The Rum Runners exhibit relates the exciting, yet dangerous, era of Prohibition, when alcohol was forbidden in Canada and the United States. Honest fishermen gave up their hooks and lines to traffic illicit liquor in both countries. The exhibit uses artifacts from the rum runner Reo II to help tell the story.

Life in Fishing Communities opens your eyes to the “shore side of life” in fishing towns and villages. Women, children and the elderly kept the communities together, while the fishermen were away to sea. “Life in Fishing Communities” is activity-rich. You may be able to try your hand at quilting, rug hooking or spinning, depending on the projects available on the day of your visit.

The Ice House Theatre is also located on the third floor. It is so named because the building in which it is housed was once an ice house for the local fishing industry! The Ice House Theatre has daily showings of fishing-related films from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the open season. Most films are 30 minutes long, although there are special showings of longer movies. Many of the films examine aspects of the fishing industry and the marine environment. During the hot days of summer, the air-conditioned comfort of the Ice House Theatre makes it a delightful stop along your tour.

• A fascinating collection of marine paintings by the late Earl Bailly, an artist who was afflicted by polio, as a child, and learned to paint by holding the brushes in his mouth. His electric-powered easel is also on display.
• A display of packaging materials, with cooperage equipment, showing the international flavour of trade within the fisheries, in Lunenburg.
• A typical fish company office from the 1920s, complete with hand-grained woodwork.
• A sailmaker’s loft.
• Ice harvesting equipment, helping to interpret the building which was once an ice house.
• Visible storage of special artifacts.
• Displays about Lunenburg Sea Products and Acadia Gas Engines.
• A spectacular collection of images from the Lunenburg waterfront, 1940s - 1950s, by George Naas.