Canadian Museum for Human Rights

A journey from darkness to light. This museum is incredible! You really need to have an eye for the interior and the design to truly appreciate the architecture that lies in and out of the building. From the alabaster ramps, to basalt rocks , to huge glass windows, the architecture is a timeless masterpiece!

When you enter inside it's pretty dim and as you go up in each floor - it gets lighter and lighter, until you reach the tower of hope. Which lies at the very top of the building that overlooks the city and downtown Wpg. It's a wrap around that gives you panoramic 360 view of the forks. The exhibits within the museum are amazing with the story and history behind it - although you need to have an appreciation for history and the willingness to learn in order to truly understand each exhibit. It's very rich in history and so captivating.

As you go throughout the museum you'd find a few things in each exhibits that allows you to interact with it. I should mention that there is a lot of walking since this place is MASSIVE. This museum is for everyone - though the target audience is intended for older folks and young children might be bored since the exhibits contains a lot of information that's intended for an older audience.

This museum is mainly focused on HUMAN RIGHTS - especially coming from a Canadian point of view. It has 8 floors which are all wheelchair accessible & the atmosphere of the museum has a calming aura. This museum is powerful, modern, a place to go learn and reflect.

This is an outstanding museum, in terms of its architecture, exhibits, and people, and yet I find it overlooked beyond Winnipeg. It makes Winnipeg a must-visit city!

It’s hard not to be awed by the museum’s architecture, both from afar and close-up. I didn’t see photos of the museum’s interior before my visit and I was so amazed by the criss-crossing, gently ascending and illuminated stair design and how that is woven into the museum visiting experience as you are taken from one exhibit to the next. And when I got to the atrium, my jaws just dropped. Overall, the museum is a great place for architecture photography! As an architecture enthusiast, I feel that if the same building is placed in cities such as New York, Barcelona or Singapore, it would have received a lot more well-deserved fanfare. However, I am glad it is situated in Winnipeg as it is a marvelous centrepiece of the city.

The museum’s stunning architecture brings attention to its excellent and rich exhibits. There are several galleries, each with a different theme. I really liked the permanent exhibit that reflects on the experiences and discrimination felt by different groups of people in Canada. I felt that it should be an ever-growing exhibition as our values and the meaning of human rights continue to develop. The Holocaust exhibit is also impressive and sombre, and extremely timely. There are also a lot of interactive and multimedia elements to make the visit more engaging. For example, I really liked the area on the upper levels where visitors are invited to write and post notes on what human rights mean to them. Note that the exhibits are very dense and I felt that I only scratched the surface by viewing and reading, so I might try joining a guided tour during my next visit to learn more.

A visit to the museum would be incomplete without checking out the observation area in the spiral, which is accessible by stairs and elevator. It has great views of the Forks, St Boniface and other parts of Winnipeg, so make sure you budget time for that. I also love how the museum has plenty of seating spaces, especially the reflection area and the cafe. If I were living in Winnipeg, I would purchase a membership in a heartbeat and visit these areas in the museum for quiet reading or studying. Last but not least, the museum staff I’ve encountered and spoken with were all really friendly, just like most other people I’ve met in Manitoba. The human aspect makes the visit stand out just that bit more.

A brilliant interactive museum focused on human rights, especially from the Canadian experience or history.

It's a 8 floor museum with all floors accessible to persons of disabilities.
It's rich in information and so captivating.

Hint, plan to spend 4 hours when planning a visit.

Incredibly moving experience. The setup of the stories, the vignettes, and the interactive nature of the exhibits made for a great experience. The architecture and natural materials used throughout the spaces were calming and absolutely gorgeous. Worth the time and resulted in good dialogue with my family after our visit. Highly recommend lunch at the bistro as well.

Powerful and modern museum. A good place to go, learn, and reflect. I'd say save aside 5+ hours to go through the museum. 2 exhibits were being changed over and I still was there for quite a while. Many of the exhibits are interactive and can be listened to outloud or with headphones (blue tooth or jack).

Also there are many exhibits that are built with accessibility in mind (as well as ramps/elevators and washrooms on each floor) so I'd check out all those features online before going.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is an exceptional institution that offers a powerful and thought-provoking experience. The architecture is stunning, and the exhibits are well-curated, shedding light on various aspects of human rights issues. It provides a meaningful and educational journey, encouraging visitors to reflect on the importance of human rights in our world. A must-visit for anyone interested in this crucial topic.

