mhv.ca

Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) in Steinbach, Manitoba, holds a curated collection of heritage artefacts — rare tools, textiles, furniture, vehicles and personal items — that trace the Russian Mennonite experience across generations. The collection is presented in indoor galleries and seasonal exhibits, and many pieces come with documented family histories: who owned them, how they were used, and how they reached the museum. If you want to see specific pieces, the museum's website profiles selected artefacts and points readers to its Village News for fuller stories.

What kinds of artefacts does MHV hold?

The museum describes its gallery as a curated display of "rare tools, textiles, and treasures that define the Mennonite experience across generations." In practice, the collection spans:

• Tools and equipment — the working implements of pioneer life
• Textiles — clothing, linens and household fabrics
• Furniture — including clocks and household pieces
• Vehicles — at least one restored family automobile
• Personal items — such as wallets and documents carried by early Mennonite delegates

The artefacts are displayed both in the indoor galleries and across the living village of heritage buildings, so a visit combines object viewing with period settings.

Featured artefacts and their stories

1938 McLaughlin Buick Special

This car was purchased new in 1938 by Peter P. Thiessen and Maria Peters Thiessen from the GMC/Buick dealership in Altona. It was a family vehicle in the fullest sense: it carried the family to church and to visit friends and relatives, it was used to teach the children to drive, and it was even put to work pulling a trailer hauling pigs to market.

After years sitting in the family farmyard, grandsons Don and Elmer restored the car in 2003. Elmer recalled taking his mother, Agathe, for a ride in the vehicle she had learned to drive in. In summer 2026, Elmer donated the preserved car to MHV. More detail is available in the museum's Village News.

Gilbert Admiral Calendar Clock

This clock originally hung in a Canadian Pacific Railway station in Saskatchewan, showing travellers both the time and the date. When the station was decommissioned, William Meisner of Regina salvaged it during the cleanup of the old station buildings. A clockmaker and restorer, Meisner repaired the clock and gave it to his sister, Esther Meisner, who displayed it before passing it to her son, Doug Rempel. Rempel donated it to MHV at the end of summer 2026.

Jakob Hoeppner's Wallet (1790)

The wallet belonged to Jakob Hoeppner (1748–1826), a delegate chosen by Prussian Mennonites — a piece that connects the Manitoba collection to the community's earlier European history.

Why the donation stories matter

A defining feature of the MHV collection is provenance. Rather than anonymous objects, many artefacts arrive with a chain of ownership and a family narrative — a car that taught a generation to drive, a station clock rescued and repaired by a relative. For visitors, this means the galleries read as family and community history rather than pure typology. For anyone considering donating an object, it also shows the kind of context the museum records and publishes.

How to see more of the collection

• Visit in person: start with a walkthrough of the village, then browse the indoor galleries and seasonal exhibits.
• Check the website: the "Our Artefacts" section profiles selected pieces with year, donor and history.
• Read Village News: the museum directs readers there for fuller artefact stories.
• Plan around hours and admission: current pricing and seasonal hours are posted on the museum's Pricing & Seasonal Hours page, and the newsletter is the way to hear about new exhibits and events.

Because exhibits rotate seasonally and new donations arrive — the Buick and the clock were both donated in 2026 — the surest way to know what is on display during your visit is to check the site or contact the museum before travelling.

Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) in Steinbach, Manitoba, is a living history museum where you can walk through a recreated pioneer village, browse indoor galleries of heritage artefacts, and follow the story of the Russian Mennonites who settled the southern Manitoba prairies. It suits anyone planning a family outing, a school field trip, or a few hours of local history — start with a village walkthrough, then move indoors to the exhibits.

Walk Through a Living Village

The core experience is the village itself: heritage buildings laid out so you can step into the early days of Southern Manitoba and see how Mennonite pioneers lived and worked. The site frames this as learning "in a living village," so expect an outdoor, walk-through visit rather than a single museum hall. Plan to spend time outdoors moving between buildings, and check seasonal hours before you go, since the village visit is the anchor of the trip.

Browse Exhibits and the Artefact Collection

Indoors, MHV presents curated galleries and seasonal exhibits built around its artefact collection — the rare tools, textiles, and treasures that trace the Mennonite experience across generations. The collection is broad enough to include vehicles and furniture alongside smaller personal items. A few examples from the museum's own artefact features:

These are representative rather than a full list — the point is that a visit mixes everyday domestic objects with larger pieces like vehicles, so both casual visitors and serious history buffs have something to look at.

