Experience this history in dynamic and interactive ways throughout the province at the 27 locations of the Nova Scotia Museum, at National Historic Sites, Nova Scotia Historic Places and more than 110 community museums. Unearth 300-million-year-old dinosaur secrets and a treasure chest of natural heritage at Parrsboro's Fundy Geological Museum and Halifax's Museum of Natural History, where you'll also find the world's finest collection of Mi'kmaq quillwork. See impressive beadwork and learn of Nova Scotia's First People at the University College of Cape Breton's Mi'kmaq Resource Centre in Sydney. Bend your ear to the sounds of the pioneers at the reconstruction of Samuel de Champlain's 1605 fort at Port Royal, the oldest European settlement north of Florida. Feel the beat of the drum as the 78th Highland Regiment strikes up the band at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. Nova Scotia's museums set history a-sizzle, ignite the imagination and stir up the senses!
Since the early 1600s, a wave of immigration has borne to our shores hundreds of thousands of people from all over the globe. Peer into the lives of these settlers or delve into your own Nova Scotian family roots at the Colchester Historical Society Museum, Mahone Bay Settlers Museum, the Cape Sable Historical Society Centre, the Shelburne County Genealogical Research Centre, the Highland Village at Iona and Halifax's Pier 21. Investigate the story of African Nova Scotians at the Black Cultural Centre in Dartmouth.
Be moved by the story of the Acadians' perseverance in the face of adversity at the Grand Pré National Historic Site. Stroll through historic homes, stores and workshops at the Fortress of Louisbourg, Sherbrooke Village and Ross Farm Museum. Sample the fare, try your hand at old-time tasks and chat with costumed animators who delight in bringing Nova Scotia's colourful history to life. Discover the simple pleasures of country living in the mid-1800s at the MacDonald House Museum and the Parkdale-Maplewood Museum.
Historic homes, with their period furnishings and personal mementoes, offer an intimate portrayal of the characters who have peopled our past. Admire beautiful antiques in dwellings with charming Georgian influence, like a vintage farmhouse at the North Hills Museum; Prescott House Museum, former residence of apple horticulturist Charles Ramage Prescott; and Uniacke Estate Museum Park, with its seven scenic walking trails. Experience Victorian-era Windsor at stylish Shand House Museum and at Haliburton House Museum, where Judge Thomas Chandler Haliburton penned the famous "Sam Slick" stories.
The sea has been a way of life in Nova Scotia for centuries, and seafarers have spun many thrilling tales of their exploits on the North Atlantic. Drink in the drama of life at sea at Halifax's Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and Lunenburg's Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, the most visited museums in Nova Scotia. Explore our boatbuilding traditions at the Dory Shop and Lawrence House Museums, and capture a glimpse of life in coastal villages at the Fisherman's Life Museum, the Yarmouth County Museum, and the Grassy Island National Historic Site.
Industrialization has further shaped our people, our economy and our landscape. The Museum of Industry demonstrates innovations with hands-on exhibits that get you involved. Witness old-time technology at the Balmoral Grist Mill and the Sutherland Steam Mill museums. See how wool was processed from meadow to market at the Wile Carding Mill and Barrington Woolen Mill museums, and learn all our about our fruit-growing industry at the Kentville Agricultural Centre. At the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, be amazed at the wide-ranging inventions of this genius, such as the hydrofoil plane. Discover the role of the railway in Nova Scotia at the Sydney & Louisburg Railway Museum, the Orangedale Railway Museum and the Musquodoboit Railway Museum; and survey high-flying exhibits at the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum.
Tour it, touch it and taste it in Nova Scotia - where our museums appeal to the senses and history packs a punch!