Miner's Museum

The visit at the miners museum was just WOW! The guides were ex miners with lot's of experience. Gerry was my private guide and thanks to Eric, the boss (: : . It was so instructive and worth the detour. I left the mine and said to myself, these guys are just amazing! Keep up the good work guys! Eric, we're you the one that closed the lights in the mine.smile. Gerry said so.hihi
JOANNE / OTTAWA

Excellent immersive experience to learn and feel what it was like to be a miner 100 years ago. The retired miners who are the guides are great narrators of history and their own lived experiences. Highly recommended the tour. Recommend calling in advance to confirm the tour times and availability.

Very good guided tour. Our tour guide was a retried miner and had a great wealth of personal stories.

You get to experience the mines and your guide is someone who has actually worked in them.

Truly an amazing experience. Our guide was wonderful, knowledgeable and friendly. The restaurant was delicious and amazing sides. It took approximately two hrs, however; it felt very fast. It was so amazing to see an actually coal mine.

Incredible tour and experience. You'll go under ground and find out what a miners life was like. A must see

This was a pretty great museum! There is an attraction where you go into a mine. Our tour guide was pretty great. I wouldn't recommend it if you have a bad back. But if you are in the area I would for sure recommend going!

Really enjoyed this local attraction in Glace Bay! The friendly weathered seniors, former coalminers, who guide the tour are their own treasure! Great storytelling and overall experience. You go into an actual replica coal mine, be prepared to bend over/down if your taller than 4' 6". Amazing what the older miners had to endure. They put some good $$ into the exhibit and mine experience. Highly recommend to anyone who's not claustrophobic!

Lots of information. Was sad to see/learn companies and government take advantage of the minors almost to slavery but not surprised. A little expensive for what you were able to see. Did not do the mine shaft tour.

We visited the mine this past week while on vacation. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and it was due to the fabulous guide we had, Wish Donovan. His stories of days working in the mine were so interesting and he kept us in stitches with his quick wit. Please pass along our thanks to him. We wish him many more years of good health!

Men from the Deep. I had the opportunity while in NS to see this Men's group. It was absolutely amazing. If you have an opportunity to see them please do. What a great experience, the storied the tell are not the easiest to hear, there is loss and sadness, but also great relationships built. Not a dry eye a some points, laughter and definitely sing a longs if you know the songs they share. I will see them again️

Having grown up in Glace Bay, I have been to the Miners Museum many times over the years on school trips, and on my own. But having been living in Ottawa for the past 19 years, it had been quite some time since my last visit. The new simulator is a very cool experience. And Sheldon's guided tour of the mine and his incredible stories throughout were fantastic. For a thorough written account expanding on the stories you will hear, pick up a copy of The Company Store by John Mellor at the gift shop on your way out. I picked up my third copy while there, as I keep giving them away to others interested in learning about the important history of my little town. Highly recommend this experience to all. Enjoy!

Guided by retired miners with real stories while half bent in a real mine. It is our return visit after 20 years this time with children for them to learn this part of Canadian history and it was even better with some new upgrades.

I highly recommend visiting the museum AND taking the mine tour. Everything was amazing and very educational. It really is nice to have tour guides that are actual miner's. Our guide, Terry, was awesome! Thank you Terry for a wonderful experience.

Amazing way to learn about the history of mining in Canada. Our guide had over 45 years of experience and answered all of our questions. Make sure to plan for enough time to visit all the indoor and outdoor exhibits. 100% recommend visiting here!

A well done museum l, but not really a stop for people with kids. I do a lot of museums with my boys (8 and 6) and they do well. This one had well done displays. The tour, again done well, but the very nice gentleman talking about the history of the mines for almost 30 minutes was extremely slow. Then talking about all the ways to die in a mine right before walking down into the mine freaked my kids out and we had to bail. Again, for patient adults really interested in the subject, it is good. I didn't really have the patience for it.

Went with our 2 children ages 5 and 7 years old. We visited frank slide in Alberta so they already had an interest in mining history. The tour was very well done. We learned a lot and are glad we went out of our way to check out this museum.

Such a unique and interesting experience given most mines are now shut down. You get to experience what the miner's went through whilst underground. Absolutely Amazing.

If you're looking for a real, true, hard working man's example here in Canada come check out the Miners Museum, in Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The mine tour is incredible! As much of the mine has been dug out under the ocean! Ponies used to work with the men in the mine's, and they would love under there for a time together until their shift is done. The Guide at the Museum can tell you much more!

Great experience. I'd suggest taking the tour but beware, the mine tour requires a lot of bending over.

