Take your breath away - step into the WDM Saskatoon. A visit to Boomtown lets you walk through time. Saskatchewan inspired stories unfold everywhere as you journey from 1910 to the present.
Taŋyáŋ yahípi - Welcome Together in the spirit of Reconciliation and partnership, Whitecap Dakota Nation and the Western Development Museum (WDM) invite you to learn each of our perspectives on our shared past in our co-curated exhibit Wapaha Sk̄a Oyate: Living Our Culture, Sharing Our Community at Pion-Era, 1955 -...
The WDM has one of the largest agricultural machinery collections in Canada. In this exhibit, giant gasoline tractors and steam traction engines from the 1910s rest alongside "newer" machines from the 1920s and 1930s. Harvesting equipment from the reaper to the threshing machine bear witness to the enormous amount of power...
Saskatchewan boomed with economic activity from the turn of the century to 1914. Landseekers flooded the west and towns grew almost overnight. 1910 Boomtown, an indoor representation of a typical Saskatchewan town, recaptures the atmosphere and style of this bustling period. Over 30 buildings await!
Check out a few of the Boomtown buildingsCelebrate A Saskatchewan Story! Check out a few highlights of this exhibit below.
Find out more about A Saskatchewan StoryThis exhibit includes a wide range of modes of transportation from horsedrawn to motorized including agricultural, commercial and private vehicles. Highlights 1938 Minneapolis Moline UDLX Comfortractor; 1960 Plymouth Fury; 1948 Chrysler Coupe; Ornithopter made by Ralph Vallevand of Elbow
Find out more about the Transportation GalleryThe Cancer Bomb exhibit features the original Cobalt-60 Beam Therapy Unit, also known as the cobalt bomb, and honours the inspiring story of the first successful treatment of cancer with this machine at University Hospital in Saskatoon in 1951. The WDM considers the cobalt bomb to be one of the...
Find out more about the Cobalt-60Originally erected in 1965 in Saskatoon’s Rotary Park, the Blairmore Ring is an homage to Saskatchewan’s potash mining history. The ring is five meters in diameter and weighs more than 28 tonnes. After spending 36 years in Rotary Park, the Ring was moved to the Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International...
Capturing the magic and make-believe of the season! Since 1987, the Eaton's Once Upon A Christmas exhibit has delighted visitors, young and old. The exhibit continues to be a major attraction for those who visit the WDM during the holiday season. It offers an opportunity for parents to share with their children...
Exploring Saskatchewan History Through the Clothes We Wore A Virtual Exhibit The clothes we wear offer clues to who we are and where we come from. What we wear can often tell others about our hobbies and interests, our skills, our cultural background or our jobs. Some clothing is purely functional....
A Crowd-Sourced Exhibit from the Western Development Museum This online exhibition was launched while the Western Development Museum closed its doors to keep our communities safe during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic. For 18 months (April 2020 to September 2021), the WDM collected photographs from Saskatchewan people...
This exhibit is a tribute to Dr. Shadd and his work. Dr. Alfred Schmitz Shadd was the first person of African ancestry known to settle in what is now Saskatchewan. The WDM would like to thank the Saskatchewan African Canadian Heritage Museum Inc. and the Melfort & District Museum for...
Spanish Flu in Saskatchewan: 1918-19 A virtual exhibit based on the Spanish Flu exhibit at the WDM Saskatoon. *This online gallery contains mature subject matter. Visitor discretion is advised. The history of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 is more relevant today, more than 100 years later, than perhaps any...