December News

New volunteers are welcome. Contact us now to complete the application process. Volunteers need to be at least 13 years old and begin the application process by attending an information session. (Note: If you are under 18 years old, your guardian must attend as well.)

The next volunteer information sessions are scheduled for:

Saturday, December 5

at 1:00PM

For more information or if you plan to attend one of the upcoming information sessions, please contact: Lynn Silver, Volunteer Resources Manager, by phone at 924-4002 or by e-mail at lsilver@childrensmuseum.com.

SHOP @ MCM

Visit SHOP this month for holiday items, including festive books, Santa-approved toys, and unique stocking stuffers, that will fill you with seasonal spirit!

For more details, see
SHOP's Top 10 List here.

SHOP and the Beanstalk

Fee Fi Fo FUN - I smell...the tasty aroma of freshly brewed coffee!
Visit the Beanstalk Coffee Bar at SHOP today to get a delicious hot coffee or tea, and grab a loyalty card to save up enough magic beans for a free beverage!

Air Miles Bonus Cards
Available at SHOP!

For every $50 (before tax) you spend at SHOP, you'll receive a bonus card for 20 Air Miles Reward Miles while supplies last. Please see in-store for further details.

Your Purchase Counts!

Every purchase made at SHOP goes directly back into the museum! By supporting SHOP, you are supporting the Manitoba Children's Museum.

Telephone: 943-1449
Email: shop@childrensmuseum.com

Holiday Party Promotion

Book a holiday party with us and let our elves do all the work for you this year!

Your 3-hour exclusive
holiday rental includes:

Use of all museum galleries (including Santa's Village once open for the season)
Staff to facilitate your event
Festively decorated party room
Plates, napkins, cups, utensils, tables and chairs

When: Any Monday - Thursday evening in November or December

Cost: $600 for up to 150 people (additional guests $4.50 each)

NEED GIFTS?

Do you need gifts for your holiday event? Give us your list of children and your budget and our SHOP staff will take care of the rest! We will wrap and deliver your gifts right to your party room. For more information or to place your order, please visit SHOP here.

To book your event today, fill out our online booking request form or contact our Bookings Coordinator at (204) 924-4004.

100+ Ways to Show

Kids You Care

Through daily interactions with kids and observing kids interact with others, the staff at the Manitoba Children's Museum continually see ways in which adults can show kids that they care. We are confident these interactions help build the foundation for kids to succeed.

Every month, our staff would like to share some of the ways we believe we can show kids that we care about them.

December's List

1. Laugh at their jokes.

2. Read stories together.

3. Make up stories together.

4. Respect their ideas.

5. Let them use bakewear as musical instruments.

Food For Health Activity Tracker Winner

Meet one-year-old Rhyla Henry, and her mother, Tanya. Rhyla is the lucky winner of MCM's summer Food for Health Activity Tracker draw! This busy toddler kept physically active this summer with her family by:

Taking a walk
Visiting the zoo
Running as fast as she could
Playing at the park
Going grocery shopping
Playing catch
Dancing
Digging in the sandbox
Jumping around
Playing at the beach
and many more fun activities!

"We like to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle and we encourage Rhyla to do the same," says Tanya.

Congratulations to Rhyla and her family, who have won a great prize package from the Manitoba Children's Museum for their efforts!

Dream Gallery

MCM's gallery displaying children's artwork on the Mezzanine is open for viewing Monday to Friday.

The kindergarten artists from St. Alphonsus School would like us to enjoy their art themed "Fall is All Around Us." These enthusiastic artists took a nature walk around their school and gathered leaves. They then did leaf printing around the border of their art in several fall colours. After completing the border, these creative kids painted their hands and arms brown, pressed them into the paper, and created a tree trunk and branches. Painted fingers created colourful dots representing leaves. A big thank you to teacher Mrs. Elissa Mattis and a standing ovation to these creative artists.

Teachers: Interested in having your classroom creations displayed in this space? Contact Sara Hancheruk, Director of Education and Exhibits at 924-4003 or

shancheruk@childrensmuseum.com

Support the Manitoba Children's Museum

The Manitoba Children's Museum is a registered charitable not-for-profit organization. This means that we rely on the support of individuals, foundations and corporations in our community to help us provide quality programming, introduce exciting new exhibits, maintain existing galleries, expand our Free Access Program, grow our endowment fund and move forward with our plans for a Capital Campaign. Please consider making the Manitoba Children's Museum your charity of choice.

To make an online donation,
click here.

If you prefer to send us a donation by mail or fax, please click here to print a donation form.

Thank you!

Tax receipts are automatically issued for donations of $15 or more.

Find Us On Facebook!

Visit Santa's Village Today

Come explore a Winnipeg holiday tradition!

The Manitoba Children's Museum is pleased to be the home of the last original Eaton's Santa's Village display from the ninth floor annex of Eaton's Downtown Store - fully restored and open to the public for a limited time only!

From now until January 10, visitors of all ages will be enthralled with the spirit of the season invoked by fifteen fun, fairytale vignettes, including classics like Cinderella, Humpty Dumpty, Three Blind Mice and more. A visit to Santa's Village is a holiday experience for all generations.

