Our Collections

Our Permanent Collection is based on the extensive and varied collection of Mr. Sam Waller. Containing over 70,000 items, the collection includes natural history specimens, human history artifacts, books and library materials, photographs and negatives, fine art pieces and the archives of the Town of The Pas. While our founder collected from the four corners of the world, the Museum now limits new accessions to those items that are pertinent to the history of the community and region. Many items from the collection can be viewed in our exhibits.

Our small Education Collection has been developed with duplicates of items in the permanent collection, in addition to items specifically donated for this collection. These items are used in our educational programming for youth and school groups. A work in progress, we are always looking to expand this collection with interesting items that can be used to tell the stories of our past. Please contact the Museum staff for more details.

Collections Portal

Visit our online collections database here.

The museum is working to update our collections database and make collections items visible online with the support of the Government of Canada and Manitoba Sport, Culture and Heritage. 

Archives Portal

Browse our archival holdings here.

The museum has digitized a portion of its archival holdings with the support of Manitoba Sport, Culture and Heritage and Community Futures Cedar Lake. Contact us to learn how you can view archival items. 

From the Vault

Featured Items from our Collection

Dressed Fleas

In Sam’s Gallery here at the Sam Waller Museum is a set of drawers. In one of these drawers a collection of dressed fleas can

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Telephone Switchboard

Making a call used to be more complex than just the action of hitting a contact on your cell phone and immediately reach the person

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Astrocompass

Ever wondered how pilots navigated the skies in the days before satellites and GPS? How they navigated without paper maps and only a compass for

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Ruddy Duck

This month’s From the Vault item is the humble Oxyura jamaicensis, better known as the Ruddy Duck. A part of the Anatidae family, this bird

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Lion Head Notary Stamp

This collections item is a notary stamp or an embossed seal. The base of the apparatus appears to be a lion’s head, which eventually rises

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