Haliburton House

Disclosure: I received a Museum Pass in exchange for our family travelling around to various Nova Scotia Museums and blogging about our visits. How cool is that?

For our next museum visit, we headed to Windsor to check out Haliburton House.

Here’s what the website says:

Wind your way up the tree-lined drive to visit the home of Nova Scotian author Thomas Chandler Haliburton, who lived in this stylish residence from 1836-1856.

Imagine Victorian Windsor as you explore the twists and turns of this house, where Haliburton created his claim to international fame: the fictional Yankee clock pedlar, Sam Slick.

Our Visit

“I loved visiting this museum!” said my 9-year-old son. “Not everything is roped off!”

We have been to a lot of museums this summer and yes, many of the rooms had ropes across the doors to protect the artefacts inside.
Not so much at the Haliburton House!

We were greeted at the entrance by a guide who gave us a brief overview, and explained the layout of the house and its various wings. Then we were free to explore on our own.

As we went around the guide would appear and show us special things in all the rooms including the secret compartment in Haliburton’s desk

And a pierced disc machine used for playing music.

My son called this a ½ tour. A bit of a tour, a bit of our own time to explore, and a bit of an explanation.

He loved this, as he didn’t have to “listen” the whole time.

In most of the rooms there are interactive things for children (and adults) to explore.

In the kitchen in the basement there is a trunk full of “what is this item?” goodies.

There is also a room full of old-fashioned children’s games and toys for the kids to play with. We spent a lot of time playing in here!

Another fun part of the house was the viewing tower where you could see out over Windsor and the river (maybe if there weren’t so many leaves in the way!).

We also loved learning about some of the expressions that Haliburton coined through his character Sam Slick:

Quick as a wink
Facts are stranger than fiction.
It’s raining cats and dogs.
Six of one, half a dozen of the other
Barking up the wrong tree
…And many more!

Hockey Heritage Museum

In the other half of the house is the Hockey Heritage Museum.

Nova Scotians are now able to learn about the history of hockey and the life of Thomas Chandler Haliburton in one trip to the Haliburton House museum in Windsor.

Even though my kids are probably the only ones in the Valley who don’t play hockey, they still enjoyed the exhibit very much!

In one of the rooms there was a hockey game for them to play which kept them entertained while we looked at the exhibits.

The exhibit is very well laid out, with lots of things for kids to see, and questions for them to think about and answer while looking at the display, such as
How has hockey equipment changed over the years?

Haliburton House was another great place to visit and to learn more about our local history.

I’m so impressed at how the boys have combined information that they have learned at all the museums to gain a further understanding of life in the 1700-1800s in Nova Scotia. It has been a great summer of learning!

Hours & Admission

Open Seasonally
June 1 – October 3
Monday – Saturday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Admission
Child – Free
Youth – $2.80
Adult – $3.90
Senior – $2.80
Family – $8.65

How to get here

Once you come off the highway, the museum is extremely well signposted.
Take Exit 6 from Highway 101; follow signs to 414 Clifton Avenue, Windsor, Hants County; located on the Evangeline Trail.

And, don’t leave Haliburton House without asking about the haunted pond out front!