Frequently Asked Questions

NO

The Quinte Museum of Natural History is located at 99 Dufferin Ave., in Trenton, Ontario. Our museum is part of the Old Morton-Parker building. 

While we have an incredibly close partnership with Research Casting International (RCI), we are separate organizations and operate out of separate buildings. RCI is NOT open to the general public. If you’re interested in viewing some of their dinosaur and ancient whale castings, come and visit the Quinte Museum of Natural History! You can learn more about RCI on their website here.

QMNH has approximately 5,000 square feet of exhibit space. Our space is packed full with as much inspiring content as possible, so we recommend a minimum of 45 minutes to an hour to read the panels and explore our space.

Our general last ticket entry is 4 pm. This will allow you and your group an entire hour to explore the museum and take in all of the content we have to offer. We will allow ticket entry until 4:30 pm, but please note that you will have only 30 minutes to view all the exhibits. We want to ensure you get the most out of your experience here, and you won’t be able to take in all the museum has to offer if you come by too late! Visiting the museum earlier will ensure you have as much time as you would like to take in all of the incredible information and fascinating specimens we have to offer. 

The only discount we offer to the general public is 25% off the price of admission with a donation to the Humane Society Hastings Prince Edward. To learn more about what you can donate, check out our Outreach Page.

We offer no discounts for military or seniors. The only other discounted price is offered to school groups, where students are $7.00. Children 5 and under are always free.

No, you don’t have to! Tickets can be purchased at the front desk at the time of your visit. Admission is $8 per person, with children 5 and under FREE. We accept cash, debit, and credit. We look forward to your visit!

We also have an online option to pre-purchase tickets available, but it is NOT required. Tickets can be purchased online through our Ticket Tailor page here https://buytickets.at/quintemuseumofnaturalhistory/1999534.

Please note: Tickets purchased through our Ticket Tailor page cannot qualify for 25% off admission with a donation to the HSHPE.

Yes and no! The fossils in Fossilized Quinte, rocks and minerals in Rocks Revealed, and the taxidermy specimens in our Expedition Alert exhibit are all real. The skeletons of our dinosaurs and ancient whales are all casts made by our partners at Research Casting International (RCI).

Research Casting International makes the casts featured in both our dinosaur and ancient whale exhibits. They are cast from moulds of real bones and fossils. They are made out of fibreglass and resin. The casts are then painted to match the original specimens.

Yes! All the fossils on the touch table were found in the local area and donated to the museum by visitors.

Generally, no! Most of our displays should not be touched!

Any exhibits that are meant to be touched are clearly labelled. Our Arctic exhibit, in particular, has several interactive elements, such as a video game to play and phones to pick up and listen to. There are also several “bird boxes” in the Arctic exhibit, which are drawers that are meant to be pulled out to reveal more information. Unless a display is labelled as touchable, visitors are reminded that our specimens are fragile and not to be touched.

To find out more about volunteering at QMNH please click here.

The exhibit is designed to allow visitors to navigate independently, and our volunteers are more than happy to answer any questions or provide guidance. Larger groups may book a guided tour by contacting us at info@quintemuseum.ca. Please be aware that guided tours are always limited by our volunteer tour guides’ availability. Please send us a message, and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Food and drink is not allowed inside the exhibit space. Visitors are asked to enjoy their food and drinks in our main entrance before entering the galleries.

Yes! Visitors are encouraged to take as many photos as they like to document their visit to the museum. Don’t forget to tag us @quintemuseum on social media!

The museum features a small gift shop with a selection of items based on our exhibits. T-shirts, stickers and homemade crochet plushies are available, as well as handcrafted aluminum whale sculptures made in collaboration with RCI and Robin Ozard. The gift shop currently has a sale on our remaining stock of children’s shirts as we prepare for new inventory.

QMNH has many exciting things planned for the future. Interested in contributing to the future development of the museum? Check out our Donations Page.