On the second floor are two galleries featuring rotating displays from the Museum’s permanent collection, and travelling exhibits of all descriptions.

North Gallery

Strawberry Hill Werkshop

October 2021 to April 2022

The Thunder Bay Museum is proud to present over 50 works from their permanent collection showcasing the beloved work from Strawberry Hill Werkshop. Liz and Peter Powlowski and their team of skilled artists made ceramics from their home studio in Kaministiquia, Ontario from 1967- 1994.

South Gallery

Aftermath 1821: A Union of Rivals

15 October 2021 to June 2022

The Thunder Bay Museum has developed an exhibit commemorating the 200th anniversary of the merger of the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company. This exhibit contains archival material, paintings, fur trade artifacts as well as interactive and audio-visual elements to tell the story of this important event. It explores the fierce and sometimes violent rivalry between the companies that led to the merger, and its effects on the history of Northwestern Ontario throughout the remainder of the 19th Century and which still persist to this day, including the relative decline of Fort William, new industries that took the place of the fur trade and resulting development of treaties with the Indigenous peoples of the area.

The Museum is pleased to partner with the Champlain Society and Fort William Historical Park in this venture. If you would like to contribute to this project, please do so here.