Learn the Pioneer Story

The museum's stated purpose is to bring Russian Mennonite history to life and share the legacy of the pioneers who helped shape the prairies. Expect interpretation woven through the buildings and galleries rather than a single chronological timeline. If you want the story in more depth, the museum publishes background on individual artefacts in its Village News, which is worth reading before or after a visit.

Shop and Take Something Home

Village Books & Gifts is the on-site gift store, and the museum notes it stays open all winter — useful if you are visiting in the off-season when outdoor programming may be limited. It stocks local items and "Village Ware." This is also a practical stop for gifts if you are short on time and can't do the full tour.

Plan Around Events and Group Visits

• Upcoming events: the museum runs community events through the year; check the events listing before choosing a date, since a special event can change the feel (and crowds) of a visit.
• School groups: MHV actively invites classes for field trips, so teachers should book ahead rather than arriving with a group.
• Seasonal hours and admission: confirm current pricing and hours on the museum's Pricing & Seasonal Hours page before travelling, as these vary by season.
• Staying in touch: the museum offers a newsletter sign-up if you want event and program updates.

A Quick Decision Guide

The main practical caution: hours and programming shift with the seasons, so verify the current schedule and admission details on mhv.ca before you set out.

Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) is a living history museum in Steinbach, Manitoba, that presents the story of the Russian Mennonites who settled in Southern Manitoba. A visit combines a walk-through heritage village, indoor galleries of artefacts and seasonal exhibits, a gift shop, and community events. It suits travellers exploring the region, school groups booking field trips, and local residents interested in the area's history.

What You'll Find There

The museum describes itself as "A Living Village A Lasting Story," inviting visitors to "step into the early days of Southern Manitoba and discover the legacy of the Russian Mennonites who helped shape it."

The experience has two complementary parts:

• The Village — a walkthrough of heritage buildings that recreates the setting of early Mennonite pioneer life on the prairies.
• Exhibits & Galleries — indoor displays built around a curated collection of artefacts, including rare tools, textiles, and other objects that trace the Mennonite experience across generations.

A Sample of the Collection

The artefact collection is presented as individual stories rather than anonymous objects. Two examples from the site:

A third item, Jakob Hoeppner's wallet, dates to 1790 and connects to Prussian Mennonite history. The full gallery is browsable on the website under "Our Artefacts."

Who It's For

• Individual visitors and tourists — self-guided tours of the village plus indoor exhibits, useful on days when weather keeps you inside.
• School groups — the museum actively invites classes to book field trips, positioning the village as an outdoor learning environment.
• Local community — upcoming events and the Village Books & Gifts shop, which the site notes stays open all winter, give residents reasons to visit beyond the main touring season.

Planning Your Visit

Start with the Pricing & Seasonal Hours page on mhv.ca before you go — hours change with the season, and the village and indoor spaces may follow different schedules. From there:

1. Decide between a village walkthrough, the indoor galleries, or both.
2. Check the Upcoming Events section for programming during your dates.
3. School groups should book a field trip in advance rather than arriving unannounced.
4. If you want to stay in touch, the site offers a newsletter sign-up.

The gift shop is a practical stop regardless of season: it carries local items and "Village Ware," and remains open through the winter months.

What It Is Not

MHV is a heritage and cultural history museum, not a genealogy service or archive. Its focus is public interpretation — buildings, exhibits, and events — so visitors researching family records should treat the artefact stories as starting points and look to dedicated archives for formal research.

Teachers can arrange a class visit to Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) in Steinbach by using the field trip booking entry point on mhv.ca. The museum's homepage invites educators to "Bring your class to the museum this fall" and directs them to book a field trip, so the school-group visit is a recognized offering rather than an ad-hoc arrangement. The booking itself is handled through the museum's website rather than an online checkout, so expect to submit a request and confirm details with MHV staff.

What the Museum Offers School Groups

MHV presents itself as a living history museum where students walk through a recreated village rather than only reading labels. The homepage frames the experience as "Learn in a Living Village," with two complementary parts:

• The Village walkthrough — heritage buildings that recreate the early days of Southern Manitoba and the Russian Mennonite pioneers who settled the prairies.
• Exhibits and galleries — indoor displays of curated artefacts, described by the museum as a "world-class" collection with seasonal exhibits.

For a class, this pairing supports a simple structure: an outdoor walkthrough for context and scale, then indoor galleries for close looking at objects.

