Museum gets the royal treatment

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/01/2015 (4239 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As some of you may know, St. James now has a royal!

I recently had the opportunity to speak as the MLA of St. James to the designation that Queen Elizabeth II has given the Aviation Museum of Western Canada. The museum will now be known as the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada, an honour that is not given lightly.  

The story of how this museum came to be begins 30 years ago with a small group of local people who felt it was important to protect Canada’s aviation heritage from being purchased by foreign collectors. They dedicated many hours to that purpose, until more people recognized the significance of their vision and volunteered to help them reach that goal. And reach it, they did.

The Queen was here to officially open the museum building back in 1984 and she clearly hasn’t forgotten the place! Since then, the museum has become an award-winning organization that holds within its collection rare and one-of-a-kind aircraft. The museum’s board is committed to using original photographs and artifacts to give museum visitors an engaging history lesson with every visit.

Upwards of 40,000 people are drawn to the museum’s exhibits every year. And none of this would have come to be had the founding members and the dedicated volunteers who followed them not strived to protect and preserve Manitoba’s aviation history.

Ultimately, the Queen’s Royal designation is a result of their hard work.

In the midst of a Manitoba winter, if you are restless and looking for a place to get out of the house but still be inside, visit the museum and discover for yourself what it has to offer. And as a parent of young kids, I would also commend the museum for striving to make it a place for all ages. Having attended several birthday parties for little ones in its child-friendly space upstairs, the board has ensured that exposure to our collective aviation history starts early.

Congratulations to executive director Shirley Render, the museum’s board members, the staff and each of the volunteers for their dedication to the museum and their commitment to saving what might otherwise easily have been lost. My compliments also go to the Queen for recognizing a small but mighty museum on which to bestow this honour. That’s
something all Manitobans can be proud of.

If you have any questions or would like to visit the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada, please contact 204-786-5503 or email info@wcam.mb.ca