Manitoba Children's Museum facts for kids
Buhler Welcome Centre of Manitoba Children's Museum
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| Established | 1986 |
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| Location | 45 Forks Market Road Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 4T6 |
| Type | Children's museum |
| Visitors | 135,000+ annually |
The Manitoba Children's Museum is a super fun place for kids and families. It's a special museum designed just for children to learn and play. You can find it at The Forks in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It's a non-profit organization, which means it's run to help people, not to make money.
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History of the Museum
The idea for the museum started in 1983. It first opened its doors on June 21, 1986. This first location was a warehouse about 4,000 square feet big. It had three main exhibits: the Grain Elevator and Train, Making Sense, and The Big Top. In its first year, over 65,000 people visited! The museum grew bigger in 1988, doubling its space.
In 1989, plans began to move the museum to a new, bigger home. After raising $4 million, the museum moved in 1994. Its new and permanent home is at The Forks. This building used to be a train repair shop. It's the oldest building of its kind still standing in Manitoba. It was built way back in 1889. The building was recognized as a special heritage site in 1995.
The museum had a big makeover in 2010 and 2011. They raised $10 million for this project! This included building 12 new permanent galleries. They also updated the Arts & Exhibition Centre. A new Welcome Centre was added too. The museum reopened on June 4, 2011, celebrating its 25th birthday.
The 12 new galleries were designed to be separate. This means if one gallery needs repairs, the others can stay open. The new Welcome Centre is about 3,500 square feet. It has a new admissions desk, a museum shop, and a lunch room. Many different groups helped pay for these updates. This included the Canadian government, the provincial government, and the City of Winnipeg. Private donors also gave money, like John and Bonnie Buhler.
What's Happening Today
The Children's Museum has twelve amazing permanent galleries for you to explore. You can climb aboard a real 1952 diesel train and a 1910 passenger coach. Imagine what it was like to travel back then! You can also explore the five-story tall Lasagna Lookout. It's a huge climbing structure!
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Test your eyes and brain in the giant Illusion Tunnel. Or, have fun with water experiments in the Splash Lab. There's so much to do! For the museum's youngest visitors, there's a special area called Tot Spot. It's just for toddlers to play safely.
The museum also offers many programs and events. You can get a membership to visit often. They have day camps in the spring and summer. You can even have your birthday party at the museum!
Museum Galleries
The museum has many exciting galleries. Here are some of the current ones:
- Time Squared
- Tot Spot
- Tumble Zone
- Mellow Marsh
- Illusion Tunnel
- Junction 9161
- Engine House
- Story Line
- Milk Machine
- Splash Lab
- Pop m'Art
- Lasagna Lookout
The museum is also home to a special holiday display. It's the historic Eaton's fairytale vignette display, also known as Eaton's "Santa's Village." It's open every year from mid-November to early January. This display was moved and fixed up from the old Eaton's downtown store. It has fifteen scenes with classic characters like Cinderella and Humpty Dumpty.
The museum also hosts different travelling exhibits each summer. Some past travelling exhibits include:
- Tapescape
- Castle builders
- Run jump fly
Awards and Special Recognition
The Manitoba Children's Museum has won many awards!
- It's listed as a "Manitoba Star Attraction" by Travel Manitoba.
- It was named a "Best of the Road" Attraction by Rand McNally in 2010.
- Readers of Winnipeg Parent Newsmagazine voted it the "Best Place for a Children's Party." They also called it the "Best Place to Take Your Child on a Crummy Day" and the "Best Indoor Play-Place" in 2011.
- The museum's gift shop, "Shop," has received great reviews for its toy inspections. These inspections make sure toys are safe for kids.
- It won the "Celebrate Literacy Award" in 2011 from the Reading Council of Greater Winnipeg.
- Where Magazine recognized it as the "Best New or Improved Attraction" in 2011.
