September 27, 2024

By Sean R. Haughian, Curator of Botany at the Nova Scotia Museum

September 24, 2024
Top of a Porcupine Quill-Work basket

 

After a wonderful summer season, some of our family of 28 Museums will be closing for the season.  This month is your last chance to explore some of our sites until next year, closing dates are listed below.

September 9, 2024

 

Grace Elliott, Ocean Interpretation Intern, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

July 26, 2024
Black Loyalist Heritage Center

 

In Canada the first day of August is designated Emancipation Day, recognizing the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1834. In Nova Scotia, Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs Tony Ince introduced legislation marking Emancipation Day in April 2021.

June 21, 2024
Whale Bones in the Museum Backyard

Brenna Frasier, Curator of Zoology, Nova Scotia Museum

June 20, 2024
novascotiawebcams.com

By Roger Marsters, Curator of History

The recent SailGP races in Halifax Harbour offered new ways to see a familiar place. In addition to folks crowding chilly wharves and hillsides in person, many more followed the races online. More than a few, including me, watched local webcams for backstage action at SailGP’s Dartmouth Cove marshalling yard.

June 11, 2024
Lawrence House Museum

Lawrence House Museum in Maitland, Hants County, will be closed for the 2024 season to explore options for operating the site in the future.

During the closure, announced today, June 11, Department staff will engage the community and develop future operational plans.

May 22, 2024
The beach at Wasson Bluff.

 

May 3, 2024

 

A treasured Hants County museum has a new name that better reflects its history and role in the community.

Clifton Museum Park, formerly Haliburton House Museum, returns the original name to the property and helps address the complex legacy of its former owner. Located in Windsor, Clifton Museum Park is part of the Nova Scotia Museum.

April 2, 2024
closeup of the fork-mosses

 

By Dr. Sean R. Haughian, Curator of Botany

In the bustling concrete jungles of our cities, green spaces are like precious oases, offering a breath of fresh air amid the urban sprawl. But did you know that there's a humble yet mighty hero often overlooked in these green endeavors? Mosses – those tiny, often unnoticed plants – hold incredible potential for transforming our cities into greener, more sustainable environments.

March 15, 2024
Eleven samples of round rocks each the size of a softball

Mrs. Sylvia Weagle was an enthusiastic teacher, toy maker, and rock collector. She loved teaching kids and inspiring them with her toy creations. Sylvia also wrote some (unpublished) notes about rocks from Georges Bank, which she thought were dinosaur eggs.

February 29, 2024

Heritage Day, 2024

Heritage Day 2024 celebrated the life and legacy of Mr. William Hall, V.C., the African-descended Nova Scotian farmer and naval hero. What do we celebrate when we celebrate William Hall, his life, and his achievements? For more than a hundred years, Black Nova Scotians have celebrated Hall as a good neighbour and dutiful family member, as a courageous Black man who overcame entrenched race-based prejudices to live as freely and generously as he could.

February 13, 2024
Heritage Day - William Hall graphic.

Heritage Day - William Hall

Monday, February 19, 2024

Heritage Day is an annual reminder of our storied past and an opportunity to honour the remarkable people, places and events that have contributed to this province’s unique heritage.

February 1, 2024
February across the Nova Scotia Museum graphic

Hello,
Here's what's happening across the Nova Scotia Museum.

January 25, 2024
A 20 cm wide red sandstone rock with a thin white bone protruding on the left side and a collection of white quartz pebbles in a pile nearby. Other small thin bones are seen near the pebbles.

Many types of dinosaurs did not chew their food - but used their sharp teeth to cut large pieces of food, which they swallowed without chewing. These dinosaurs used powerful stomach muscles and stones (gastroliths) to grind up their food. We can see many types of birds and other animals still doing this today.

 

December 19, 2023
Winter at Ross Farm Museum.

We want to ensure you have all the information you need to plan your holiday museum visits.  Each site within our museum family will be operating on special hours during the holiday season, so please take a moment to check the schedule before embarking on your visit. 

Wishing each and every one of you a delightful holiday season! May it be filled with warmth, wonder, and a visit to a museum.

December 14, 2023

What Have I Found?

Have you ever been enjoying the outdoors, stumbled upon something interesting, and wondered if you’d found something special? If you think you have found something with heritage value, staff at the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism, & Heritage (CCTH) would like to hear from you.

December 11, 2023

The Nova Scotia Museum collections include snow crystals from 1940!

These intricate models of snow crystals were created by Edwin Reiber for the Cranbrook Institute of Science (Michigan). The models were the "first accurate models of snow crystals". 

October 26, 2023

 

Get ready for a spooktacular time at our museums' Halloween events. A ghoulish good time awaits you!

October 5, 2023

Hello everyone,
Here's some of the latest events from across the Nova Scotia Museum. 

Mi'kmaq History Month

October is Mi'kmaq History Month. Thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers, the Mi'kmaq called themselves L'nu'k, which simply means 'the people,' 'human beings.' Their present name, Mi'kmaq, derives from nikmaq, meaning 'my kin-friends.' 

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