Manitoba

Sneak peek at world-class polar bear exhibit being built

Assiniboine Park Zoo gave Manitobans a sneak peek Thursday at the $200 million Journey to Churchill exhibit scheduled to open next year.

Journey to Churchill construction well underway

Sneak peek at world-class polar bear exhibit being built

11 years ago
Duration 0:19
Journey to Churchill construction well underway. Marjorie Dowhos reports.

Assiniboine Park Zoo gave Manitobans a sneak peek Thursday at the $200 million Journey to Churchill exhibit scheduled to open next year.

Reporters got a tour of where Hudson, the 2-year-old polar bear, will live when he's joined by another bear from Churchill, as well as the future home of the zoo's musk ox and snowy owls.

Construction at the Journey to Churchill exhibit is well underway, with Assiniboine Park Zoo officials giving a sneak peak at work done so far. It opens June 2014. (CBC)

The visit also included a look at where the Aurora Borealis Theatre, which will show videos of the northern lights and other artic wonders, will be.

Zoo chief operating officer, Don Peterkin, said it will make the destination an international draw.

"This is what a zoo has to become," he said. "If we are not prepared to make the investments, then we quickly become irrelevant in the modern community."

Journey to Churchill is expected to open in June 2014.