Museum of Natural History

What Museum of Natural History does

The Museum of Natural History is a public natural history museum located at 1747 Summer Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia, operated as part of the Nova Scotia Museum network — a 27-museum provincial system under the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. The institution traces its origins to 1868 as the Provincial Museum and was reorganized into its current form in 1993 when the network expanded province-wide. It serves general public visitors, families, elementary school groups, and community organizations through permanent exhibits (Science on a Sphere, Netukulimk, Marine Gallery, the North Atlantic right whale skeleton, Sable Island exhibit, Pjila'si), traveling exhibitions (notably the 2024 Dinosaur Exploration and its 2026 sequel), daily drop-in programming, structured curriculum-aligned school programs, and digital Learning at Home resources available in Mi'kmaw, French, and Gaelic.

The museum's core technology is Science on a Sphere (SOS), a room-sized NOAA-developed global display system that projects planetary and environmental data onto a six-foot-diameter sphere using computers and video projectors. Other technical components include live animal habitats (including Gus, a 103-year-old gopher tortoise), observation honeybee hives, coastal aquariums, and interactive exhibit displays. Underlying these is an extensive natural history collection — zoology specimens, mastodon fossils, geological samples, and Mi'kmaw cultural artifacts — protected under Nova Scotia's Special Places Protection Act.

The business model is a hybrid of government appropriation and modest earned income. Earned revenue comes from general admission fees, unit-priced school programs ($3.00–$3.55 per student), youth and adult group rates ($8 per adult for groups of 10+), an on-site gift shop near reception, and facility rentals. Distribution is through the single Halifax physical site, direct school booking via phone/email, and digital channels (website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, email newsletter). The museum employs 11–50 staff and relies on partnerships with community natural-history and conservation societies that host regular meetings on-site.

Name

Museum of Natural History

Legal name

Museum of Natural History

Website

https://naturalhistory.novascotia.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Museum of Natural History is a government-operated natural history museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, part of a 27-museum provincial network. It serves general public visitors, families, and elementary school groups through permanent exhibits (Science on a Sphere, Marine Gallery, Netukulimk), traveling exhibitions, curriculum-aligned school programs, and digital learning resources.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural History Museum

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums (71211)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Natural History Museums (THAJADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Science & Technology Museums (THAJADAD), History Museums (THAJADAB)

Keywords

• Natural history exhibits
• Museum educational programs
• Cultural heritage exhibitions
• School field trip programs
• Wildlife live animal displays

Headquarters

HQ city

Halifax

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Admission and Program Fees: The museum generates revenue through admission fees, school program fees, and group tour fees. Regular admission rates apply for general visitors, with discounted rates for youth groups, school groups, and chaperones.
2. Gift Shop Sales: The museum operates a gift shop near the reception area selling museum-related merchandise.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Museum of Natural History operates a public natural history museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, offering permanent and traveling exhibitions (Science on a Sphere, Marine Gallery, Netukulimk, Sable Island exhibit, Dinosaur Exploration 2), daily drop-in programs, structured curriculum-aligned school programs for elementary grades, live animal encounters, and on-site gift shop sales. It also distributes digital learning-at-home resources and produces editorial stories on regional natural history topics.

Product overview

The Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum under the Nova Scotia Museum system, located at 1747 Summer Street, Halifax. The institution operates as a single unified museum offering multiple exhibition galleries and educational programs. Core exhibits include permanent installations like Science on a Sphere (a NOAA-developed global data visualization sphere), the Marine Gallery (featuring Mission to the Gully, Rocky Shore aquarium, and Sable Island exhibit), Netukulimk (Mi'kmaw cultural exhibit), and the outdoor North Atlantic right whale skeleton display. The museum also offers time-limited exhibitions such as Dinosaur Exploration 2, daily drop-in programs including wildlife demonstrations and solar system tours, structured school programs aligned with Atlantic Canada Curriculum for elementary grades, and digital Learning at Home resources. A notable live resident is Gus the Gopher Tortoise, over 100 years old. The institution serves as an educational center for natural history, zoology, geology, and Mi'kmaw cultural heritage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pjila'si: A permanent gallery featuring Mi'kmaw culture and heritage
• Marine Gallery
• Science on a Sphere
• Netukulimk
• Sable Island Exhibit
• Gus the Gopher Tortoise

