Cayman Islands National Museum, National heritage museum in George Town, Cayman Islands
The National Museum occupies the oldest public building in the territory and features two permanent galleries covering history and nature. These are supplemented by three rotating exhibitions that regularly present new topics and collections.
The building is the oldest on Grand Cayman, dating from the 1830s. After a new courthouse was built in the 1970s, it housed the Lands and Survey Department until its purchase in 1986. The museum opened there in 1990, and a commemorative coin marked its 25th anniversary in 2015.
The museum's name and purpose tie directly to Caymanian heritage, and its collection grew from Ira Thompson's hobby of gathering local artifacts in the 1930s. Among the more than 8,000 items are coins and a 14-foot catboat, the traditional Caymanian sailing craft. A commemorative coin was minted in 2015 for the museum's 25th anniversary.
The museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM and Saturdays from 10 AM to 2 PM. It is located in central George Town and easy to reach on foot.
The museum holds more than 8,000 items, from coins to a 14-foot catboat. Its natural history exhibit centres on a three-dimensional map of the underwater geological formations surrounding the islands. A commemorative coin was minted in 2015 for the museum's 25th anniversary.
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