History comes alive at The Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, where life-like three dimensional displays trace Manitoba's human and natural history from the Ice Age to the beginnings of urban life.
The highly regarded Michelin Tour Guide gave this museum its highest rating. Magnificent displays explore our relationship with nature, space, and the world around us.
Travel Manitoba from north to south in the galleries at the Museum, beginning in the Earth History gallery and moving through to the aurora-lit Arctic-Subarctic gallery. Walk past granite cliffs and icy streams in the Boreal Forest gallery, and try your sea legs on board a 17th century ketch (a full scale replica believed to have been built circa 1650) bound for Hudson Bay in the Nonsuch gallery. Travel the windswept plains of the Grasslands gallery and explore the streets and back rooms of a vibrant young Winnipeg at the turn of the century in the Urban gallery.
The Museum is the only place you can step back in time to find out what Christmas looked like in the 1920s. Travel back to a simpler time and discover Winnipeg at Christmas in the 1920s. The Museum transforms its urban gallery into a nostalgic experience with authentic decorations, costumes and more. Stroll down wooden sidewalks, peek into homes dressed in their holiday finest - glass beads, tinsel garland and tissue paper honeycomb bells graced trees and homes during this era.
Become an intrepid astronomical explorer in the 280-seat Star Theatre at the Planetarium. Buy your very own star after viewing the presentation Zeke's DaZZling Sky, a family show, and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence this year. A hands-on Science Centre is also housed here.
The museum also acts as a tour guide to our province, with excursions going to the snake pits of Narcisse, to see the lilies of Neepawa and exploring the Pembina Hills around Morden and Manitou.
Museum, Planetarium, Science Centre: 1-204-956-2830
Recorded Information: 1-204-943-3139
Winnipeg and Manitoba were settled by pioneer men and women with indomitable spirits and a hearty love of the land and its many opportunities. Relive this fascinating era with a visit to some of these historic sites, places, landmarks and monuments.
The oldest building in Winnipeg, and the largest oak log structure in North America, Le Musee depicts the lives of the French and Metis people.
A statue of Louis Riel graces the front lawn of this original Grey Nun's Convent.
For information call 1-204-237-4500.
ST. BONIFACE CATHEDRALE-BASILICALocated on the site of the first mission church constructed by Father Provencher in 1818, the original cathedral, built in 1908, was destroyed by fire in 1968. The ruins were incorporated into the design of the new church, creating a dramatic facade facing west across the Red River towards downtown Winnipeg.
For information call: 1-204-233-7304
LOUIS RIEL'S TOMBResting place of the controversial Metis hero Louis Riel who led Manitoba into Confederation in 1870, and was hanged for treason in 1885.
Restored to its 1886 appearance, Riel House offers visitors a glimpse into the life of the Riel family.
For information call: 1-204-257-1783 or 1-204-233-4888
This is one of the oldest habitable homes in Manitoba. Built in 1851 by John Inkster, constructed of oak logs, this house contains original Inkster family furnishings: furniture, household articles and clothing of the period. Other structures include a general store and a shelter housing a sleigh and a Red River Cart.
For information call 1-204-339-7429
Located within the Joe Zuken Heritage Park at 140 Meade Street N. between Sutherland and Euclid Avenues
Ross House, built in 1854, was the prairie's first post office. Today, it's a museum, featuring period-furnished rooms
depicting the life of the Ross family.
For information: 1-204-943-3958 or 1-204-943-2835
Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, June 1 through August 31
No admission fee
Built in 1895, this house is a fine example of Victorian domestic architecture. It was the home of Sir Hugh John Macdonald, only son of Canada's first prime minister, and himself a member of Parliament and Premier of Manitoba.
The present cathedral is the fourth edifice on this site. Reverend John West, first Anglican missionary at Red River, built a schoolhouse on this site in 1820. The first Protestant Church in the Red River Settlement was established here in 1822, when a combined school-church building was erected.
