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Wile Carding Mill Museum, Bridgewater

July 19, 2016/in Museums, Travel /by ValleyFamilyFun

Wile Carding Mill Museum, Bridgewater *Disclosure: Our family received a family seasonal pass for the Nova Scotia Museums so we could tour around the province and share our experiences. All opinions are our own.* Imagine 12 hour days, 6 days a week for only $2 a day. It was a long, tough job working in […]

Top 100 Things to do in the Annapolis Valley this Summer

July 18, 2016/2 Comments/in Activities, Adventure /by ValleyFamilyFun

Top 100 Things to do in the Annapolis Valley this Summer The Valley is full of things to do, especially in the summer. Here is Valley Family Fun’s top 100+ things to do in the Annapolis Valley this summer. Keep this list handy for those I’m Bored moments. In no particular order. Items in […]

Wile Carding Mill Museum, Bridgewater

July 19, 2016/in Museums, Travel /by ValleyFamilyFun

Top 100 Things to do in the Annapolis Valley this Summer

July 18, 2016/2 Comments/in Activities, Adventure /by ValleyFamilyFun

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Wile Carding Mill Museum, Bridgewater

July 19, 2016/in Museums, Travel /by ValleyFamilyFun

Wile Carding Mill Museum, Bridgewater

*Disclosure: Our family received a family seasonal pass for the Nova Scotia Museums so we could tour around the province and share our experiences. All opinions are our own.*

Imagine 12 hour days, 6 days a week for only $2 a day.

It was a long, tough job working in a wool mill in the 1800s. If you go to the Wile Carding Mill Museum in Bridgewater, you will learn all about it.

Our family decided to check out the museum during one of our adventures on the South Shore.

Here’s what the Museum is About

From 1860 to 1968, this water-powered mill lightened the workload for Nova Scotian farm families by carding a week’s worth of wool in one hour!

See the very machine that revolutionized carding in the area and imagine the clatter as it prepared wool for bedding and spinning.

Step outside and picture the line of ox carts that would wait patiently as women operators processed loads of sheep fleece.
Wile Carding Mill’s overshot waterwheel still turns in its tranquil setting on Sandy Brook, a reminder of a once vibrant industrial centre.

About our Visit

We were greeted by a museum interpreter who gave us a tour of the museum.

This included a step-by-step explanation of what happened to the wool from the moment it entered the mill, having been shorn off the sheep, to when it left as wool.

All the machines were operated by a giant water wheel beneath the mill floor. The technology was quite amazing!

The boys were able to have a hands-on experience of how the wool would have been carded by hand and spun into wool.

They even got to keep the wool they had spun as a souvenir!

Overall

It took us about 45 minutes to go through the museum. It was a great hands-on demonstration that would be suitable for all children, preschool aged and up.

There is also a scavenger hunt for kids to do.

It’s important for kids (and adults) to learn how jobs were so much harder over a hundred years ago and the conditions that prevailed.

Hours & Admission

Open Seasonally
June 1 – September 17
Monday – Saturday
9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Sunday
1:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Admission

Adult $ 3.50
Youth (6-17) $ 2.00
Children (under 6) Free
Seniors (65+) $ 2.25
Family $ 8.00

The next time you are in Bridgewater, take a few minutes out of your time to stop into the Wile Carding Museum and get a feeling of how mill life would have been in Bridgewater!

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Top 100 Things to do in the Annapolis Valley this Summer

July 18, 2016/2 Comments/in Activities, Adventure /by ValleyFamilyFun

Top 100 Things to do in the Annapolis Valley this Summer

The Valley is full of things to do, especially in the summer. Here is Valley Family Fun’s top 100+ things to do in the Annapolis Valley this summer.

Keep this list handy for those I’m Bored moments.

In no particular order.

Items in BLUE are FREE!

