Housed in a modern building in the city centre, the Nanaimo Museum covers the full sweep of the region's history from Coast Salish settlement through the coal-mining era that built the city. A replica coal mine shaft takes visitors underground into the working conditions of 19th-century Nanaimo miners. Exhibits on the local Snuneymuxw First Nation provide cultural context that goes beyond the usual settler narrative.
The museum is modest in scale but well put together. The coal-mining section is the strongest; the machinery, photographs, and personal accounts give a clear picture of what drew thousands of immigrants from Wales, England, and China to this remote Vancouver Island harbour. Allow about an hour.