An old friend is back at the Manitoba Museum.
The Bison Diorama, a longtime favourite display of three bison being charged down by a Métis hunter that has been under wraps for much of 2020, once again greeted visitors when the Main Street landmark opened Thursday morning.
The return of the eye-catching, 15.5-metre work created by Manitoba artist Clarence Tillenius highlights the completion of a four-year, $20.5-million capital renewal project at the museum.
The museum also lifted the curtain on a revamped Prairies Gallery, which had been called the Grasslands Gallery before renovations began in 2019.
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
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.