Annapolis Valley Macdonald Museum, Middleton

*Disclosure: Our family received a pass to visit the museum. It just means that we could add another awesome Nova Scotia museum to our checklist! All opinions are our own.*

Located on School Street in Middleton, the Annapolis Valley Macdonald Museum is located in the former Macdonald Consolidated School building, which was the first consolidated school building in Canada, operating from 1903 to 1979.  

The museum houses collections of historical artifacts of the area, a research library for genealogical historical research, a recreated classroom and general store, and a small natural history exhibit, including species at risk.

Our Visit

When we arrived, we were greeted by the museum’s director, Sherry Griffin. She gave a wonderful introduction to the boys about what they would see in the museum, and the importance of and reasons behind not touching everything.

Artifacts were clearly labeled of what could be touched, and what things could not be. There were so many things that the boys could play with, that they hardly noticed what they couldn’t!

To give the boys a focus for our visit, Sherry and her team came up with a great scavenger hunt and a big list of things of things they were to find in the museum.

This was a great activity, as it took us throughout the entire museum. Because both boys had different lists, by the end of our visit we had seen just about everything in the museum!

Especially in the room with the Rusty Nail Collection!

“There are so many awesome things in here to look at!”
“Make sure you find the toy fish. It’s filled with sand!”

The Rusty Nail Collection consists of over 500 items assembled and catalogued by the students of Middleton Regional Junior High School history teacher, Mrs. Leonie Cumming, who began teaching at the school in 1949. Housed first at the high school, the collection moved to the museum in 1980 and is an integral part of its collection.  

By far, the boys’ favourite was the clock room.

The Clock Collection has over 150 antique clocks and watches on permanent exhibit from the Nova Scotia Museum.
Try to pick your favourite clock! It’s not an easy job!

“I found all the clocks amazing!”
“I really liked seeing how the clocks worked!”

There is even a place where you play with things to see how a clock works!

Upstairs there is a recreated general store. Just look at the prices and see how many of these old products you remember!

You can sit and play checkers, too!

Best of all, there is an old-fashioned phone that the kids could play with!
“Operator! Operator!”

The kids got to sit in a re-created classroom, practice their penmanship, and learn abut the one-room school.

“I wish we had desks like that in our school!”

The museum will be creating a few more children’s areas with old-fashioned toys. Stay tuned for more details.

For a great overview of the museum, check out the video on the Nova Scotia website.

Prices and hours and Location

The museum is open from April 1 to December 16.

Jun 15–Sep 30, Mon–Sat 9am–4:30pm, Off Season: Mon–Fri 10:30am–4:30pm.

A small admission fee is charged.
It is located at 21 School Street, Middleton

The next time you are in the Middleton area, please do stop in at the Annapolis Valley Macdonald Museum. Take time to appreciate our local heritage, and support these museums who are doing a great job keeping our history alive.
It’s an afternoon well spent!