I cannot say enough good things about this entire experience. Our guide, Wish, was fantastic. As a miner himself, there was not a question he could not answer, nor an experience he had not lived. We walked down into a coal mine and had a glimpse of how Cape Breton was shaped by this industry. I highly recommend this. It is not to be missed.

Great to learn about mining that helped shape our Province. As told by the men who worked underground

Great experience to learn about the history of the Miner's in Cape Breton! Reallly well done and fun!

Did the full tour which takes you inground into a real previously working mine.
Allocate 2 hours for this very informative museum.

Great tour, learned a lot, makes you appreciate how hard life was for the miners. The simulator was great!

This place is a must to see & u have to do the mine tour. It is only after u do the tour, u will see what our forefathers work. Wet, back kneading, black lung disease. Our tour guide was Eric Spencer a 30vetran Cole miner himself. Great mam, & a wonderful guide. Hats off to this wonderful Gentleman.

Great tour for everyone in the family. Tour guide Wishie Donovan is a veteran miner who gave a great tour for our group.

The underground tour was definitely worth it.

Lots of coal mining information and equipment in the museum. Take the time to listen to the video presentations to get a proper feel for the coal mining life. And pay the money for the underground tour. Well worth it.

Would highly recommend if you haven't been here. The staff very knowledgeable and funny. Keeps all ages interested.

The rich history and the way it's told is something that must be experienced to truly appreciate it. Beautiful site.

This is a unbelievable and truely unique experience especially if you have family who worked in the mines here. Going through the tour is hard enough so i cant imagine what my grandfather and uncle went through. Do not miss this if you are in cape breton

Attended the Glace Bay Glee show at the Miners Museum in the Men of the Deep Theatre. Great location for smaller type shows.

A very interesting look into the local history of coal mining. A great restaurant and tour of an old mine among other artifacts are available.

Incredibly informative tour through a real coal mine from a retired miner. Super worthwhile to visit.

This was awesome. Eric the retired coal miner was fantastic and should get a raise! Very interesting.

A bit dated, but took the tour underground. Was a moving experience and well worth the time and money. Wish I could have combined it with a Men of the Deeps concert. Next time.

Wow being able to go in the mine and realize what my dad did to put food on our table was eye opening. The Mine Guides are so knowledgeable, and it was listening to my dad and his friends talking. SHELDON was our guide today and made us all laugh. A must to do if you are in Glace Bay Cape Breton

This museum has been one of the highlights of our trip to Nova Scotia. It's definitely worth stopping in at. The tour into the mine was amazing. The tours are run by retired miners that know a ton of information on coal mining in Nova Scotia. The tour itself was eye opening into the history of the area and how hard people worked to put food on their tables and take care of their families. If you are going to Cape Breton is definitely worth going to. You won't regret it. Pricing for the tours are very reasonable for the quality and length of them.

Very interesting tour of the mine. Our guide, Sheldon, a retired miner gave an interesting insight to the life and times of a miner working a coal mine.

The Miner's Museum was fantastic! Our mine guide (Eric) was excellent. Such rich history, and how horrifically they treated the workers in the early days! We still can't get over the fact that Eric's first mine was 42" high - and that he worked there for three-and-a-half years! Thank you for sharing your stories and history. This was a highlight of our 17-day East Coast trip, and we are so glad we went. The Men of The Deeps concert was amazing also! A very great concert, followed by a wonderful chat with one of the 'Men'. Thank you for sharing your time and stories with our family!

What can I say. Its Glace Bays jem. Great people work there and you meet nice people from all over the world there.

This is well worth seeing. It really made me appreciate how fortunate I have been after seeing how these early settlers were exploited by the mining companies. Our tour guide Wishie worked underground for over 30 years and gave us real insight into what it was like to work as a coal miner. Excellent tour and good value for the entry fee.

An interactive, informative hands on experience! It's eye opening how the government and the company treated the miners like slaves and encouraged child labour. Our guide was awesome!

Half of the museum was under construction when I went. Outside was fun to see windmills for power on the shore. They also have bike parking!

A must to see and experience. Take the underground tour. You will be glad you did. Tour guide, Terry McVarish was the best!

Wonderful home cooked roast beef dinner.a great place to enjoy the atmosphere and friendly service. Great prices.

Excellent place. Anytime something leaves you more educated than when you walked in is a good thing. Terrific first hand experiences told by the men who worked there and terrible truths big money and our own government inflicted upon the people of Glace Bay and Beyond. Visit, donate, learn. Bring the kids and show them how fortunate they are living in these times, mine did.

