Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic

Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic Review

The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, on the Lunenburg waterfront, gives a comprehensive overview of Nova Scotia's fishing industry. With aquariums devoted to native species, tidal touch tanks, themed films, and exhibits on shipbuilding, whaling, and the like, there's plenty here to keep the whole gang happy. Demonstrations on topics such as sail making, boat building, and dory launching are also offered. Dockside, you can visit a restored Saltbank Schooner and a steel-hulled trawler or hear a few fish tales before dipping back into the museum gift shop.

As if that wasn't enough, the Bluenose II (902/634-4794 or 866/579-4909 www.schoonerbluenose2.ca), Nova Scotia's sailing ambassador, calls the museum home. She's a faithful replica of the original Bluenose, the Lunenburg-built schooner which gained prominence as the fastest vessel in the North Atlantic fleet during the 1920s and 1930s. The ship is expected to emerge from an extensive two-year refit in 2012 and once again be available for tours and sailing trips. But if she's not sitting pretty in port when you arrive, you can still get a glimpse of the famed ship by digging a Canadian dime out of your pocket. The Bluenose is pictured on the back.