Step-by-Step Booking

1. Go to mhv.ca and look for the school or field trip section. The homepage's "Learn in a Living Village" block contains the booking prompt for classes.
2. Choose a target date, keeping the museum's seasonal pattern in mind. The site's own invitation references a fall visit, and the museum maintains seasonal hours — check the Pricing & Seasonal Hours page before locking in a date.
3. Submit the field trip request through the booking link. Include your school name, grade level, approximate number of students and adults, and preferred dates.
4. Confirm logistics with MHV once staff respond — arrival time, group size limits, supervision ratios, and any fees. Pricing is published on the Pricing & Seasonal Hours page; confirm the current school-group rate directly rather than assuming it matches general admission.
5. Prepare students in advance using the museum's online artefact gallery, so the in-person visit builds on familiar objects.

Designing the Learning Content

The museum's artefact pages are a ready-made pre-visit resource. Each entry pairs an object with a story, which works well for assigning small research tasks before the trip. Examples from the collection:

These entries model how to read an object: who owned it, how it was used, how it survived, and how it reached the museum. Ask students to pick one artefact before the visit and report on it afterward.

Practical Points to Confirm

• Season and hours: the museum promotes fall class visits and publishes seasonal hours; verify both for your intended date.
• Group size and supervision: not stated on the homepage — ask when you submit the request.
• Cost: see the Pricing & Seasonal Hours page and confirm the school-group rate with staff.
• Indoor backup: galleries and seasonal exhibits give the visit an indoor component if weather turns.
• Gift shop: Village Books & Gifts is noted as open all winter, useful if you plan a short stop at the end.

Common Pitfalls

• Treating the website as a checkout. The booking prompt leads to a request process, not an instant reservation; allow lead time for staff to reply.
• Skipping the hours page. Seasonal hours change, and a date that works in fall may not work in winter.
• Arriving without a plan. The village and galleries are separate experiences; decide the order and time split before you arrive so the group moves efficiently.
• Missing the pre-visit material. The online artefact stories are free preparation that makes the on-site visit far more productive.

To plan a visit, start with the official Pricing & Seasonal Hours page at mhv.ca/pricing-hours, since hours change by season and admission details live there rather than on the homepage. Then choose your route — a walkthrough of the living village or the indoor exhibits and galleries — and check the Upcoming Events section before you go. The site does not publish specific hours or prices in the material available here, so treat the pricing page as the single source of truth and confirm before travelling.

Confirm hours and admission first

The site separates planning into a dedicated Pricing & Seasonal Hours page. That structure tells you two things:

• Hours are seasonal, so a schedule you saw months ago may not apply to your visit date.
• Admission is handled on that same page, not scattered across event listings.

A practical sequence:

1. Open mhv.ca/pricing-hours and note the current season's opening days and admission terms.
2. Check the Upcoming Events section on the homepage, since events can affect crowd levels or which areas are in use.
3. If you are bringing a group, use the field trip booking path described under "Learn in a Living Village" instead of arriving as individual visitors.

The site does not state that entry is free or that booking is required for general visits, so do not assume either — verify on the pricing page.

Choose what to see: village walk or indoor galleries

MHV presents two complementary experiences, and the order matters for pacing.

The village is the core of the "living history" concept — the site frames it as stepping "into the early days of Southern Manitoba." The galleries hold the collection itself, described as "world-class artefacts and seasonal exhibits." If weather is uncertain, do the galleries first and the village second, since indoor browsing is unaffected by conditions.

What you will actually see inside

The artefact collection is concrete and worth knowing about before you arrive, because it shapes how long you spend indoors. Examples from the site's own gallery:

• 1938 McLaughlin Buick Special — a family car from Altona used for church, driving lessons, and hauling pigs to market, restored by the owner's grandsons and donated to MHV in summer 2026.
• Gilbert Admiral calendar clock — originally hung in a Canadian Pacific Railway station in Saskatchewan, repaired by a clockmaker and later donated.
• Jakob Hoeppner's wallet, 1790 — tied to a Prussian Mennonite delegate, connecting the collection to the European roots of the story.

These are the kind of objects that reward a slower read of the labels; budget 45–60 minutes indoors if you engage with the provenance stories.

Stop at Village Books & Gifts

The gift shop is open all winter, which makes it the reliable part of a visit when the outdoor village is out of season. It stocks local items and "Village Ware." If your trip falls in the colder months, plan around the store and indoor exhibits rather than the village walk.

Before you leave home

• Re-check the pricing and hours page on the day of travel; seasonal transitions are the most common source of wasted trips.
• Confirm whether your visit date overlaps an event listed under Upcoming Events.
• For school or group visits, book through the field trip option rather than arriving unannounced.
• If you want collection news between visits, the site offers a newsletter signup.

The museum's own framing — "A Living Village A Lasting Story" — is a fair guide to how to spend your time: the village for atmosphere, the galleries for the artefacts, and the shop for a local find on the way out.