Nanaimo Museum

It was way more interesting than I expected for a small island town's civic museum. Really enjoyed my visit (and learned some new things). Well curated.

History of coal miners as told by our tour leader Steph was the most eye opening experience. We went there like an empty vessel and returned home with knowledge & immense respect for the people who worked so hard in the early days.

Boring place. Huge square footage filled with mostly nothing. What did I learn about Nanaimo? Nothing. What about Nanaimo history? Almost nothing. Will I go there again? Highly unlikely. Overpriced, overrated, understuffed (not enough artifacts on display to be called a museum")There is a lovely military museum just a block away. They do need space. Suggest to close this glorified collection of old junk and expand military museum instead. It will be way better investment for the city of Nanaimo.Не самое интересное место для посещения. Практически ничего нет такого чтобы посмотреть и запомнить. Та

Pleasantly surprised. Admission is $2.00 adult or donation. Thought it would be a short visit and had loe expectations... but a TON to see and engage with.Staff quite friendly and very helpful. Displays are varied and decent although at times a little unplanned out. Mutliple generation gaps between images right beside each other so occassionally confusing.Chinatown display is decent. As are others. Large Indigenous display by the Whites which is very well done.Will definately go back again to reabsorb.The 'gift shop' has nice central island First Nations carvings. A nice body of work from the actual artists.Had no idea Nanaimo actually had something so nice.Park at Swylana for free and walk if possible. Its a nice meander.

Definitely a good place to go especially on the raining day. Really interesting to know the Nanaimo Chinese’s history, in the early years when the mine exploded, all the Chinese labour who died in it , doesn’t even have a name in the history record list. ..Know the history and Know your rights!

Donate and enter. A good place to take a look at the history of Nanaimo's forest industry, sports, mining, etc.. It's nice to have a mission-type program for children.

The Nanaimo museum is a must see if you're visiting I really enjoying learning about all the unique traditions like the bathtub racing and the rich history like the mining exhibit that looks like a mine shaft and the staff were really friendly and the gift shop had lots of unique items as well as things from local artists ♡

Very centrally located. You cannot really miss it.When we showed up, entry-fees were by donation only, so it can be free if you’re on a budget. The recommended donation is also only $2 per person which is probably unheard-of for any kind of exhibit these days.We enjoyed learning a bit of history before further exploring the rest of Nanaimo. It definitely had some quality / well-maintained exhibits.I would say this is a must-go for anyone visiting nanaimo for the first time if they have 45-60min to spare. Or even 30min if you want to quickly skim thru.

Absolutely amazing. I loved each exhibit. My 10-year-old daughter was blown away by how far we've come as a people. We could see the indigenous peoples' canoes; the early settlers' fun competitions (the bathtub boats), school rooms, stores, and even wedding gowns. We got to see a mine that gave us chills, and so much more. We will definitely be back!

I enjoyed the museum very much, especially the photographs of Nanaimo from the past. The Nanaimo Bar shaped stools were amusing.