About the Manitoba Children's Museum
The Children’s Museum exists to spark kids’ creative learning. We provide an environment that helps children develop essential foundational skills by nurturing the power of the imagination and the spirit of self-discovery. We seek to spark creative learning through play, a vision we support through our programming, community outreach, and exhibits.
Since 1986, the Children’s Museum has been the place for families to play, laugh, learn, and grow. We deliver educational programming intended/designed for children under ten and those who support them. We are committed to ensuring that all children and their caregivers, regardless of their circumstances, can participate in the life-enriching, creative experiences we offer. Inclusive initiatives like our Free2Play Access Program have been an important component since we first opened our doors and have enduring impact on museum guests, and the work we do here.
The Children's Museum welcomes local, provincial, national, and international guests throughout the year. Housed in an historic train repair facility at The Forks, our 35,000 sq. ft. educational environment features twelve permanent galleries. Visitors can hop aboard the 1952 diesel locomotive and 1910 Pullman passenger coach, explore the five-storey tall Lasagna Lookout, test their perceptions in the giant Illusion Tunnel, perform water experiments in Splash Lab, and much more. A toddler-exclusive space, Tot Spot serves the needs of our smallest visitors. During the holiday season, guests can stroll through the land of fairytales in the Eaton's Fairytale Vignettes display. The Children's Museum also offers birthday parties, facility rentals, a gift shop, temporary exhibitions, public programs, day camps and special events.
Our facility saw 152,000+ visitors in 2019, including 25,000+ students, 12,000+ under-supported children/caregivers visiting for free through our Free2Play Access Program, 3,000+ members, 177+ volunteers, and 26,300+ facility rental and party guests. With the effects of COVID-19 impacting all areas of our work, we continue to strive to be an engaging, relevant, and trusted place that offers powerful/authentic shared experiences. During the pandemic we have continued to safely bring educational resources to Manitoba children and served 27,500+ visitors in 2020, including 2,300+ Free2Play Access Program participants.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! We are fiscally responsible. Our work is primarily supported by the 90% core funding we typically generate annually from earned revenue (including private funding) and the 10% generated from public funding. The Children’s Museum gratefully acknowledges all our donors in our materials (with the exception of those who request anonymity).