St. John's is considered the "birthplace of the Anglican Church in western Canada". The present cathedral, built in 1926, incorporates stones from two churches built in 1853 and 1862.
Memorials in the Cathedral and in the surrounding cemetery date back to 1811. Many important citizens to the history of the Province are buried in the churchyard. The inscriptions on the stones read like a who's who of Winnipeg's pioneer past.
Tours of the building and grounds are conducted during the summer months and by appointment through the church office.
Telephone 1-204-586-8385
Built in 1903-05 by Trappist monks, who came to St. Norbert in 1892. Fire gutted the church and residential wing in 1983, leaving the beautiful stone ruins surrounded by a park.
The ruins of the old Trappist Monastery on the banks of the LaSalle River are perfect for presentations by the Shakespeare in the Ruins theatre troupe. The five-acre site is operated by the St. Norbert Arts and Cultural Centre, itself housed in the renovated turn-of-the century Trappist's Guest House, which includes exhibition space, offices, studios, a dining room and
10 guest rooms where artists live.
For information call 1-204-269-5377
Built in 1912 and originally the Assiniboia Municipal Hall, the museum depicts the settlement of the area.
For information call: 1-204-888-8706
Transcona is a an area which owes much to the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, which ran its tracks and shops to this area in 1913, and you can see the murals showing the first steam engine built in Western Canada at the local museum, which houses historical information on the community, the railway and many unique displays. Manitoba 125 Plus Recipe cookbook and "Engine
2747" mugs are now available.
For information call 1-204-222-0423
Images of the historical and cultural aspects of Canadian and Russian Mennonite lives traced through documents and photos.
For information call: 1-204-888-6781
German and English periodicals and various archival materials are a feature of this centre that traces the Mennonite experience in Russia from 1789; and in Canada since the 1870s.
For information call 1-204-669-6575
In the Train Gallery, known as the Winnipeg Railway Museum, you will find artifacts of railroading on the Canadian prairies. Exhibits include the Countess of Dufferin, a Baldwin engine first owned by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1872 and brought to Winnipeg in 1877.
For information call 1-204-942-4632
Aircraft and displays highlighting achievements in Canadian aviation; women in aviation; education centre; flight observation deck; gift shop; book store.
The Richardson Gallery of Flight inside the museum houses 30 planes used for private, commercial and military flights, including Canada's first helicopter, built by the Froebe brothers of Manitoba in the early 1930s. Skyways is a hands-on area for children, explaining through a number of displays and activities how airplanes can fly.
Take to the air for an aerial view of the city at Christmas time.
For information call: 1-204-786-5503
One of the finest air parks in Canada, it was built to help preserve the rich heritage of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Forces.The 15 aircraft on display were all flown by the Canadian Forces and include an f-86 Sabre, CF-100 Canuck, CF-101 Voodoo, CF-104 Starfighter, CF-5 Freedom Fighter, CH-136 Kiowa helicopter, DC-Dakota, Harvard Trainer and a CP-121 Tracker. A monument honours the ground crew and other support personnel who have served in the Forces.
The Museum is located in the Atrium of Air Command HQ and contains many significant exhibits including three VCs.
The Air Park, the largest in Canada, is open daily to the public year-round. Free admission.
For information call 1-204-833-5993 or 1-204-833-2212
The Fire Service Museum of Winnipeg was the oldest working fire hall in North America before it closed in the 1980s. Built in 1904 this 2 storey brick building includes a stable that originally housed 12 horses, a hay loft, oat bin and harness room. Check out the working 1882 horse drawn wagon, steam powered fire engines, a horse-drawn hose, boiler trucks, horse troughs and pictures of almost every major fire in the city among other impressive displays.
Tours available by appointment only.
For information call 1-204-942-4817 or 1-204-888-8021
Displays of uniforms, weapons, pictures, and artifacts from 1870 to the present tell the story of western Canada's oldest Highland unit.
For information call: 1-204-786-4330