WINNIPEG -- The Manitoba Museum is opening its new Prairies Gallery on Thursday.
This marks the completion of the museum’s four-year capital renewal project, which saw the renewal of the Nonsuch Gallery, Boreal Forest Corridor and Welcome Gallery. The $20.5 million project also saw the creation of a new Winnipeg Gallery and Prairies Gallery.
“It has been really all-consuming for the last couple of years and it’s wonderful that we’re able to achieve our dreams that we’ve had going back as far 2007,” said Kevin Brownlee, the curator of archaeology at the museum.
The new Prairies Gallery, which features immersive exhibits, will give visitors a better understanding of Manitoba’s history, biodiversity and landscape. The gallery also showcases the plants, animals and fungi of the Prairies.
Brownlee said every time visitors come to the gallery they will see something new.
“The great thing about dioramas is that they are a little bit magical, (people) feel that they change,” he said.
“Trust me, they don’t change. Once they get set up, they are the way they are.”
Brownlee noted that there’s a layered aspect to the gallery, as it’s got a variety of stories and histories to tell.
“It really speaks to what the Manitoba Museum is all about, which is the natural and human history piece,” he said.
He said the new gallery has more artifacts on exhibit than before, however, a lot less text.
“We want to give them great things to look at, little snippets of stories for them to explore,” Brownlee said.
The Manitoba Museum is open Thursday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Though he museum galleries at are open, due to public health order, the Planetarium and Science Gallery are closed.
- With files from CTV’s Glenn Pismmeny.
