The winds of change will soon be blowing through the Flin Flon Station Museum.
With a large collection of donated artifacts, the museum board is aiming to build a more cohesive and engaging exhibit, explained board vice-chairman Tom Heine.
“Every museum has to tell a story about what it’s trying to show,” said Heine.
“We don’t have that right now.”
Heine said the museum board is concentrating on reorganizing the eastern section of the museum, which visitors will experience as a series of rooms separated by artifacts and displays.
The rooms will take visitors through the life of an early Flin Flonner, from his or her arrival on the train platform to a domestic scene in a typical home, a parlour, a general store, and a recreation section, among others.
A mineral exploration area will also be part of the collection.
The mining history area in the western section of the museum will remain as is, Heine said.
In addition to the reorganization, the board is installing a new lighting system in the building, and gradually working on gathering more data on the items on display.
“All of the artifacts come from town, but a lot of research has to be done on where they came from and what their significance is and making that known to the public,” said Heine.
“One of the challenges is not to overload people with what they are looking at, but to give them some proper historical information.”
Heine said the board’s goal is to make the public more aware of Flin Flon’s evolution into “an independent, fully functioning, vibrant community” in remote northern Manitoba. He said he hopes to better showcase the social life of the community.
Heine said the board plans to complete much of the reorganization work by May, and open the museum in the summer as usual.
Writers wanted
In the interests of communicating more effectively with visitors, Heine attended a Flin Flon Writers Guild meeting on Mar. 19 with a request for writers to craft text for the museum’s exhibit areas.
Writers Guild member Donna Champagne agreed
to chair an ad-hoc committee to gather writers for the project. Writers interested in volunteering their skills can contact Champagne at [email protected]