It's a great experience underground with a great story of the past to go with It! Dress warm because your underground!

Incredible experience that's going to stick with me for a long time. Our tour guide Ken was fantastic and helped bring life to the men and boys who laboured in terrible conditions in the mine. His colourful personal anecdotes were a real plus. Not for those who are claustrophobic or don't like bending over for quite some period of time. An absolute must see!

Gerry MacNeil was amazing. He taught us about the very difficult life the miners had. How they were treated so poorly by the mining companies and how they were not support by the people that should have supported them.
We were there for just over an hour and we found it difficult to be in an actual mine. Those that worked the mines were there for 12 hour shifts 6 days a week.
The kids we took realized how lucky we have it.
Highly recommend the tour.
It gives us a glimpse of Canadian history.

Great atmosphere.how really insane conditions were to work and live in.these familys were survivors that had to work like animal's to live.they were slaves to the rich British owners.great story teller from an actual miner.do not miss this museum on your visit.the restaurant was great and not pricey.do not miss a chance to see and hear the men of the deeps.

Was absolutely amazing! Worth every penny! Our trip was a little more fancy then most (we assume), because we got put into a cruise ship. They took us into the mine for about 30 mins. There is nothing like it. When we were done they had Wine & cheese. (Don't think that's normal) We only cared for the cheese and it was delicious. They then invited us in to see the "Men of the Deep"! Their performance was spectacular! I would recommend to anyone. Kid friendly and great humor! We only got a 30 minute show but I guess their normal shows are 2 hours so we will be going back!

The miners and their families had it very tough. Eye opening underground tour and the exhibit area was very informative.

This place was a great learning experience, our guide was amazing. It really showed the life and hard times the miners had to endure. Would definitely recommend.

This falls into the category of: I never knew. I never knew that the Canadian Government and the Province of Nova Scotia behaved so shamefully towards the Coal Miners and their families. They collected up convicts and pardoned them under the conditions that the former convicts join the Mining company's private police AND the provincially armed militia and go into the mining communities to harass the miners and the families of the miners; in an effort to prevent them from forming/keeping a union. The guides who take you into the mines are retired local coal miners and every one of them is a living memory of the times that were. Go and listen to their stories. You'll be amazed at what you didn't know.

The tour was an experience that I will never forget. Our guide Eric was great and it was amazing to hear his first hand experience from being a miner. A must stop at Glace Bay.

Très intéressant et avoir un guide qui a été mineur pendant 32 ans sait de quoi il parle. A voir, "un must" dans la région.

Great learning experience and a really cool place. Our guide, Abby, was amazing! 100% reccomend and will go back as soon as I can!

Very interesting place. The tour underground in the mine is very impressive. Great tour guides: telling fascinating stories from the miners' lives. Highly recommended.

Informative to learn about mining in Cape Breton. Our guide, a retired miner, provided a ton of insight, and answered all questions. Definitely go see and take the tour - it will give you a new appreciation for mining.

Very interesting and enlightening tour. Really provided a sense of the kind of conditions miners had to work in. Be cautious not to hit your head as most of the tour takes place in tunnels 4-5.5ft tall. **Warning: will strain your back if you have significant back problems! (Bent over for much of 45min)

Had the pleasure of having Abbie as a guide in the mines today. Abbie was full of energy, and had great stories of growing up in town full of mines. I highly recommend this tour if you're in the Glace Bay Area. Thanks again Abbie!

What a great museum to visit. Very informative venue with cool exhibits all capped off by a walking tour in an actual mine.

Pretty interesting visit. There a small 10-20 minutes museum-like path you can take while waiting to go into the mines. Bunch of items and information panels plus a small looping video about coal mining.

The mines themselves were really a unique experience I won't forget. The guide provided a bunch of informations, while we walked through the (smaller and smaller) mine shafts, which were decorated to be as they were when people worked there.

The only problem is the ever decreasing height, at 6'2" it gets pretty uncomfortable by the end.

Prices were great, more so for such a unique place to visit.

Well worth the visit. We were on a cruise ship that stopped at Sydney. We rented some bicycles and peddled out the museum for the day. Was not disappointed.highly recommend.

Read the other reviews.no need for me to repeat what has been written in reviews already. Just wanted to chime in that the tour was quite fun, very affordable, very informative, the volunteer guides are great. As a suggestion, like to see an option to go down even deeper into the mines as part of perhaps a once per day 'high adventure' tour.a premium tour (pay a little more). Limited to small group.similar to that what is offered at many cavern tours in the USA. Sort of 'adventure tours'. Perhaps earn the museum some additional visitors and income to help operate the museum.