Visit the New Minas splash pad.
Find a food truck and get take out for a picnic. Nippers British Fish and Chips is a great place to start!
Swing on the indoor swings at the Real Scoop ice cream shop in Wolfville.
Cool off at the Moore’s Brook Falls near Kentville.
Play mini golf.
Explore Heustis (Houston’s) beach for a new place to swim.
Ride the Trecothic Creek Trains in Windsor.
Take a hot air balloon ride over the Valley with East Coast Balloon Adventures.
Hike Cape Split.
Swing off the rope swing at Flat Rock, Hantsport.
See car racing at Valley Raceway near Kingston.
Rent a canoe or kayak or go on a guided paddle in Middleton or in West Hants for FREE or in Bridgetown for a small fee.
Do the Sunflower Maze at Dakeyne Farm, Mt. Denson.
Visit the Coldbrook fish hatchery for a free tour.
U-pick your own fruits or vegetables.
Ride the Flume Ride at Upper Clements Park.
Take in a FREE program at all branches of the Annapolis Valley Regional Library.
Go to a museum all about trains in Middleton.
Take your family to a rope course.
Go to Busy Bugs Workshop in August at Prescott House in Port Williams.
Go camping at Blomidon.
Cool off on the waterslide at Windsor Playland Safari.
Race your kids on a go kart.
Have a bonfire at Huntington Point and explore the Fairy Cottages.
Go on an art hunt with Uncommon Art.
Take a Valley Ghost Walk Tour. Best suited for 10+
Play at a new playground.
Go swimming at Aylesford Lake.
Explore Miner’s Marsh in Kentville.
Brave Kentville’s bike course at Burgher Hill.
Try geocaching.
Go to the Valley Drive In.
Find Hidden Valley in New Minas.
Play disc golf in New Minas or Windsor.
Have a tea party every third Saturday (or available for private parties) at the Randall House Museum, Wolfville.
Explore a nature spot in Kings County with a FREE adventure trail guide.
Go fishing at Silver Lake.
Play with the old-fashioned phone at the McDonald House Museum in Middleton.
Try an escape room (in the air conditioning) at Breakout 902 Escape Rooms in Coldbrook.
Go for a walk and then a swim at the Wolfville Reservoir Park.
Take a ride on a double decker bus where kids ride for free on the Magic Wine Bus!
Watch the chimney swifts in Wolfville.
Do the grass maze and hike the coastal trail at the Black Rock Community Centre.
Paint something in the air conditioned Clayground Studio in Wolfville.
Find the hidden animals in the Kings County Courthouse Museum, Kentville.
Explore the Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens and walk the Nature Trail at Acadia.
Play farmers’ golf, get an ice cream and go for a nature walk at Hennigar’s Farm Market in Greenwich.
Have at the kids’ zone at the Wolfville Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Find the Acadian well and chapel at the Castle Frederick hiking trails in Falmouth.
Learn 5 expressions by Thomas Chandler Haliburton at the Haliburton House Museum in Windsor.
Fly a kite at the Kentville Research Station.
Watch old-fashioned farming in action at the Northville Heritage Farm Centre.
Take a wagon ride at Ross Farm Museum.
Try your hand at bowling.
Swim under the waterfall at Crystal Falls, Greenwood.
Work off your lobster by walking the eco trail in Halls Harbour
See the lions at Oaklawn Farm Zoo in Aylesford.
Visit the sheep and llamas at Gaspereau Valley Fibers.
Grab a coffee and read a book in the hammocks behind Just Us! In Grand Pre and read a book from their wee-free library.
Swim at Evangeline Beach.
Sing the Mickey Mouse theme song while walking around the Mickey Hill trail near Annapolis.
Take a book or leave a book at the Wee Little Library at Miner’s Marsh in Kentville.
Have a tasting party with your family! Adults, try local ciders, beers and wine, while kids can try Root Beer or other drinks!
Stop and smell the flowers at the Historic Gardens in Annapolis Royal.
Learn about the history of the McMaster Mill back of Greenwood.
Feed the fish and barnyard animals at Dempsey Corner Farm.
Rent a pedal boat at the Raven Haven Beachside Family Park near Annapolis.
Spot a duck or find a frog at the French Basin marsh trail in Annapolis Royal.
Go Rock Hounding at Scott’s Bay.
Bike the rail trail.
Go fossil hunting at Blue Beach, Avonport.
Practice your airplane flying at the Greenwood Aviation Museum.
Go for a family jog at the Bigelow Nature Trail in Canning.
Jump on the giant pillow at Jellystone Park in Kingston. No! You don’t have to be a camper to do it!
Learn about the highest tides in the world at the Annapolis Royal Tidal Power Interpretive Centre.
Kids play while parents have a coffee at the Cotton Tale Café in New Minas.
Send your kids to camp.
Go for a walk or bike ride at the Irishman Settlement near Windsor.
Ride the Kings Transit bus. Youth summer passes available.
Learn about Acadian Heritage on a guided walk in Annapolis Royal.
Have fish and chips take out from Pearles in Paradise.
Go to a nature event put on by the Blomidon Naturalist Society or the Flying Squirrels
Do a beach clean up.
See a whole house made out of concrete in Centreville!
Support local by shopping at the Kentville Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays.
Roll down the hill at Fort Anne, Annapolis Royal.
See how a book is made at Gaspereau Press, Kentville.
Visit the miniature horses at Noggins Corner Farm in Greenwich.
Eat an ice cream from a boat from Sea Cones Ice Cream Boat
Watch a horse pull at the Annapolis Valley Exhibition in Lawrencetown (3^rd week of August).
Hike to the ghost town of Roxbury.
Get fit with the family at Kingston’s Stronach Park fitness trail!
Blast your family away at laser tag on a rainy day at Roo’s Playhouse in Greenwood.
Tubing on the Gaspereau River (when the water levels are high enough).
Go to the SPCA and play with the cats and dogs.
See some really old houses on your self-guided historical walking tour of Bridgetown.
Grab your skateboard and head to the Windsor Waterfront skateboard park to try out your moves.
Grab some paint swatches and head to the Acadia Art Gallery to find those colours in the paintings.
Build a sandcastle at Kingsport Beach.
Throw some axes at Halimac in Kentville.
101. Go horseback riding with Evangeline Trail Rides.

What else would you add to the list?

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Wile Carding Mill Museum, Bridgewater

About our Visit

Overall

The next time you are in Bridgewater, take a few minutes out of your time to stop into the Wile Carding Museum and get a feeling of how mill life would have been in Bridgewater!

Top 100 Things to do in the Annapolis Valley this Summer

Items in BLUE are FREE!

What else would you add to the list?

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