WDM Saskatoon

08/07/2026

What are you most excited for at Boomtown Heydays?! We can't wait to see you this weekend!

08/06/2026

If you love event planning, Saskatchewan history, and engaging with the community in all sorts of different ways, we're looking for you!

Learn more and apply to join the WDM Saskatoon team at wdm.ca/careers 📝

08/06/2026

Boomtown Heydays is your chance to get up close and personal with vintage equipment from the WDM Collection! 🚜

Meet our Machines features multiple pieces of machinery that you are able to touch, admire, and even hop into the driver's seat. Learn about what the equipment was used for and imagine the differences between farming then and now!

☀️ Boomtown Heydays is the WDM's newest summer festival, great for all ages. Best of all - admission is FREE! Donations are gratefully accepted. Join us on August 8 and 9 from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.

08/05/2026

August 8 & 9 are also Saskatchewan Open Farm Days! This province-wide event is your free backstage pass to Saskatchewan’s agriculture and culinary experiences. For one weekend, farms, ranches, breweries, orchards, restaurants, dairies, and more open their gates to you. It’s a chance to connect with rural life and discover the incredible diversity of food grown right here in Saskatchewan! Visit https://skopenfarmdays.ca to plan your weekend.

Boomtown Heydays will act as an Open Farm Days host and hub for information, featuring producers and sharing the history of agriculture and innovation in our province throughout the Museum galleries.

08/05/2026

As part of the festivities at Boomtown Heydays on August 8 & 9, make sure you take a stroll down Boomtown street and visit the Craft Market featuring local craft vendors! 🌾

07/31/2026

Stop by Boomtown Park at Heydays on August 8 & 9 to learn how ice cream was made before electricity, take your turn to churn, and enjoy your human-powered treat made with fresh dairy provided by !

Demonstrations will take place every hour, on the hour at 10am, 11am, 12pm, and 1pm both days.

07/28/2026

There's a lot to enjoy at Boomtown Heydays and we've got some great Saskatchewan-based food trucks coming to make sure everyone has the fuel they need to see it all!

Work up an appetite on both August 8 & 9 for Don Manolo's, Prime Bistro, and Prairie Poppins. They'll be joined on August 9 by Kona Ice, A - R Perogies, and BeaverTails - Queues de Castor for a full slate of awesome eats!

07/27/2026

How many of the buildings in Boomtown are artifacts themselves? The answer is only one: St. Peter’s Church. While the other buildings in the WDM Saskatoon’s Boomtown exhibit are replicas, St. Peter’s had been the Anglican Church in Young, Saskatchewan. ⛪

It was donated to the WDM in 1971. In 1972, the WDM Saskatoon was planning a move into a new building, so the little church would be the perfect addition to the Boomtown exhibit.

The origin of the church goes back to the early 1900s. The St. Peter’s congregation held services in a schoolhouse before deciding to convert the school into a church. On December 5, 1916, the first service was held in the new St. Peter’s Anglican Church. It was officially dedicated by Right Reverend Bishop M. Harding, Bishop of Qu’Appelle, in July 1917. St. Peter’s Anglican Church would serve the community until it was closed in the late 1960s.

In Boomtown, St. Peter’s Church would become more than an exhibit. The little church could be booked for small weddings. Boomtown’s first wedding took place on October 6, 1972 when Peggy Greenwood, a former WDM summer employee, married Larry Maxemuik. The wedding was presided over by Bishop D.A. Ford, the Bishop of Saskatoon, who told the Saskatoon Star Phoenix that he had no objections to other weddings taking place in St. Peter’s Church “provided dignity is maintained.” St. Peter’s Church would go on to host many weddings, and the church can still be rented today for weddings of up to 30 guests.

Artifact number: WDM-1973-S-100

07/27/2026

Boomtown Heydays is fast approaching, and we are proud to bring you the lineup on the Boomtown Stage, sponsored by Saskatoon Co-op! Treat your ears to the classic sounds of Bluegrass and Canadian Folk with Duke Street Turnaround at 12pm and 1:30pm on Saturday, August 8, and get two-stepping to some cosmic H***y-Tonk with the Lost Highway Navigators at 12:30pm and 2pm on Sunday, August 9.

