Canadian Potato Museum & Antique Farm Machinery Museum — Attraction in Oleary

August 24, 2022 - Want to learn about the POTATO, and its importance in PEI . . . this it the place to satisfy your curiosity & stomach cravings! The Potato Museum is seasonal, opens in the Spring, and closes mid October! Check their website for hours & prices!

Adults $10 Seniors $ 8.85 Student $5 Family $25

This facility contains historic facts on the potato’s origin, and the potato’s introduction to Europe, South & North America, plus machines used to plant & harvest potatoes on PEI !

Then, spend your money at the gift shop, and/or the cafeteria with potato based food items! I enjoy cooking, I had to buy a few bags of PEI potatoes to take home ! Our favorite spot was the cafeteria for a hot “SPUD” loaded with melted cheese & bacon with sour cream ! The “ Fried Chips” were excellent, too!

So back to the museum . . . I enjoy reading history, but younger ones may prefer more “ interactive learning activities “! I’d rate this experience a solid 4.7 . . . if more “interactive learning activities” were incorporated for the children, I’d increase to 5.0 rating!😃👍🏼

The 2nd part of the museum contains loads of vintage machines related to planting & harvesting potatoes. . . Would be nice if the kids could climb on 1 or 2 of the machines for a more personal experience! ( just a suggestion)

Over all, a good museum that provides an in-depth knowledge on the history of the potato! Take time to sample the loaded “ SPUDS “!

Fun SPUD Facts!

*Myth . . . Potatoes can cure rheumatism

*1872 . . . Russet Burbank developed more disease resistant potato ( Russet Potato)

*Archeologists discovered early potato remains in Peru & Chili - 500 BCE

*China largest potato producer in world!

*McDonalds sells most French Fries in world!

*Belgium claims invention of French Fries!

*PEI produces more potatoes per capita than anyplace else in the world!

Charles Dickens mentions “ French fries” in his novel, “Tale of Two Cities” , 1857

*Potato has Vitamins C, B-6, Thiamine, Riboflavin,...

Potato, one of the most common food items. Most of us eat it almost every day in one form or another. But who knew so much goes into growing potatoes and how much the farming industry has changed over the last couple of centuries.

Also, I personally had no idea that potato farming has been and continues to be such a big business in PEI. 1/3 of Canada's potato production comes from PEI.

The displays of historic farming equipment in this museum is amazing. You learn so much about potato by going through the various exhibits. There is also a nice little gift store that has potato-themed gifts.

And let's not forget about the Potato Restaurant. The menu has about two dozen baked potato dishes with various toppings. The funny thing is you get potato chips as the side to your baked potato.

We ordered Chili Potato, which was topped with chili and cheese. Also ordered Potato Skin, which was filled with cheese, bacon, sour cream & salsa.

Both dishes were delicious. The service was friendly...

We did the farm tour that the museum offers. Absolutely fantastic. We met up with Donna at the museum who was super friendly. She had everything ready and organized. She introduced us to our guide/chauffeur Eric. Eric is a retired farmer who drove us out to a potato farm. Interesting guy and very personable. At the farm we met up with the owner Morgan. Heavy rain that day prevented us from going out to the field but we did get to see the climate controlled warehouse. Honestly the best part was just talking with Morgan and Eric. They are passionate about their community and Morgan was very informative about the science of growing potatoes. A bonus of the tour is a trip to West Point lighthouse. There was also the option of a wool producer but we were a bit pressed for time. This was all followed by a tasty potato based lunch back at the museum, time touring the museum and making potato fudge with Donna at the cafe which was a great deal of fun. Highly recommended...