For more information on our upcoming winter events and programming, please visit our website or call 924-4000 today!

Photos with Santa

Our holiday hearth makes
a perfect backdrop for capturing some holiday memories.

On Saturday and Sunday afternoons throughout the holiday season, Santa will be available for photographs at the Manitoba Children's Museum in Santa's Village.

Photos available every Saturday & Sunday from 12:00PM - 4:00PM from now until December 20.

Special Holiday Offer:
Purchase a 6-month family membership to the Manitoba Children's Museum and receive a special photo package free! (Offer valid for new members only.)

Photos with Santa packages are available from:

Celebrating 10 years as the Manitoba Children's Museum's exclusive photographer for Photos with Santa!

Grand Holiday Tea: Afternoon Tickets Still Available!

Calling all grandparents and GrandPass Members!

This is your last chance to get tickets for the Grand Holiday Tea exclusively dedicated to grandparents and their grandchildren!

Share the tradition of Eaton's Santa's Village with a new generation and enjoy tea in real tea cups and dainties before embarking on a tour of the fifteen fairytale vignettes in the village.

Music, a craft, and Santa himself will make this a great opportunity to rekindle some old memories from your childhood while building new memories with your grandchildren!

Date: Monday, November 23
Time: 10:30AM (SOLD OUT) or 2:00PM
Tickets: $5.00 for members, $7.00 for future members (includes free museum admission)

Write Your Holiday Letter to Santa Today!

Children of all ages are encouraged to download a holiday letter to Santa template from our website here. Fill it out, and then place your letter in an envelope addressed to:

Your letter to Santa can be dropped off at Santa's North Pole Mailbox during your next visit to the Manitoba Children's Museum, or mail it for free (courtesy of Canada Post) at a mailbox near you.

Don't forget to include your return mailing address so Santa can write you back!

Spaghetti Breakfast With Santa - SOLD OUT!

Date: Saturday, December 12
Time: 10:00AM to 11:00AM

Get ready for some unusual fun with our annual spaghetti breakfast! Plates will be topped high with a breakfast version of this family favourite.

Crafts, face painting, and Santa's Village make this a morning to remember.

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT!
Due to overwhelming demand, this event is now sold out. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Food provided by:

TD Canada Trust Used Book Sale in Support of MCM

TD Canada Trust will be holding a Used Book Sale in support of the Manitoba Children's Museum's I Love to Read Month Activities.

Date: Friday, November 27
Time: 10:00AM - 2:00PM
Location: TD Canada Trust, 201 Portage Avenue, Concourse Level in the CanWest Building (at Portage and Main)

Book Prices:
Soft Covers: $1/each
Hard Covers: $2/each

If you have any gently-used books you would like to donate, please drop them off at the TD Canada Trust branch at 201 Portage Avenue. For more information, please contact (204) 988-2811 Ext. 3.

February's I Love to Read Month Activities are sponsored by the

Playhouse Disney Live on Tour! Special Offer to MCM eNews Subscribers

Playhouse Disney Live! visits the MTS Centre for three great shows on Thursday, December 10 at 7:00PM and Friday, December 11 at 4:00PM and 7:00PM.

Download and colour the special Playhouse Disney Live! colouring sheet available in our Kids Corner here and bring it to the Manitoba Children's Museum for your chance to win a special family package of 4 free tickets to see the show! All entries must include your name, age, address, and phone number to qualify.

Deadline: Saturday, December 5 at 6:00PM

Not planning to visit the museum soon?
This colouring sheet also includes a special discount code that can be redeemed at the time of your ticket purchase for $3 OFF the price of your order!

Tickets start at $15 (service charges, facility and handling fees may apply). For more information, visit TicketMaster here.

Star of the Month Draw

Enter your child today for the Star of the Month Draw!

Open to children under 12 years old, enter your son or daughter's name today for this draw and he or she could be our December Star of the Month!

Our Star of the Month will receive the following exciting prizes:

A free photo session at the Manitoba Children's Museum
A special distinction on-location at the museum
An interview that will be featured in the Winnipeg Free Press
A great prize package which includes an Adventurer Family Membership to the Manitoba Children's Museum and other stellar prizes

Our Star of the Month will be featured in our eNews, on our website, on-site at the Manitoba Children's Museum, and in the Winnipeg Free Press!

To Enter:

Visit the Manitoba Children's Museum in person to fill out an entry ballot or visit our website here to submit an entry online before December 31, 2009!

Mini Mondays

Mondays at the Manitoba Children's Museum are very special days! Every Monday from 10:00AM to 2:00PM, we tailor crafts and activities to suit the needs of our youngest visitors. We will be offering special guided crafts at the Project du Jour table in the foyer and special story times at 11:30AM and 1:30PM in the T.V. Studio.

Join us in December as we celebrate all the fun and imaginative things that we can do in Santa's Village.

This month's themes include:

December 7 - Apples and Spice and Everything Nice
December 14 - Cookies With Santa

Weekends Project du Jour:
Come create with us!