Both mornings will feature special music programming thanks to Northern Lights Bluegrass and Old Tyme Music Festival. Come by to meet talented musicians and learn about traditional bluegrass, folk, and their upcoming festival!

07/24/2026

How much do you know about Saskatchewan?

Did you know that curling is Saskatchewan’s provincial sport or that burrowing owls build their nests underground? 🥌🦉 Children will learn about this and so much more about Saskatchewan in the WDM’s My Saskatchewan Activity Book: From Lilies to Lacrosse.

Filled with colouring pages and activity sheets, children can cut, colour and play while learning about Saskatchewan. The book features our provinces official emblems, has information about plants and animals and explores things that Saskatchewanians like to do.

Available now in all WDM gift shops. Pick up a copy on your next visit, it makes a great gift! 🎁

07/22/2026

This summer, plan a trip to the WDM to explore over a century of Saskatchewan history!

Until September 7, 2026, enjoy free or discounted admission to the Western Development Museum as part of the Canada Strong Pass.

The Canada Strong Pass offers:

No charge on regular admission for youth aged 17 and under

50% off regular adult admission for ages 18 – 24

Just visit the Museum! The Canada Strong Pass is not a physical pass that you need to purchase, sign up for, or collect. Let us know that you’re eligible when you visit and enjoy.

WDM Moose Jaw
WDM North Battleford
WDM Saskatoon
WDM Yorkton

Cet été, planifiez des vacances à WDM à explorer plus d’un siècle d’histoire de la Saskatchewan!

Jusqu'à au 15 septembre, 2026, profitez de l’entrée gratuite ou à tarif réduit au Western Development Museum grâce au programme Laissez-passer Un Canada fort.

Le Laissez-passer Un Canada fort offre:

L’entrée gratuite pour les jeunes de 17 ans et moins

50 % de rabais sur le tarif régulier pour les adultes de 18 à 24 ans

Il suffit de visiter le musée! Le Laissez-passer Un Canada fort n’est pas un laissez-passer physique à acheter, s’inscrire pour obtenir ou ramasser. Mentionnez simplement que vous êtes admissible lors de votre visite et j***r.

07/21/2026

We're Hiring! Marketing Specialist

Do you love storytelling, social media, and creating engaging marketing campaigns?

The Western Development Museum is looking for a creative and organized Marketing Specialist to help share Saskatchewan's stories and connect people with our museums across the province.

If you're passionate about digital marketing, content creation, community engagement, and making a difference through culture and heritage, we'd love to hear from you.

📍 Saskatoon Corporate Office
📅 Applications close July 31, 2026

Learn more and apply: https://wdm.ca/about/careers/

Please help us spread the word by sharing this post!

07/20/2026

07/20/2026

Today's is this 1950 Ford Custom Fordor Sedan on showcase at WDM Moose Jaw.

You may have seen the WDM’s Sedan in a parade, at a summer event or just touring around the streets of Moose Jaw. Built by the Ford Motor Company in Ontario in 1950, we don’t know anything about its early history. In 1981, it was purchased in Hyas and over the next 14 years the new owner lovingly restored it. The engine was overhauled and exterior body work was done. It was painted dark blue instead of the original black. Everything on the interior is original except the floor mats. In 2007, the Sedan was donated to the WDM and became part of the Operating Collection.

Photo: WDM-2007-MJ-5

07/18/2026

Think you know Saskatchewan slang? 🌾

Let's put your prairie knowledge to the test! Do you know what “the grid” means?

Drop your answer in the comments before checking the reveal below!



No cheating!



The answer is: c. a provincial gravel road system. Have you driven on the grid before?

07/17/2026

Boomtown Heydays will be alive with the sounds of H***y Tonk on Sunday, August 9! Get to two-steppin’ as the Lost Highway Navigators grace the Boomtown Stage. 🤠 Sets at 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm.

Lost Highway Navigators deliver swinging original h***y tonk tunes that recall the classic country music of the 50s, 60s and 70s.

