Right now, and throughout this holiday season, the Manitoba Museum has so much in store –– no matter what you are looking for!
For starters, let’s start with gifts for almost anyone on your list.
The Manitoba Museum Shop
Do you have a budding young scientist or history buff on your list? A foodie who wants something from the local land? Or simply someone who would love a locally made gift? Look no further than the Manitoba Museum Shop.
The Museum Shop is a real hidden gem, brimming with countless gifts that cover all tastes and budgets.
Many of its gifts have been created in concert with the Museum, including custom candles by local candle maker Leilani Candle like the Planetarium-inspired Aurora Borealis scent, which will take your senses to the stars with warm vanilla, sweet butter, walnuts and pecans. Leilani has a Nonsuch one too that takes you port side with mahogany, tobacco, vanilla and dark brown sugar.
If that’s not enough to float your boat, local potter Shaun Dyck has designed this Nonsuch Mug (no two are the same!), that is a real ketch –– ahem, catch –– that will ensure your hot beverage puts that extra wind in your sails. To fill it, how about some locally made teas from Cornelia Bean like this Prairie Grove loose leaf blend featuring wild harvested ingredients like mint and sweetgrass?
For the kids, there are plush stuffies featuring animals you’ll find in its famed dioramas, puzzles featuring dinosaurs and the cosmos, mini individually carved stone animals, and a number of science kits too.
There’s also countless books covering everything from foraging and local plant species, to works by Indigenous authors and plenty of titles that cover Museum content too. Plus, there’s a whole selection of prints, totes, and homeware from Indigenous artists too, along with so many posters that will be cherished by anyone on your list. (If you're asking, we'd love this mushroom one.)
To make it even easier, you can order or shop online using the Museum’s online gift shop. And to thank you for reading this article, you can also use promo code TOURISMWPG15 online to save 15 per cent off of your first purchase (noting you must redeem your discount before January 8, 2023).
And hey, if you are looking to give the gift of an experience, the Manitoba Museum currently has a Membership Sale on now until January 7 that will save you 25 per cent! This huge savings also gets you 10 per cent off at the Museum Shop, discounts at surrounding restaurants, early-bird access to popular programs and shows, and so much more!
What’s on right now (including a new Planetarium show)
Along with all of the Museum’s brilliant marquee exhibits, there are a few special things to check out this month.
On now until February is an exhibition that is all about horology (which is both the study of measuring time and clock-making, for all of you who might not read a lot of David Mitchell). Keeping Time: The Art and Heritage of Mennonite Clocks is being staged in the Museum’s Discovery Room, providing an incredible showcase of two centuries’ worth of intricate Mennonite clocks that were made in Europe and brought here, representing the Mennonite diaspora around the world. All these clocks come from Southern Ukraine from the late 1700s to the early 20th century, helping tell interesting stories about their owners and the importance of their origins.
Learn more here, as this exhibition also features special events you can attend.
At the Planetarium –– a place that some of you may have recently seen co-starring with its stars in the Hallmark film, Under the Christmas Sky, which features a number of scenes in the Museum –– there’s also a new show on for the holiday season.
The Longest Night: A Winter’s Tale is a fable filled with interesting characters utilizing live-action puppetry, combined with the state-of-the-art visuals you can only get in a Planetarium. Jim Henson fans (which is everyone, right?) will love it, while this 27-minute dome experience has been met with rave-reviews wherever it has played.
Find tickets and showtimes here.
Pyjama Days are back
Finally, should you be looking for ways to entertain your little ones over the holidays, Pyjama Days (December 26 to January 7) are back!
During this time the Museum invites your whole family to dress down in their cozies while enjoying special events throughout the galleries like snowman scavenger hunts, access to the Nonsuch cargo hold, icy demonstrations in the Auditorium, and more. Plus, you could win some pretty great prizes too!
***
The Manitoba Museum is located at 190 Rupert Avenue, and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Find info on all its award-winning galleries and holiday hours at manitobamuseum.ca