A good place to visit and stroll around. But if you plan to do an in-depth viewing, would take an entire day to go through all the information and floors.
The view at the observation tower was amazing.

Amazing experience. The architecture is phenomenal and the building is designed in such a way to be all part of the experience of what you are seeing and learning about human rights and the architecture helps in experiencing and feeling emotions relative to human rights. The exhibits are so informative, thought provoking, and some are extremely hard to swallow. The museum is so thought provoking. Everyone should have to experience this museum. The overall experience is so moving and emotional. Be prepared to grapple with the human experience. Again, such an awe inspiring and hopeful experience especially ending in the Israeli tower of hope. Again, everyone should experience this museum.

Great in so many elements. The message and purpose of educating people on human rights issues is very well done. The layout and quality of the exhibits enhances the learning experience with clear visual and auditory presentations. The building architecture is beyond describing as it is so unique and beautiful. The friendly staff were icing on the cake. Well done.

I have traveled to 63 countries and 9 provinces in Canada.

I only had two days in Manitoba, and I visited this museum both days.

The Human Rights Museum is the best museum we have in the country. It is super close to Esplanade Riel and The Forks Market, and just a kilometre away from the Art Gallery and Legislative Building. So the location is perfect too.

I spent a total of five hours at this museum total.

It costs $18 per ticket. So if you have to come here a second day, you'll pay $36.

Definitely take your time here. Don't rush it. There isn't much else to do in Winnipeg, anyway.

Note: It is closed on Mondays. I spent one extra day in Regina because of that and waited until Tuesday to travel to my next province on my cross Canada trip.

Overall Architectural masterpiece, an innovative concept in Museum and a clean new perspective and awareness of human rights. Very educative and inspiring, Awesome views. Dedicated and passionate staff. The Museum is good for the academia, researchers, Professional, Family and everyday tourist.
Don't leave Winnipeg Manitoba without a visit to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights...

Absolutely stunning museum. The amount of history and didactic material makes the experience unique.
The exhibits are quite well maintained, everything looks modern and it really enjoyed my experience there. It sets the proper atmosphere to reflect and learn from the errors of the past.

Beautiful and super informative. Make sure you go with lots of time to fully be able to enjoy and learn.

As a visiting tourist from Holland, I would say this museum was a definite eye-opener on all the issues Canada has dealt with or is still dealing with concerning human rights. Many of the exhibits are interactive, including even entire virtual games and quizzes to get to know the story behind the exhibit. There was an extremely friendly tour guide present who told us more about the structure of the magnificent building and even pointes out some fossils in the stone walls.

Great muzeum! I book tickets on Sunday absolutely free! Recommend

Words are inadequate for the rush of emotion you experience while visiting. A word of advice: patience. Take your time at each exhibit because all are worthy of being seen to their fullest. Well planned exhibits, beautiful architecture and outside should be visited as well.

A must see if you only have a few days in Winnipeg. Visited with my mom, who is not a museum lover, and even she was blown away. Incredibly thoughtful and moving, we both were on the verge of tears the entire time we were there. So impressive!

We went on Sunday, admission was free and it wasn’t too busy at all! Just come before noon.

We went on a friday , it's free after 5 pm. There was no wait, but finding parking was a struggle as usual.

The museum is beautiful, we unfortunately couldn't go to the top floor because there was a very long line.

The staff is really nice and helpful.

This is an absolute must-visit for Winnipeg! The museum is informative, atmospheric, and very contemplative. It offers great information and insight to human tragedies and struggles.

It is very accessible for people with wheelchairs, strollers and other mobility issues as there are no stairs and just ramps.

All the information is in English, French, ASL and FSL, so it is super inclusive!

The washrooms are also gender-neutral.

It definitely has the vibe that it was built with care and vibes and has the idea of human rights in its heart.

It also has a tower at the top that gives an amazing view of the downtown core!

Beautiful architecture and space, but I feel like they focus more on that than curating content - the museum has a lot more potential when it comes to substance. The first floor of exhibits and rotunda has been unchanged since I last visited 7 years ago. Massive place though and covers a lot of subject matter - You could definitely spend an entire day here. It's open late on Fridays and was free admission, it's a good way to spend an evening.