Nova Scotia’s Museum of Natural History continues busy year with 'mystery' of the narwhal

It’s been a busy year at the Museum of Natural History in Halifax and a new exhibit celebrating an unusual sea creature is drawing big summer crowds.

Museum manager Jeff Gray said the narwhal exhibit, on loan from the Smithsonian from July 6 to Sept. 2, has been very popular.

“We’re already triple attendance that we were over last year,” Gray said. “We’re doing as well as we’ve ever done for the summer.”

Gray said he thinks the success of the exhibit is owed to the mystery and popularity of narwhals.

“Obviously they’re well-known in pop culture,” Gray said. “I think that their tooth or their horn being tied to unicorns historically is part of it.”

While there may be less majesty attached to the narwhal than to their mythical equine counterpart, Gray said he believes it is the mysterious nature of the animals and their lone, long tooth that makes them a hit among museum goers.

“It’s the only tooth that they have. They are suction eaters and it is a source of mystery, not just for the public, but in the scientific community as well,” Gray said. “I think there’s a lot of love for narwhals, but they aren’t fully understood as animals and I think that level of mystery adds to the mystique of them as well.”

Gray said the staff of the museum is proud to have a travelling exhibit on loan from the Smithsonian.

“We’ve never worked with them in the past and so for us to be able to do one of their travelling exhibits was hugely and maybe nerdily exciting for us internally,” Gray said. He added that his favourite part of the exhibit is its capacity to speak to museum goers of all ages.

There are interactive modules for children alongside information about human impact in the north and Indigenous stories.

Gray said the narwhal exhibit continues a wonderful year for the Museum of Natural History which set several attendance records in 2024.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.