You'll soon be able to hold a Sable Island horse skull in your hands

Anyone fascinated with Nova Scotia's Sable Island will soon be able to hold the skull of one of its horses in their hands without leaving the mainland.

The Sable Island Institute, a newly formed group dedicated to providing the public with information about the island, is being allowed to lease the superintendent's lodge at Halifax's Point Pleasant Park for a year.

"We'll use the space to develop presentations, workshops and mobile exhibits," said Zoe Lucas, a member of the institute who has done research on the island for decades. "We'll also host events and shows in the beautiful yard around the building."

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The superintendent's lodge has been leased before, from 2010 to 2013, to artists in residence. The building has limited space inside, so Lucas said only small groups will be able to visit. But she thinks people will be interested in the artifacts that will be made available.

"For instance, some horse skulls and seal skulls," she said. "It will be great for people to sit down at a table with one of our team and turn it over and handle it."

Catering to science and the arts

The Sable Island Institute wants to cover both scientific and cultural aspects of the island, so some workshops will focus on visual arts and writing.

Details of the lease between the municipality and the Sable Island Institute still have to be worked out. But the councillor for Halifax South Downtown, Waye Mason, hopes the group can move into the park building in 2017.