Fodor's Expert Review Turks and Caicos National Museum

In one of the island's oldest stone buildings, the National Museum houses several interactive exhibits, as well as a super little gift shop with books and local handicrafts. The complete collection of preserved artifacts raised from the noteworthy Molasses Reef Wreck is here. Dating back to the early 1500s, it is the earliest European shipwreck yet excavated in the New World. There is also a natural-history exhibit including artifacts left by the Taíno (or Lucayans), the earliest migrants to settle in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The museum also has a 3-D coral reef exhibit that compliments its presentation on the history of diving. Another gallery is dedicated to Grand Turk's involvement in the Space Race. John Glenn made landfall here after being the first American to orbit Earth. A fascinating display is a collection of “messages in a bottle” that have washed ashore from all over the world. This is the perfect spot to start your walking tour of the historical waterfront.