Maritime Museum Celebrates 27th Anniversary

To celebrate its 27th anniversary on the Halifax waterfront, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic will hold two special events.

On Sunday, Jan. 25, the museum will welcome visitors free of charge from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., with staff serving birthday cake at 2 p.m.

On Thursday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m., the museum will welcome back Ralph Muench, the first official visitor to walk through the museum's doors on Jan. 22, 1982.

Then just 14 years old, Mr. Muench fondly recalls the excitement of being honoured as the museum's first visitor and the thrill of having his picture published in the Chronicle Herald.

Twenty-seven years later, the museum has welcomed more than four million people through its doors. To mark Mr. Muench's latest visit, staff will recreate the original picture that has become so cherished.

As Canada's oldest and largest maritime museum, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic works to create awareness, appreciation and understanding of Nova Scotia's marine heritage through collection preservation, research, interpretation and exhibition.

The original concept for the museum was developed in 1948 by a group of Royal Canadian Navy officers who had a space at HMC Dockyard designated to display and preserve relics of Canada's naval past. By 1952, this early version of the museum was moved to the Halifax Citadel. It was named the Maritime Museum of Canada in 1957.

The museum moved to various sites in the 1960s and 1970s until it found a permanent home on the Halifax waterfront.

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is located at 1675 Lower Water St., Halifax.