Hamilton Museum of Steam & Technology

This was an excellent little museum. Our tour guide and presenter Rene was absolutely fantastic! Very knowledgeable and so great at getting people (including the kids that were present) involved the little presentation you get to sit in before you visit the actual pumping mechanism. Highly recommend!

It's not very big but it's good. We have been a couple of times now and enjoy it. The staff are courteous and really knowledgeable, and we learned a lot. It's also a great way to break up trips along the QEW Niagara.

Really enjoyed our visit. Our guide was really knowledgeable about the mechanics and the history of the steam pumps.

Great place to look around with families and kids. After a quick tour of the museum, and some colouring pictures, the kids were able to participate playing with a remote control boats on a mini outdoor pool. We were able to go on a mini train ride around which was really fun. Plenty of parking, its free and on donation, we only had an hour, seems like not enough to really enjoy the museam.

C'est un petit musée et la visite est guidée. En une heure vous en avez assez pour tout voir. Prévoir plus de temps lors des activités spéciales durant l'été. J'aime bien l'architecture des bâtiments.

This museum may look small and out-of-the-way, but it is such a treasure trove! For a small admission fee (and free if you have a Hamilton library card), you can get an amazing guided tour, which is offered a few times a day. And it was not your ordinary guided tour! It actually starts with a fascinating demonstration of steam power and engines, using small but well functioning models. Then, we were taken into the heart of the building, and I was so amazed by not just the intricate machinery but also the amount of thought the designers put into the architectural and artistic elements (e.g, the painted columns). You could see the machine being run, while my favourite part was going further upstairs and donning an oilers’ cap (albeit a clean version in a much better environment than what the workers had to endure back then).

I would like to give my compliments to our guide, Julia (my apologies if I didn’t remember the name correctly). She exuded passion, like she had a love for the historic site from the bottom of her heart. She was also super friendly and fun, and was able to answer all of our questions without hesitation! Thank you, Julia!

Also, be sure to walk around the grounds to experience the building from different angles and to find the best one for a photo! There was also a train show going on at the time of our visit, with a separate $8 admission fee. We didn’t attend that because of a lack of time, but we still spent a good 1.5 hour on the site. I could easily add an hour or two to that if I had visited the show or any other special events, and explored the grounds further.

My friend and I brought our kids here during the March break. Among us, we had 4 kids aged 2,3,6, and 7. This is definitely not a place recommended for the 2 and 3 years old. We hadn't done much research, and THERE ARE NO TRAINS! Lol. It's basically a pump house that was used a long time ago to pump water from the lake to a reservoir for the residents of Hamilton. It's still a very breathtaking historic location. The guide was very passionate about her presentation and very interactive with our group. I found it very interesting as an adult taking a step into a piece of history and the technological advances of that time. There are some toys at the gift shop at the entrance. There was also a craft kit available to build an amusement park ride like a roller coaster or merry go round with recyclable materials in the shed. Along with some dioramas and games, which all the kids thoroughly enjoyed, but I'm guessing that was a March break thing.

This is an absolutely outstanding small museum. In fact, it’s more than a museum; it’s an original relic of the industrial revolution, in essentially perfect condition. An opportunity to watch state-of-the-art steam-driven processes used in 1859. On top of that, the machinery is quite beautiful.

Knowledgeable and enthusiastic guides.

The kids really enjoyed them selves and the tour, very educational and the staff was very friendly.

Visited in September 2021 as a small school trip.
Guide was pleasant and gave us a thorough tour and presentation. Another guide discussed the water cycle with the children and had them participate in some fun experiments. There is also a small gift shop for souvenirs. We had lunch outside at the tables afterwards and could have participated in an outdoor scavenger hunt but ran out of time.
Overall, it was a nice learning experience for everyone - I would visit again!

Informative museum; volunteers were friendly and knowledgeable and the museum is choc full of artifacts. Would make a great school trip for kids to learn about local history and technology.

Highly informative and interactive 30-minute group tour providing good overview of steam and water pump technology. The highlight was seeing the huge pistons turning and imaging how they pumped water at full speed for Hamilton in the past. Alex our guide was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and answered all questions. In the summer, on select dates the museum offers train rides that would especially delight kids and families. Admission is reasonable and if you're a resident of Hamilton, it's free with your library card to all Hamilton civic museums.

It's a huge historical building. Best place to take your kids here for so much knowledge about how these machines used to work and they actually give you demo as well during the guides session. Good parking space.

P.s. You can ride toy train here in summer.
Very important tip: admission is free if you can show your Hamilton public library card:)

Jenna was an Informative tour guide. The demonstrations were well thought out, and the historical artifacts are in amazing condition.