Dinosaur Hall
A Triceratops skull from Alberta sits behind a low rail you can lean on. A lamp swings across the bone so you can see how the horn grew in layers, and a touchable cast shows the surface without the museum's insurance premium.
Natural history and culture · Halifax Harbour
Four billion years, under one roof.
Ravenscourt Museum cares for 2.4 million specimens, from a 22-metre fin whale skeleton to the first ammonites found on the Fundy shore. Walk the galleries, join a conservation workshop or borrow a family backpack and treat the building like a very large field trip.
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00. Free on the first Thursday evening of every month.
The collection in numbers
- Specimens and artefacts
- 2.4 million
- Permanent galleries
- 36
- Years open to the public
- 112
- School visits each year
- 180k
Three rooms visitors talk about on the way home
Each one has a person nearby who can answer questions, whether it is a volunteer in a green apron or a curator on a bench.
The conservation studio
Watch through a glass wall as conservators clean a Roman oil lamp with swabs smaller than a pencil tip. At 14:00 daily one of them steps out to explain what the museum is trying to save and why it takes so long.
Makers' workshop
Children ages five to twelve paint, sculpt and print at long tables with real museum objects as models. Sessions run in 45-minute blocks and are included with admission.
The Ravenscourt audio guide
Stream before you arrive or on the gallery floor. Each track is two to four minutes and ends where the next object begins.
Now playing · Track 1The whale that washed ashore0:00 / 4:00
- Track 1 · 4 min · With curator Nia BoudreauThe whale that washed ashoreHow a stranded fin whale in 1911 became the heart of the building, and the sailors who carried its bones in carts.
- Track 2 · 3 min · With geologist Karim HaddadMinerals from the Bay of FundyA tour of the dark cabinets where amethyst, zeolite and fossil wood are drawn out one drawer at a time.
- Track 3 · 3 min · With guide Iris CampbellLooking at a painting for ten minutesA slow-looking exercise in front of a nineteenth-century harbour scene, led by the museum's youngest guide.
On show this season
Special exhibitions rotate every four months, and the museum stays open until 20:00 on the final Friday of each run.
- Now to January
Light from the deep sea · Gallery 12
Bioluminescent creatures in tanks, plus a darkened room where you can trigger your own glow.
- February to May
Letters from the lighthouse keepers · Gallery 4
Diaries, logbooks and a restored lamp tell the story of the Atlantic coast's last keepers.
- June to September
Meteorites you can hold · Gallery 8
Seven fragments from four continents, each paired with the person who found it.
- Every Saturday
Curator at the bench · Conservation studio
A different specialist opens a drawer, explains one object and answers whatever the audience wants to ask.
Tickets and memberships
Admission includes every permanent gallery, the workshop and the audio guide. Special exhibitions are included with a membership.
Unlimited entry for twelve months
Adult
One visit to the permanent galleries and the conservation studio.
CAD22
- All 36 galleries
- Audio guide included
- Re-entry within the same day
Family
Two adults and up to three children aged 17 or under.
CAD58
- Makers' workshop for the children
- Family backpack loan
- Cloakroom included
Member
A full year of unlimited visits for one adult and a guest.
CAD95
- Special exhibitions included
- Member previews
- Ten percent off in the shop
From the visitor book
“My son asked to stay for the 14:00 conservation talk twice. He is nine and now wants to restore things for a living.”
“The audio guide is calm and unhurried. It gave me permission to stand at one object for ten minutes.”
“Free Thursday evening was packed with students sketching in the great hall. It felt like the whole city had come in.”
“The sensory-friendly morning gave my brother a way to see the whale skeleton without the crowds. A volunteer sat with us for twenty minutes and never once looked at a clock.”
Composite quotes from fictional Ravenscourt visitors.
Planning your visit
Is the museum accessible?
Every gallery has step-free access, and wheelchairs, folding stools and sensory kits are available at the front desk without charge.
Can I take photographs?
Yes, without flash. A few special exhibitions restrict photography and say so at the door.
Where can I eat?
The Harbour Cafe serves soup, sandwiches and local pastries from 10:30. You may also bring a packed lunch to the picnic room on level one.
Can children touch the objects?
Yes, in the handling room on level two, where genuine fossils and casts sit on low tables with a volunteer nearby. Everywhere else, please keep a respectful distance.
Do you have a quiet time?
Sensory-friendly mornings run every second Saturday from 9:00, with lower lighting, no announcements and a calm space to rest between galleries.
Do school groups need to book?
Yes. Groups of ten or more reserve a time slot with the learning team, who send a free classroom pack in advance.
Find us on the waterfront
Ravenscourt Museum, 1 Wharf Street, Halifax. Call +1 (902) 555-0139 or write to [email protected] for group tours.