turks & caicos national museum

Not nearly what I expected in a "National Museum." The proprietor who welcomed us, as this was a stop on our tour, was overly enthusiastic and excited in showing us the museums claim to fame.. the yet unnamed wreck, oldest in the area and it's artifacts. It begins with a 7 minute video in a cramped room, then you're free to explore the small museum with all the ships artifacts. As a history buff, I found it interesting but I can understand it may not be appealing to all.

it was ok to see some of the history but not anything I would do again, the fact that the island has a reef around it may be a better idea to try doing a dive or snorkel trip if you are into that kind of thing

We checked out the Prison Museum which though small was rather interesting for us to visit. We do prison ministry and there were some guys in traditional prison outfits to have a picture with. We bought a prison key as a souvenir

While it doesn't look like much, the Turks and Caicos National Museum exceeded our exceptions. It is small, rustic, and well designed. The downstairs is devoted entirely to the Molasses Reef ship wreck, the oldest know ship wreck in the Caribbean. They naturally make the claim this could be the Pinta from Columbus but take that for what it is, it's still a great display of artifacts. The upstairs is more diverse, covering indigenous people, lighthouses, underwater life, and John Glenn's splash down. We were only able to spend an hour there because of other plans but could have easily spent twice that. All in all the best place to get the history of the islands. Also check out the garden outside - probably only place you'll actually see a turk head cactus for which the island is named.

The National Museum is located in a 200 year old house. We are greeted by a friendly staff person who provides us with some information about the exhibits and shows us a short video. As a history buff, it was interesting to me to hear about mystery ship wreck discovered in the 1970's and the possibility that it might be Columbus's sailing ship "The Pinta". There is a 1,000 year old chair and other artifacts to see throughout the museum. The ocean view from the two-story porch is great. It does not take much time to go through this museum. If you have extra time, this museum would be worth the stop.

I was excited to see this museum based on their website and other reviews from this site. We stopped in and were a bit disappointed by the size of the museum. It was well laid out and had some interesting artifacts, but was really only about a 20 minute walk through to see everything. If you are on a tour that stops by it anyway definitely stop in (It is only $5 per person), but don't make an extra trip.

We were on a tram tour of the island and this was one of the stops. It costs $5 for admission and takes about 15 minute to look at everything. Nothing out of the ordinary here but I guess worth a look for the money.

Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to our museum, I often hear expressions from persons that are pleasantly surprised given our size, but I quite like yours. I apologize for the stairway. We have tried to find a way to make the second floor more accessible for persons with disabilities but it has proved to be very challenging. So far, we have not been able to arrive at a solution that would not have a negative impact on the integrity of the building. The museum is housed in a two hundred year old building, of great historical value and it has to be preserved. I will add that the rails prove to be quite helpful to those that opt to go to the second floor.We have however widened the doorways on the first floor to make it more wheel chair accessible. The view is indeed amazing, do come back and enjoy our beautiful island again soon.

Thank you for your complimentary review. We are delighted that you gave us the opportunity to share the history of the islands with you. Do visit us again.

I am happy to learn that you enjoyed your visit to our museum. Thank you for taking the time out to write this great review. Hope you come back to visit us again soon.

To be honest, there is not that many major attractions in Grand Turk, so this little museum is kind of a must see. Old two storey house which focus on Turks & Caicos history, mainly Columbus's(?!) old ship wreck and John Glenn's space mission. At 5€ entrance fee you also get little introduction from their informative guide. Nice views to the sea from upstairs balcony.

Thank you for your kind review. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your visit to our museum and gift shop. Enjoy the rest of your journey and we wish you the very best for 2015.

This museum offered us some comfort after the shock of discovering that downtown is nothing but a tiny street with 3-4 small shops (with 3 stray cats and 2 hungry wild dogs).The lady at reception was very helpful and kind, but there isn't much to see. I don't think that Grand Turk should be on any cruise tour as there is nothing but a few beaches with some snorkelling activity.

Glad you liked the old photos, they are a great window into the past. Thank you for your kind review.

Thank you for visiting us and for your great review. We look forward to welcoming you again soon.