Aquarium - The Aquarium is located on the ground level, next to the Salt Store Gift Shop. Children and visitors of all ages especially love the Museum’s large viewing tank. This seven foot high vista tank holds 6000 gallons of water and is the cornerstone of the entire display. There are large fresh and salt water tanks, with species important to the fisheries.

Sail Into Shipbuilding - This is a new exhibit area created this year as a way to celebrate the restoration of BLUENOSE II. [Try your hand at sealing a seam with a beetle... or twist an auger to make room for a trunnel.] Learn a new appreciation for the task of wooden boat building.

Demonstration Room - Daily talks about lobsters, including close examination of live lobsters. There are also special demonstrations of fish filleting.

Hall of Inshore Fisheries - With a bilingual component - Small Craft: a fascinating collection of inshore fishing boats, with an exploration of various fishing methods and equipment used by the fishermen. The area also includes displays regarding the construction of lobster traps and duck decoys.

Marine Engine Display - See a massive steam winch from the local marine railway and our extensive collection of small marine engines. The romance and development of the sturdy make-and-break engine is a feature of this area.

Whaling and Whales - This exhibit highlights ancient and modern whaling and the whale as a creature for study and enjoyment.

Boatbuilding Shop - A hive of activity, the Boat Shop is always alive with the sounds of construction. Lunenburg-style dories or other small craft take shape in this area of the Museum.

Do Fish Sleep?

When creatures of the land (including humans) sleep, there are usually a few common denominators. Our eyes close; we "rest"; we have lowered awareness of our surroundings.

For fish, it can be difficult to meet all of those criteria. Very few fish have eyelids. Most fish can only pause from their normal activities and attempt to "rest". Depending upon the vulnerability of the fish, they strategically plan their resting hours and locations. They must be alert to danger, and the most defenseless ones will position themselves in mud, coral, or underwater plants. Some fish build underwater nests. Many of the other species simply float in place. At best, their times of sleep are times of rest, with a keen awareness of their need to be safe at all times.

So, ‘do fish sleep"? Yes, but not like humans sleep. They rest, full of the knowledge or instinct that their environment is a "fish eat fish" world.