Canada's National Museum of Immigration, Pier 21, is located in
Halifax,
Nova Scotia, the gateway of
Canada's European immigration. During the summer Pier 21 is open seven days a week during business hours. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays during the winter. Prices are $8.50 for adults and $5 for children. There are special discounts for groups, seniors, and students. Parking is available and a free shuttle runs during the summer. It is located on Marginal Road, right on the waterfront.
Pier 21 was a working immigration checkpoint from 1928 to 1971. It was a complex of buildings that would house new immigrants as well as connect them to the railway and the rest of Canada. The museum not only outline's the Pier's history but also all Canadian immigration from the first contact of Europeans to the present day. There are two different galleries in which the artifacts of immigration are stored. There is a thirty minute presentation that tells the Pier's entire store.
The museum also sponsors a program called Diversity Spotlight in which different ethnic groups living in Canada can screen films about their culture's story in Canada and around the world. Another changing exhibit is the Community Presents Program. Here you can view a museum exhibit set up by different cultural groups that have immigrated to Canada. There are also travelling exhibits from other museums worldwide. There is always something new to see at Pier 21.
