oil museum of canada

I happened to be driving by this museum and decided to stop in. The sights on the grounds were interesting but for me the real show was the displays inside. I'd always heard that the area was where the first oil extraction started but I had no idea how wide around the world the people working on the oil rigs travelled. The displays of their belongings, pictures and history is astounding. Very very interesting.

My wife and I were going to Dresden and had some time to spare, so we stopped in, what a great idea. We loved it, a great museum never seen it all ran out of time,we are going back

Great little gem of a museum, very well curated, a fascinating but little known part of Canada's history. Outdoor buildings were well-maintained, and the indoor exhibits were described with the right level of detail. Staff were helpful. The self-guided audio tour in the car was fantastic! Just drive around and tune your radio to the indicated frequency and hear more history.

We actually went with a bus group, so only had two hours there - not enough. We spent about 20 minutes watching the excellent movie and having coffee, then had a guided tour for about 40 minutes. That left half an hour to explore the museum and 20 minutes for a driving tour with the bus. Everything was excellent but we could have spent at least another hour in the museum.The history is fascination, especially the stories and artifacts from those who travelled the world setting up oil fields in places like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Russia, etc. Cost was $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for seniors.

I read about it here on TA first and was very intrigued but it has to be seen and it's well worth the trip. The perseverence and ingenuity of the first oilmen paid off. I am so glad we have this museum (and driving tour) and for such a nominal fee!! It has certainly stimulated my thinking . . . not just about oil, but about where we would be today without it. (The museum elaborates on "by products" that have changed our lives) . . . Also on how the oil industry impacted those early oilmen's lives with many of the artefacts brought home (or sent home) from around the globe (as seen on the lower level of the museum) The driving tour just enhanced the experience of learning and while it might have been easier not to have to navigate different radio frequencies at each stop along the way I sure did not find this problematic. I loved (what I dub the) "Not your Stanley Tool Wall" where clearly you get the sense that only when faced with a new problem, was a new tool created. I also enjoyed the human element being incorporated on the driving tour (see photos) - a steady reminder that villages like Oil Springs and Petrolia became home to many people and contributed to Ontario's history, and changed all of our lives. Our amazing earth! P.S. Being there in "off season" I saw less than ten other people the whole time I was at the museum - and it was $5.00 entry when I was there Fall 2013.

We had no idea what to expect from this museum, but since one of us is a geologist, we had to give it a try. We were both very impressed with the layout, understandable explanations, the intro film and the huge number of artifacts. There was also a lot of care given to setting up stations for children. Although we didn't have children with us, I think it would be a place they would enjoy.

What a great museum - the exhibits, the movie explaining things, the layout of the buildings - all very well done.There is a driving tour that is a unique way to show the history, Finding the locations on the car radio was a bit of a challenge, but once found, was very well done.

Every day millions of barrels of oil are pumped to the earth's surface but this is the place where it all began. The museum itself is rather quaint and does a good job of explaining what happened here along with a subsequent history of its pioneers. But the most important thing is that this is the exact location of the first commercial well anywhere in the world and for anybody interested in the oil industry this place is a must.

This is a museum that is tucked away on a small highway in Ontario. It is of course the actual site of the first oil found in Canada and would not be the same if put in a more travelled venue. The museum inside is facinating and the films are great to give an overview of how oil was discovered but the outside and the road where the oil is still pumping is amazing. If you go you must do the small square of roads where the wells are still going the old fashioned way. It takes you back in time. Fabulous

This is a fascinating place.I first went when we had visitors that included a 12 year old boy, what to do with him? He loved it. Lots of information on the discovery of oil, from scooping up bitumen, to developing pumps, to dragging barrels along Plank Road, called plank road, because it was made of planks. Pumping the excess oil into the rivers, the rivers catching fire. This is real history of S.W. Ontario's oil pioneers, who then went exploring for oil all across the world.Well worth the trip

The Oil Museum of Canada is a little off the beaten track but well worth the trip.I discovered this treasure while doing some research on the Canada Southern Railroad. The original roadbed travels right through the museum site. What a treasure it details the original seach for oil and petroleum by products in Oil Springs where oil was first discovered in Canada.The extensive displays and exhibit areas in the Museum are well signed and explained. An added touch is the museum staff in period costume.Several out buildings and static displays are also well designed and some are just outside the unique fence which during the summer months actually work and power an operational well still producing oil after over 120 years ago.The sourvenier area provides a great selection of books as well as toys and games as well as the usual pins collectable postcards etc..Well worth the time spent,

This one is off the beaten path, but well worth the short trip. I visited on a whim figuring it might be worth an hour's look and left about 3 hours later with a "WOW, that was interesting". This is a museum, but it is also a real, working oil field, with some of the original wells drilled in the mid-1800s still in production. Exhibits really help you understand what it was like in the 1850's when the first North American commercial oil well was dug - dug, not drilled, that came shortly after with the first Canadian "gusher", which today would be termed an unmitigated environmental disaster - the details are all there. Helps you appreciate the human ingenuity and spirit involved as the oil industry developed here and spread across the world. Tons of artifacts, all neatly displayed and explained. For anyone with a technical bent, this is a great find. The folks here are friendly and knowledgeable. Best $5 I've spent on a museum in quite a while. Have a look at http://firstoilwell.com/siteoilsprings/oilmuseum.html .