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This building and these collections represent another stage in the development of the Museum of Natural History that reaches back to 1868.
This site at 1747 Summer Street opened in 1970 to accommodate the needs of the ever-expanding Nova Scotia Museum. The museum was responsible for ‘the natural and applied sciences’ and ‘human activities in Nova Scotia’ as well as local museums throughout Nova Scotia.
By 1993, the Nova Scotia Museum underwent a sweeping reorganization. The museum as a single entity would blossom into a network of now 27 museums across the province including historic buildings, living history sites, ships and specialized museums. One of the results of reorganization also included the creation of the Museum of Natural History: its address, 1747 Summer Street.
This building houses not only the Museum of Natural History, but also the staff and administrative offices of the Nova Scotia Museum and the province’s Heritage department.
The story starts in 1864 when there were no museums in Nova Scotia let alone Halifax. The privately run Institute of Science founded on the Victorian ideals of ‘cultural improvement’ convinced the provincial government to allow the collections of the defunct Halifax Mechanics Institute to form the heart of a new public museum. In October 1868 the dream became a reality and the Provincial Museum opened its doors.
The public flocked to see the collections of Mi’kmaq artifacts, scientific equipment, fossils, minerals, biological specimens, paintings and prints. What happened between 1868 and the present is a story of vision, hard work and transformation.
The journey to this permanent site encompasses many stops and identities along the way: from its rooms in the newly constructed Post Office Building in 1868 as the Provincial Museum; quarters at the Burns & Murray Building on Hollis Street in 1898; to a section of the Nova Scotia Technical College Building on Spring Garden Road in 1910, and a change of name to the Nova Scotia Museum of Science in 1947.
The Museum of Natural History is an ever-evolving landscape. Its staff is dedicated to collecting, researching and documenting Nova Scotia’s natural history. Their vision is to interpret the natural world to its visitors and inspire them to perceive the part it plays in their everyday lives.
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Museum of Natural History
1747 Summer Street,
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canada B3H 3A6
Phone: (902) 424-7353 |