"We call our music 'Cosmic H***y Tonk'. But really, it’s simple, old-fashioned, swallow-and-grin country music. Expect pedal steel, fiddle, telecaster, upright bass, harmonica, and a sackful of tunes about lovin', hurtin', drinkin' and flirtin'. You'll hear straight-up 4/4 country shuffle tunes, some Harlan Howard classics, one or two barnburners, a trucking song, a tearjerker, and a handful of songs about love gone wrong for all the right reasons.”

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☀️ Boomtown Heydays is the WDM's newest summer festival, great for all ages. Best of all - admission is FREE! Donations are gratefully accepted. Join us on August 8 and 9 from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.

07/16/2026

It is with great sadness that the Western Development Museum shares the passing of former CEO Joan Brewerton.

Joan dedicated much of her career to preserving and sharing Saskatchewan's stories. From historical research and exhibit development to leading the Museum as Chief Executive Officer, she helped shape the WDM into an organization that inspires curiosity, learning, and connection. Her leadership guided major exhibit renewals, strengthened the Museum's identity, and helped engage new generations of visitors.

Beyond the Museum, Joan was a gifted historian and writer whose passion for Saskatchewan's people, places, and history continued throughout her retirement. Her curiosity, generosity, and commitment to sharing stories have left a lasting impact on our province and on all who had the privilege of working with her.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to Joan's husband Gordon, her mother Mary, her daughters Emily and Laura, her grandchildren, family, friends, and all who knew and loved her.

In keeping with Joan's wishes, may we honour her memory by treating one another with kindness.

07/16/2026

In the past decade, the WDM has undertaken projects to improve inclusivity and update the language on exhibit signs throughout our Museums. Staff know it as the Interpretive Renewal Project, where updated language and content reflects more recent historical scholarship, and the appearance of dated and worn-out signs is improved. 🪄🧼

Exhibits that have received visual updates include the Cobalt-60 Cancer Bomb at the WDM Saskatoon, the Water Gallery in the WDM Moose Jaw and flipbooks throughout the WDM Saskatoon, which were looking rough after nearly 20 years of use.

Some of the more thoroughly rewritten signs include the Icelandic display and cultural rooms in the WDM Yorkton, the women’s vote signs in the WDM Saskatoon and the observatory in the WDM Moose Jaw. New signs on the history of railway porters were also added to all four WDM locations as part of this project, as well as interpretive panels for each artifact building in the WDM North Battleford’s Heritage Farm and Village. 🏘️

Many artifacts are conserved for generations at the WDM, and while they may seem unchanging, our research and interpretation of them is always advancing. Plan your next visit to the WDM to see these updates! ✨

Photos:
1 - One of the new signs on railway porters in the WDM Moose Jaw.
2 - Updated signs on the Cancer Bomb exhibit in the WDM Saskatoon.
3 - Updated signs in the WDM Moose Jaw’s Water Gallery.

07/14/2026

Have you ever visited the WDM North Battleford? 👀
From vintage vehicles and historic buildings to hundreds of fascinating artifacts, there's so much to discover around every corner. Visiting in summer is recommended when the Heritage Farm and Village is easiest to explore! 100 acres host over 30 homes and businesses representing the boom years of the 1920s.

🎥 Thank you to SaskTel 's maxTV for producing this video - learn more about the Western Development Museum in their full-length features on YouTube!

07/10/2026

Planning a road trip? Visit all four WDM locations for the price of three! ⭐💰

For just $39, the WDM Explorer Passport gives you one-time admission to each WDM, so you can explore the stories, people and moments that shaped life in Saskatchewan.

Each time you explore a new WDM location, you’ll get a stamp in your passport. Collect all four stamps and you’ll be entered into a draw to win a WDM gift card – perfect for treats in our gift shops, Boomtown Café or for Museum admission.

🍁 The passport goes great with the Canada Strong Pass - adults can buy their passports at the Museum, and children under 18 enter all WDMs for free until September 7, thanks to the Government of Canada (Youth 18 - 24 also get 50% off admission).