It all started in 1977 when a group of volunteers got together to set-up what is now known as The Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum, Atlantic Canada’s only museum devoted to preserving all aspects of Atlantic Canada’s aviation heritage.
In 1985 the doors were first opened to the public and in 1989 the Museum was granted ‘Local Museum’ status by the Nova Scotia Museum.
Throughout the Museum and the extensive displays both civilian and military aviation history is depicted. Included are hundreds of artifacts, large and small, from books, badges, and uniforms to engines and aircraft from the earliest balloons and gliders through to modern aircraft. Each one is designed to be informed and tell its own part in the story of Atlantic Canada’s aviation history.



Atlantic Canada has a rich aviation heritage, beginning with the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire in 1909. However, it is a heritage that, until the formation of the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum and our sister organizations at Shearwater and Greenwood, was largely forgotten. Indeed, many priceless artifacts have been removed from the area, never to return. It was the recognition of this loss that led to the formation of the Museum. Initially restricted to shopping center displays and storing of many items at CFB Shearwater, the Museum moved to its present location in 1986, with the co-operation of the province of Nova Scotia.
Over the next ten years from 1986 to 1995, the Museum continued to grow.