Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

Whether you are a teacher looking for a place to take your students on a day trip, or just travelling around the Halifax area, a must-do/ must-see museum is The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Coming from a teacher who has travelled with students to museums in places such as Hong Kong, Australia, and even my home province Ontario, I have never been so impressed by the hospitality; knowledge and interactive/emotional grabbing exhibits as I did at this museum. I had anticipated that I would be able to walk through this specific museum within a few hours. It seemed small and manageable, but as I began to explore and ask questions about the exhibits I realized that there was a lot to see and lots to explore.

I had the opportunity to ask the Coordinator of Visitor Services and Interpretive Programming how a museum like this could capture the attention of students (specifically in the primary/junior/intermediate divisons of elementary school). Now we all know that children in this age group range easily become "squirrley" and non attentive. They also like to touch things and most museums seem only to be for looking.  As I discovered, most exhibits can be directly linked to school curriculum. From scavenger hunts to powerpoint presentations, they have covered all aspects to fit the needs of kids of all ages.

As an adult visiting this museum I was very impressed with the way the museum was sectioned. Each segment of the museum told a different story of Canada's role and importance. Many of the stories were captured in a first person voice. This will surely resignate with students who enjoy reading stories in this specific perspective, while hands on learners will enjoy viewing the original and replicate artifacts from the tragedies that make up Canada's history.


From the Halifax Explosion to the role Halifax played in the tragic history of the Titanic, guests are easily engulfed by the richness of these exhibits and the stories they tell.

Don't forget to visit the CSS Acadia docked outside. Yes folks, she is the original from 1913.

Be sure to visit Merlin the rainbow macaw who sits up front of the museum contently greeting guests daily. He is so famous that he even has his own webcam.