is usually a lot to appreciate and understand in our own region.
What a super tour of this museum. The Boreal exhibits are so reminiscent of our former home state of Minnesota (and my birth state of Michigan, too, with its Algonquin heritage). And the Hudson Bay Company related information is close to my heart, too. We attended several pow wows honoring the Voyageurs who traveled great distances on foot from points inland to rendezvous with Hudson Bay Co. reps on the shores of Lake Superior. And I could relate to the Grasslands exhibits which are so like the Dakotas in the U.S. Like you, I always wonder how archaeologists can make confident pronouncements about what they’ve found and how things were used using mere fragments. This was a fun post to read.
Thanks Betsy. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and found so much to relate to.
This post brings back memories of visiting the Glenbow Museum in Calgary AB. The sod house made me smile – my mom has photos of the sod house they lived in temporarily, while getting settled in a new town in Saskatchewan during the thirties. Such a different life it was back then!
Susan, I didn’t realize sod houses were still used (even in only temporarily) in the thirties. I’m sure your mother had interesting stories. I’ve not visited Glenbow Museum, but it sounds as I should consider it on one of my next trips to Calgary.
A fascinating museum I’d love to get to visit one day. I was particularly interested by your comments on the Hudson Bay Company, as they helped fill some gaps in what I knew from Montreal about the company. A very comprehensive and well written article!
Thanks Denis.
History is so interesting and this looks an amazing museum in Manitoba
I agree that history is interesting. There is a lot of interesting historical information at this museum.
You have given me another comprehensive tour of a Museum, more than I will ever get even if I make the visit myself. I wonder how many times and how many total hours you have spent at this place, accumulating all this information. Honestly, I do not have the patience and energy. An armchair tour such as what you always give us is the best way for me. Thanks!
Thanks Carol. Most of the information for this article came from a 2 to 3 hour visit, but one could easily spend more time there. I’ve visited in the past (although I admit it had been years since my previous visit) and I’ve been exposed to some of the information, especially history of the area, before. It’s the kind of place where you’re likely to pick up something new each time you visit.
This looks like one of those museums that require more than one visit! My husband has one of those Hudson Bay blankets that was his as a child!
I certainly feel you cannot take in all the information at this museum in one visit. I personally reach overload. But you can get a good feel for Manitoba history in just one visit and then, if you opportunity to visit again, pick up new bits of information in subsequent visits.
The Manitoba Museum sounds like a great repository of cultural and natural history of the province. I find myself wondering how big it is and how many days/weeks one would need to do it justice?
Yasha, I don’t know the physical size, but the museum has 9 galleries. I think you can do it justice in a few hours visit and get a good sense of Manitoba in that time, but you would not read every detail of information. At the same time, there is also enough there to make subsequent visits interesting.
The is the kind of museum I love to spend an afternoon in. Looking at objects from the past and connecting to the history is a great way to learn about the culture. The Charleston Museum in South Carolina is like this. Thanks for the comprehensive tour.
Thanks Alison. It sounds as if I’d enjoy the Charleston Museum.
The Manitoba Museum looks like a wonderful place to visit. The display looks interesting that shows how the First Nations learned from the Europeans, and the Europeans learned from the First Nations people. I see a lot of similarities between Manitoba and Alberta’s history.
Shelley, I don’t know a lot of the details of Alberta’s history, but I’m not surprised to hear of similarities with Manitoba’s. Next time I’m in Alberta, I will need to make a point of exploring historical museums there.
Would love to visit Manitoba Museum, just the kind of place we like to visit and love the theme here on man and nature. Thanks for linking up with #TheWeeklyPostcard
I’m very happy to be part of this week’s #TheWeeklyPostcard
Hey Donna, long time no see. So glad to see you at #TheWeeklyPostcard blog link-up! The Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature seems to provide a unique journey through the province of Manitoba. I’d like to visit it someday.
Good to hear from you Anda. Thanks for stopping by.
Museums are so wonderful for learning about our history. I loved studying Ancient History in Highschool and working out what happened and when/why – looking back on our ancestors way of living is so fascinating. I also love “Night at the Museum” and some of your Pictures remind me of the movie 🙂 Especially the Dinosaur and the Depiction of creating a pictograph on stone image. The Manitoba Museum sounds like a great place to explore – whenever we can we purchase yearly passes to places so that we can always return and look more in depth at each display.
Your photos are so informative. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for stopping by. Season passes are a great idea for museums and other places in your are you’d like to visit several times.