Quote: The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is one of the "must see" attractions in Halifax, along with the Citadel. It explores the seagoing history of Halifax including merchant, military, fishing and other aspects of the ocean. This is the oldest Maritime museum in Canada (60 years old in 2008) though not at this location. In fact, it lived part of it's life in the Citadel. The current building opened it's doors in 1982.

There is also an excellent exhibit on the Halifax Explosion which was the largest man made explosion before the nuclear age. (This was caused by two ships that collided in the harbour, on December 6, 1917. One was carrying explosives and combustible materials for WWI). You can learn about shipwrecks, about building boats, you can find out about Canada's navy in the wars. There are models, photos, artifacts. Another big attraction is an exhibition on the Titanic. Many of the Titanic victims are buried in Halifax and the museum has quite a few artifacts salvaged from the wreck.

You can see scale models of tall ships, cruise ships, steam powered liners. There is a replica of a ship carpenter's shop, a sail loft displaying sail makers' tools and other artifacts. There's a gift shop as well.

The museum is on the Halifax waterfront on Lower Water street. There's a pay-and-display parking lot beside it and a parking garage a few blocks away. There is no cafe on site but there is no shortage of places to find some good food and drink within steps of the museum.

The museum opens at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 5 in the winter and 5:30 in summer but is open all year round on Tuesday nights until 8. In winter, November through the end of April, it is closed on Mondays and it's closed Dec. 24, 25, 26 and Jan. 1. It is fully accessible for people with mobility issues. The adult entry price tops at $8.75 but about half that price in winter. There are seniors and kids' discounts and you can also get a family pass. You can also get a season pass that lets you return all year for $22.50 per adult, an amazing value. Also included in the price is access to the CSS Acadia which is an old scientific research ship docked outside the museum.
From journals Halifax, My Home

Quote: Really interesting look at Nova Scotia's maritime history. Especially interesting was the exhibition on the Halifax Explosion of December 6, 1917. Two ships collided causing an explosion killing 2000 people. There was also an exhibit of artifacts from the Titanic disaster of 1912 that took over 1,500 lives. A deck chair was on display from that fateful voyage.

An interesting display of the age of steam thought various ships from cargo ships to elegant Cunard passenger lines.

I particularly enjoyed the display depicting the history of pirates correcting many incorrect myths about pirates.

Entrance cost was approximately $7 with a Senior Citizen discount. The museum was on the waterfront about a 15 minute walk from where our cruise ship docked.

I would highly recommend a visit to the museum.
From journals Cruising on the Queen Mary II-Labor Day Holiday

Quote: This museum features Titanic. I remember they made (or expanded) Titanic exhibition right after the movie. My first-time visit was back in 1997 and I visited for the last in 2006. To be honest, it did not change much. But one thing one must do in the museum is to see Titanic 3D. It's worth the money. They do show the explosion back in 1920s (my bad I don't remember the exact year). It's a nice museum to visit. Free entrance one evening (maybe Tuesday evening). Cool place for kids as well.
From journals A Week in Halifax

Quote: For March Break, the museum featured "Pets At Sea" along with their regular exhibits.

The kids loved it there, and they wanted to go back again. This was good because we were using it as a test to see if the kids were ready for more museums this summer.

The Pets at Sea exhibit was nothing overly spectacular, but the kids liked it. They had a few birds, some monkeys, some lemurs, an albino hedgehog, a leopard cat, and a big box full of creepy-crawlies that represented things that sneak onto boats. The 3 year old was not impressed by the lizards and bugs, but the three 7 year olds in the group loved them.

The museum has many standard displays that were very interesting. The second floor Titanic display included examples of first-, second-, and third-class rooms with menus. Very interesting.

The Theodore Tugboat display was a set of models used for filming the TV show. The kids liked it OK, but zoomed past pretty quick.

There was a neat miniature model that one of the volunteers came over to tell us about. There were little tiny people made out of drops of glue. The guide explained how they were made. All of the guides seemed to be volunteers and were all very enthusiastic. They were great.

There was also a room on the second floor where the kids could play for a while, with sandboxes, a boat, and some colouring pages.

The 3 year old got bored quite a bit and would not have been happy without the animals. We later found out that the talking parrot Merlin is a regular. He says several phrases and was very entertaining for all the kids.

My 7 year old has since been to a birthday party at the museum where they went on treasure hunts and pretended to be pirates. The kids (boys and girls) all had a great time.

My mother wants to go to the ghost story night or the pirate story night, which take place on alternate Tuesday evenings at 7:30 and are free. She hasn't had a chance yet.

The cost was about $8 for adults, $5 for kids. We had some coupons so we got in (2 adults, 3 kids (7, 3, infant) for about $12. We were there for about 2 hours and could have stayed a bit longer, but we were hungry.

There were quite a few people around but it didn't seem nearly as crowded as some other local museums do during March break. We will definitely go back.

From journals March Break in Halifax