Whether you’re in Ontario (March 10 to14), Manitoba (March 31 to April 4), Saskatchewan (April 21 to 25), or North Dakota (late March), one thing is for certain –– spring break is almost here!
Why not treat the kids to fun times in Winnipeg, where our world-class attractions are always ready for you?
With hotel deals worth celebrating, excellent events all spring long and so many attractions bringing their best, we guarantee rave reviews from the whole fam jam.
Here’s why!
Museums that marvel
Manitoba Museum
As your kids and the latest Jurassic World movies and Prehistoric Planet shows will attest, swimming dinosaurs* like mosasaurs and pliosaurs are fire. This is great news, as the Manitoba Museum is home to one of the best intact pliosaur fossils in the world — a 90-million-year-old fossil named Chomper, while its whole Earth History Gallery is brimming with fascinating artifacts, fossils and species who once called this region home when it was a seaway during the last era of the dinosaurs.
(*As you’ll learn at the museum, they weren’t dinosaurs at all, but rather carnivorous marine reptiles! But that doesn’t have the same sort of marketing ring you’re looking for in a spring break piece.)
The Manitoba Museum is always set to enthrall, no matter how old your kids are. There are numerous life-sized dioramas, including the famed Métis bison hunt that welcomes you to the galleries. You can hop aboard the famed 17th century replica Nonsuch ship — sure to set the wind in your family’s sails — and your kiddos can interact with all the exciting hands-on exhibits in the Science Gallery before catching a Planetarium show.
For Manitoba spring break (March 29-April 6) you can expect a full roster of activities for kids that the museum will be releasing soon. For hours, tickets and more, here’s the website.
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Within the city’s most eye-catching building, your family can embark on a journey through 11 multi-sensory exhibits that employ art, storytelling and media to provide a stirring account of the human experience. Family friendly activities, thought-provoking discussions and special tours further foster engagement at this attraction that is also a national landmark that can be found on the Canadian $10 note.
The museum is noted for its special exhibitions, which currently includes Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge, located right beside the main entrance on the ground floor. The museum hosts spring break activities throughout Manitoba’s spring break period and you can expect the full schedule to be released soon.
Head to humanrights.ca for tickets, hours and tours.
Get a Winnipeg Attractions Pass and save!
Both the Manitoba Museum and Canadian Museum for Human Rights are part of the Winnipeg Attractions Pass that saves you big on five of the city’s top attractions. By purchasing in advance, you can get one-and three-day options that will also see you visiting the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint, and FortWhyte Alive.
Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada
The Aviation Museum is located right at the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, and within this stunning building your young ones can climb aboard numerous historic aircraft, learn about the storied history of flight in this region using interactive exhibits (your kids will love the spaceship-like Avrocar) and of course use the space-themed play area. Its Landing Zone Boutique is filled with model planes and some really cool merch.
Royal Canadian Mint
Tours, which you must book given its popularity, are always on the money at the Royal Canadian Mint. This state-of-the-art facility produces millions of coins annually for more than 8070 countries around the world (whose flags you’ll find outside the building), along with all of Canada’s coins. On a tour you’ll see how massive strips of metal are turned into thousands of coins on the high-velocity production floor, while the facility also features fun interactive exhibits that will test your worldly knowledge. Its gift shop contains excellent merchandise and collectibles that are worth every penny.
FortWhyte Alive
FortWhyte Alive is all about connecting people with nature, and within its 660-acre area you can hike, go birding and bison-watching, ice fish and snowshoe (weather permitting), and take part in a number of guided activities.
Cool cultural centres and even more attractions
Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq
WAG-Qaumajuq is home to the world’s largest collection of contemporary Inuit art, all gorgeously housed in galleries that pay homage to the stark beauty of the Arctic landscape. The WAG’s regular collection is also sure to dazzle with works in a variety of mediums from the Renaissance through to the modern period, including some remarkable works by local Indigenous artists. WAG-Qaumajuq hosts so many fun events, including free Sundays on the second Sunday every month and plenty of family friendly fare.
Assiniboine Park
At Assiniboine Park you can experience polar bears swimming above your head, then watch Canada’s tallest indoor waterfall cascade over a tropical jungle — all in an afternoon!
Along with the marquee polar bears, wolves, seals, snowy owls and muskoxen at Assiniboine Park Zoo’s Journey to Churchill, new species for 2025 include ring-tailed lemurs (easily some of the cutest and sassiest animals on earth); the red pandas Suva, Mei Mei and Kelly; Julia the great horned owl; Cob and Peaches the guanacos (like a little llama); a striking scarlet ibis named Fifi; and of course, Louise, the domestic yak.
On the opposite end of the park, The Leaf (home to the aforementioned waterfall) beckons with its steamy Tropical Biome, Mediterranean Biome and Butterfly Garden. Plus, you can have a lovely lunch or dinner at its restaurant, Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar. We suggest strolling past the Riley Family Duck Pond and grabbing all-day breakfast favourites or lunch a the Park Café.
Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP)
This city is well-known for its performance groups, which includes a very special spot at The Forks that will bring out big applause from your littles. This spot is Manitoba Theatre for Young People, who are staging the adaptation of The Gruffalo’s Child, by the beloved writer/illustrator duo of Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler. The play is suitable for ages three and up (the 40-year-old parent writing this already has tickets and is terribly excited) and will run from March 21 to 30.
Interactive gaming centres and indoor playgrounds
Do you have the sort of kids that are known to climb up the walls? Bring them to The Hive, where they can put those skills to the test on the rock-climbing walls. Do you have little ones that have an abundance of energy to burn? Bring them to Hide N Seek, Kid City or Fun Park Amusement Centre, all offering huge indoor playgrounds and sporty things like bouncy castles, basketball courts and climbing courses.
Rec Room is tailor made for both kids and adults with its interactive games, bowling, VR devices, and solid pub fare; U-Puttz and the Golf Dome contain mini golf courses that make for a fun afternoon; Uptown Alley has 5-and 10-pin bowling along with a massive arcade; and Flying Squirrel is the city’s largest trampoline park.
And finally, if you’ve ever wanted to be in a video game, Activate is for you. Part high-tech challenges, part physical exertion, part mental prowess and all the fun, this Winnipeg creation that has taken the world by storm gives teams of three to five players 90 minutes to beat as many levels and collect as many points as possible in the game rooms
