History. Nature. Science. These three words are the calling card for Winnipeg‘s Manitoba Museum. It is the province’s most comprehensive museum with multiple galleries on everything from dinosaurs to how Manitobans lived during the roaring 20s. I particularly liked the Arctic and subarctic gallery, as I did in Ottawa‘s Museum of Nature. I think Canada is well-placed for exhibits on Arctic natural history.
The museum, as a whole, has a very 1980s kind of vibe to it. You can see it in the display case design, you can see it in the font choice, you can see it in the graphics. The kind of museum that a grandparent could bring a grandchild to and nothing has changed in the time between their childhoods.
The 1:1 replica of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s first ship the Nonsuch is the museum’s prized exhibit. This was the ship that first explored trade for Britain and proved the viability of commerce along the coast of Hudson’s Bay. An exhibition on the HBC’s old trading post and evolution into a retail giant follows.
Manitoba was kind of like Quebec and Ontario, it had paper mills, and mineral ore mines and used waterways extensively to transport goods where there was a lack of railroads. Its industrial strength grew until the 1940s when the war caused a labor shortage.
The 1920s exhibit recreates Winnipeg of old and lets visitors walk up and down buildings to explore how people lived and worked. I like the buttons that trigger a short audio conversation between two citizens.
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