Delta Marsh and Rye Farm exhibit in the Manitoba Museum is closing due to pests
Posted May 19, 2026 4:22 pm.
Last Updated May 19, 2026 4:44 pm.
A mainstay of the Manitoba Museum will be shutting down.
After 25 years, the Delta Marsh and Rye Farm exhibit is closing due to what the museum calls challenges from the presence of pests.
But with this chapter closing, the museum is excited for a new beginning.
The Delta Marsh and Rye Farm was built in 2003 and was meant to be an accurate depiction of a moment in time. A lot of the open-air dioramas immerse visitors into a certain place and time.
But due to the open-air dioramas, it became a challenge for the museum.
“The main reason behind the closure is that it’s become a bit of a massive maintenance challenge for our team,” said Amelia Fay, the director of research, collections and exhibitions at the Manitoba Museum. “We do not have the same level of staffing that we did when this was first initially put into play, so we had a full-time diorama artist who was great researching and work behind all of these fantastic dioramas, and we had a number of staff that we were able to maintain and monitor them.
“At this point there are pests in all museums, and they love these dynamics because of their authenticity.”
The museum says it was a very hard decision, but after exhausting every option on the table, they were left with no choice but to take down the exhibit.
“It took us a bit of time with many curator conservations, the directors all met and discussed as well about really what is our internal capacity and what can we do and how do we keep updating our places for our visitors, and so how do we make this a space that’s enjoyable for visitors. And as we kept pulling out specimens, it became less of an exciting diorama,” said Fay.
But there’s a silver lining: a new exhibit will come to replace it. And while Fay says discussions are still being had on what exactly it will be, there’s a good chance it will touch on a lot of the same story.
“These stories aren’t lost, they’re not forgotten, they’re not being erased, but we’re going to reinvigorate them and think of a new way to tell them,” said Fay.
There’s no timeframe yet for when the replacement exhibit will be installed.
