Chimczuk Museum Exhibits

Visitors explore exhibits at the Chimczuk Museum

Temporary Exhibits

Windsor in Focus: Forty Years Through the Lens of Nick Brancaccio

Temporary Exhibit
September 13, 2024, to March 2025

Windsor in Focus: Forty Years Through the Lens of Nick Brancaccio explores the career of award-winning Windsor Star photographer Nick Brancaccio. Over his 41-year career (1980 to 2021), Nick covered thousands of events in Windsor-Essex and Metro Detroit. Featured images include everything from local events and festivals to sports and entertainment, and from candid shots from everyday life to major news events. In addition, items from Nick’s career, including press badges, photo equipment, and personal items, will be on display. Please note, some of the images may not be suitable for children.

Photograph: Deer being rescued from the Detroit River (near Amherstburg) on New Year's Eve, 2009. Photograph courtesy of Nick Brancaccio.

Deer rescue


Beyond the Barrel: Windsor's Whisky History

Temporary Exhibit
June 22, 2024, to January 26, 2025

Beyond the Barrel showcases the history of whisky and its connection to the Windsor-Essex area. Themes include farming, early whisky production, the founding of local distilleries, the Prohibition Era in Windsor-Detroit, and the post-Prohibition whisky market. Through a collection of artifacts and photographs, visitors will travel through the history of whisky-making and leave with a newfound appreciation for the golden elixir.

Photograph: Workers bottling Canadian Club whisky, 1962 - P17479.

Women Bottling Canadian Club Whisky, 1962

Remembering Windsor’s Emancipation Celebrations

Temporary Display
Opens August 3, 2024

Remembering Windsor’s Emancipation Celebrations was developed by Guest Curator Irene Moore Davis with assistance from local author and scholar Kimberly Simmons, Amherstburg Freedom Museum Assistant Curator Lorene Bridgen-Lennie, and Museum Windsor staff. The display explores early Emancipation celebrations in the Windsor region, the impact of Walter Perry on the celebration’s growth, the importance of Jackson Park, and more.

Photograph: Emancipation Day Celebrations at the Jackson Park Bandshell, courtesy of Irene Moore Davis.

Emancipation Day Celebrations at the Jackson Park Bandshell

The Lazurek Collection - Windsor Winters

Temporary Display

December 6, 2024 to February 16, 2025

Theodore “Fred” Lazurek emigrated from Romania to the Windsor region following the Second World War. Settling in Ford City, he ran a photography studio out of his home on Drouillard Road. In addition to his professional work, Fred spent considerable time photographing everyday moments in the community that surrounded him. Through his work, he was able to capture the essence of post World War II life in Ford City.

The photographs in this collection focus on winter scenes from various locations around Windsor/Essex County. 

Photograph: People pushing a car stuck in the snow, 1974 - P18804.

People pushing a car stuck in the snow.


Permanent Exhibits

The River and the Land Sustain Us

Featuring 2,705 square feet on the main floor concourse, this space features a bilingual permanent exhibit that tells the history of our city and people.

Features include History of Windsor: pre-history to present; hands-on exhibits; a mini-theatre with videos of Windsor's history and heritage; visitor interactive stations; visitor information stations; core educational programming and public museum tours offered by Museum Windsor's knowledgeable, engaging staff.

Visitors viewing the A to Z wall

Children's Gallery and Learning Space

Interactive. Educational. Fun. This 1,173-square-foot space on the main floor is for the young and young at heart to explore history and heritage through interactive games and activities.

Features include Things from the Past: artifact discovery drawers; Waterways and Underground Connection: Build-A-Bridge, ship and tunnel to cross the Detroit River and explore The Great Lakes design activity; Transportation: Build-A-Car assembly line activity; Fashion In Time: historic costume dress-up; Traditional old time toys; and school and daycare programming.

Children participating in cut-and-paste crafts

Original Peoples Culture and Legacy Gallery

At the north end of the main floor concourse, this space reflects the culture, heritage, and contemporary issues of the local First Nations and Métis communities. It also provides an open and flexible gathering space for programming. This exhibit was developed in consultation with Walpole Island Heritage Centre, Caldwell First Nation, Turtle Island-Aboriginal Education Centre (University of Windsor), Can-Am Indian Friendship Centre and other local community organizations.

Features include Creation Stories, Treaties, Residential Schools and 60s Scoop, Language Revitalization, Missing and Murdered Women, Medicine Wheel Teachings, and Cultural Expressions.

Wooden sculpture of Tecumseh

Get in touch

Questions about the permanent exhibits, temporary/travelling exhibitions, tours and programs at the Chimczuk Museum? Reach out to us:

Museum Windsor
254 Pitt Street West
Windsor, Ontario, Canada, N9A 5L5
Phone: For general information, call 311.
For detailed inquiries, please call (519) 253-1812.
Email: wmuseum@citywindsor.ca

Temporary Exhibits Flickr AlbumJoseph ChimczukArt Windsor-Essex