News release details

Free admission for kids, family‐friendly activities at CMHR

This holiday season, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) is filled with activities for the whole family that explore human rights in everyday life. Kids aged 12 and under get in free from December 22 through January 5.

Animated films with themes related to children’s rights will be continually screened on Level 7 of the Museum on weekdays starting December 26. These short National Film Board films encourage children to look, think and take action for human rights. Visitors can also continue celebrating the 70^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) during the holidays with special family‐friendly activities. An in‐gallery activity on Level 4, offered daily from December 26 to January 4, invites participants to match dozens of pictures with the 30 articles from the UDHR and share their thoughts on social media.

Another activity in the Garden of Contemplation encourages children to see themselves as super human rights defenders.

The CMHR will be closed on December 24 and 25, then open daily from December 26 to January 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. On January 2, 2019 visitors can enjoy free admission from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Visitors can spread holiday cheer and enjoy musical performances by the Winnipeg Youth Chorus at 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on January 3. Rob Malo will perform for children in his persona of TiBert le Voyageur at 11 a.m. on January 4. Evans Coffie, who performs West African drumming and dance, will entertain at 11 a.m. on January 5.

Gallery tours are offered every day and Discover the Building tours are available on Saturdays.

Holiday‐season visitors can also explore the CMHR’s popular exhibition, Mandela: Struggle for Freedom. Families can learn about the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s fight for freedom, justice and dignity for all. Visitors are urged to imagine what it would be like to spend 27 years in prison by stepping into a replica of Mandela’s eight‐foot by seven‐foot jail cell. 

The Museum’s Boutique is full of great gift ideas such as hand‐painted tree ornaments featuring the iconic CMHR building, a soapstone carving kit and fair‐trade alpaca wool socks made by artisans in Ecuador. The Boutique will also be open for holiday shoppers on Monday, December 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (a day when the rest of the Museum is closed).

ERA Bistro is offering a special New Year’s Eve dinner to help ring in 2019. A four‐course menu will be served featuring Canadian lobster fettuccini with grilled shrimp and scallops, followed by warm, sticky toffee pudding topped with house‐made caramel and vanilla ice‐cream.

After the holidays, the Museum will be closed January 6 through 14, 2019 for its annual maintenance week. 

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Holiday season schedule of programs and events at the CMHR:

I Stand Up for Human Rights: Images + Words
Monday to Friday, December 26 to January 4, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Turning Points for Humanity, Level 4
Match dozens of photos with the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in this family‐friendly activity.

Human Rights Heroes: Self‐Portraits
Monday to Friday, December 26 to January 4, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Stuart Clark Garden of Contemplation, Level 3
Create a collage based on your own photo and human rights defenders’ qualities.

Animated National Film Board films
Daily, December 26 to January 5. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Level 7
Animated children’s rights themed films by the National Film Board are being screened throughout the day on weekdays.

Performances in the Garden
January 3, 4 and 5
The Winnipeg Youth Chorus is performing at 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on January 3. Rob Malo as TiBert le Voyageur will perform from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. on January 4, and Evans Coffie, a performer of West African drumming and dance, will entertain at 11 a.m. on January 5.

Mandela: Struggle for Freedom
Learn about Nelson Mandela and the movement that formed around him in his struggle to end South African apartheid.

Guided tours of the galleries and the architecture
$5 extra (adult rate)
For schedule details visit https://beta.humanrights.ca/

Last‐minute holiday shopping
Museum Boutique
Shoppers can choose among many beautiful, fair‐trade, sustainable and human right themed gifts. The Boutique will be open on December 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (when the rest of the Museum is closed) for holiday shopping – and every day that the Museum is open.

Celebrate the holidays with delicious food
ERA Bistro
ERA Bistro is a place where friends and family can catch up over the holidays. Open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day the Museum is open, with brunch on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. ERA is also offering a special dinner on New Year’s Eve ($65 per person, reservations required), from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.