Products and services

• Science on a Sphere A permanent room-sized global display system using computers and video projectors to display planetary and environmental data onto a six-foot-diameter sphere. Developed by NOAA, it illustrates complex environmental processes through animated imagery, allowing visitors to learn about climate change, weather, the solar system, and earthquakes.
• Netukulimk A permanent exhibit named after a traditional Mi'kmaw concept celebrating the connection between natural and human worlds. Features interactive displays, live animals including nocturnal creatures, snakes, amphibians, and an observation honeybee hive.
• Marine Gallery A permanent exhibit exploring Nova Scotia's 13,000 kilometres of coastline through three main areas: Mission to the Gully (submarine canyon experience), Rocky Shore coastal aquarium, and Sable Island exhibit featuring the world's largest Maritimes walrus collection.
• Museum of Natural History Daily Programs Drop-in educational programs including wildlife feeding demonstrations, solar system tours using Science on a Sphere, lab activities, prehistoric planet presentations, and Gus the gopher tortoise walks.
• School Programs Facilitated in-person and virtual programs for elementary classes aligned with the Atlantic Canada Curriculum. Programs include Exploring Culture, Plant and Animal Growth, Geology of Nova Scotia, Discovering the First Peoples of Nova Scotia, Diversity of Life, and Climate Change challenges and solutions.
• Learning at Home Digital educational resources for home learning including seasonal scavenger hunts (SPRINGO, Summer Nature Trail, Winter Nature Bingo), Museum Maker activities, bird watching and arthropod checklists, field guides, and observation activities with translations in Mi'kmaw, French, and Gaelic.
• Whale Bones in the Museum Backyard A permanent outdoor exhibit displaying the composite skeleton of a North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), a critically endangered species with less than 400 individuals remaining. The composite skeleton is from two animals: NEA #2250 (male, 1995) and NEA #2450 (female, 1997).
• Dinosaur Exploration 2 Limited-time traveling exhibition featuring dinosaur fossils and interactive displays about dinosaur armor, tail power, and defensive features. On view at the museum from February 7 to September 7, 2026, as a sequel to the 2024 Dinosaur Exploration exhibit.

Quantifiable outcome

• School programs accommodate two classes, maximum 60 students per session
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Atlantic Rhododendron & Horticultural SocietyminorOthersLocal horticultural society that hosts regular meetings at the Museum of Natural History. The society organizes its own events independently of the museum.
• Atlantic Spinners and HandweaversminorOthersCrafting society that meets at the museum and hosts independent events. Mailing address is c/o Museum of Natural History, 1747 Summer St, Halifax.
• Carbon Arc CinemaminorOthersCinema organization that hosts regular meetings at the museum. Website: www.carbonarc.ca. Mailing address is c/o Museum of Natural History.
• Halifax Field NaturalistsminorOthersNature-focused community organization that holds regular meetings at the museum. Website: halifaxfieldnaturalists.ca.
• Halifax Wildlife AssociationminorOthersWildlife conservation organization that meets at the museum. Mailing address: PO Box 31055, RPO Gladstone, Halifax, NS.
• Marine Animal Response Society (MARS)minorOthersOrganization dedicated to marine animal response and conservation. Website: www.marineanimals.ca. Emergency line: 1-866-567-6277.
• Nova Scotia MuseumcoreOthersThe Museum of Natural History is part of the Nova Scotia Museum network of 27 museums across the province. It houses the staff and administrative offices of the Nova Scotia Museum. The museum is located on Mi'kma'ki, the traditional ancestral lands of the Mi'kmaq people.
• Oxford University Museum of Natural HistoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearchers from Oxford University's Museum of Natural History are investigating evolutionary mechanisms based on fossil discoveries, following their publication in Science.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Royal Ontario Museum: Toronto-based major natural history and world cultures museum with extensive zoological, geological, and paleontological collections. Comparable in offering permanent natural history galleries, curriculum-aligned educational programs, and traveling exhibitions to a broad public audience in Canada.
• Discovery Centre: Halifax-based hands-on science center offering interactive STEM exhibits, school programs, and family programming. Comparable as a same-city, same-region educational attraction competing for school group bookings, family visits, and tourism traffic in Halifax.
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canada's national natural history museum in Ottawa, offering comparable zoology, paleontology, and earth science collections with similar educational programming and traveling exhibitions. Directly comparable as a fellow Canadian natural history museum with permanent exhibits and curriculum-aligned school programs.

Regional players

• Manitoba Museum: Manitoba's flagship museum complex featuring natural and human history galleries with similar gallery-based learning, school programming, and Indigenous heritage interpretation. Comparable as a mid-sized Canadian provincial museum with similar audience and education model.
• Royal BC Museum: British Columbia's provincial natural and human history museum, similarly government-affiliated and focused on regional natural heritage. Comparable as a provincial-scale museum with permanent galleries, school programs, and Indigenous cultural content, though serving a different Canadian region.

Emerging players

• Oxford University Museum of Natural History: University-affiliated natural history museum with active research collaborations with the Museum of Natural History on evolutionary mechanisms based on fossil discoveries. Comparable as a peer research and collections institution, and a documented scientific partner.

Broad incumbents

• Field Museum: Chicago-based major natural history museum with globally significant collections in paleontology (Sue the T. rex), anthropology, and botany. Comparable in operating permanent natural history exhibits, dinosaur exhibitions, and curriculum-aligned school programming at large scale.
• Natural History Museum (London): Iconic UK natural history museum with world-class collections in zoology, paleontology, and earth sciences, plus extensive educational programming and traveling exhibitions. Comparable as a global leader in natural history museum operations, exhibitions, and curriculum-based learning.

Others

• Nova Scotia Museum: Parent provincial museum network that the Museum of Natural History is part of, encompassing 27 museums across Nova Scotia. Comparable as the umbrella institution providing shared administrative, curatorial, and promotional infrastructure that directly supports the Museum of Natural History's operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCq4OFLAVZiVyECgfvnfmGDQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/mnhnovascotia
• Instagraminstagram.com/mnhnovascotia
• Xx.com/NS_MNH

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Museum of Natural History