Maine's First Ship Competitors

Mystic Seaport Museum is the nation’s largest maritime museum. Founded in 1929 to gather and preserve the rapidly disappearing artifacts of America’s seafaring past, the Museum has grown to become a national center for research and education with the mission to inspire an enduring connection to the American maritime experience. The Museum’s grounds cover 19 acres on the Mystic River in Mystic, CT and include a recreated 19th century coastal village, a working shipyard, exhibit halls, and state-of-the-art artifact storage facilities. The Museum is home to more than 500 historic watercraft, including four National Historic Landmark vessels, most notably the 1841 whaleship Charles W. Morgan, America’s oldest commercial ship still in existence. With a full-time staff of 150 that swells to 350 during the summer season, the Museum hosts over 250,000 visitors annually. Mystic Seaport employs a diverse staff of scholars, librarians, historic interpreters, educators, scientists, musicians, and skilled artisans. A stroll through the historic village transports visitors back to the mid-1800s where they can experience firsthand from staff historians, storytellers, musicians, and craftspeople just what life was like to earn one's living from the sea. In the Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard, they can watch shipwrights keeping the skills and techniques of traditional shipbuilding alive as they restore and maintain the Museum’s watercraft collection. The Museum’s 41,000 sq. ft. Collections Research Center (CRC) offers access to more than 2 million artifacts and is also home to the G.W. Blunt White Library, a 75,000-volume research library where scholars from around the world come to study America’s maritime history. For more than 80 years, visitors, students, and scholars have turned to Mystic Seaport to preserve and interpret America’s maritime experience. The Museum’s commitment to that mission is as strong as ever.

The Mariners’ Museum and Park connects people to the world’s waters, because through the waters we are connected to one another. Come find your connection today. The Museum is filled with fascinating stories, captured in priceless artifacts that celebrate the spirit of the open sea. Designated by Congress as America’s National Maritime Museum, The Mariners’ Museum is one of the largest and most comprehensive maritime museums in the world. Through the stories told in the Museum’s world-class collection, guests are encouraged to explore their own history and discover their story to see how we are all connected to the water. Discover the USS Monitor Center, home to the Civil War ironclad’s iconic gun turret. Explore small craft from around the world in the International Small Craft Center. Discover the fascinating and intricate miniature ship models of Winnifred & August F. Crabtree. Learn about the Age of Exploration and the history of the U.S. Navy. See Oracle Team USA’s 72-foot catamaran. The Museum is located within the 550-acre Mariners' Park, privately owned and maintained as a community resource, open to the public year at no cost. In Mariners' Park, guests can enjoy seasonal kayak rentals on our 167-acre Mariners' Lake, hike the award-winning five-mile Noland Trail or picnic at Lions Bridge overlooking the tranquil James River. The Mariners’ Museum and Park is located off I-64, exit 258-A in Newport News, Virginia, just 20 minutes from Williamsburg. The Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum admission is only $1 per person. Special event hours may vary; please call (757) 596-2222 or visit MarinersMuseum.org for special event information.

Independence Seaport Museum's mission is to discover Philadelphia's river of history and world of connections. We’re all about water! Dive into "River Alive!", an award-winning exhibition that brings the wildlife, science, and wonder of the Delaware River to life. Climb aboard the oldest floating warship in the world on Cruiser OLYMPIA and submerge yourself aboard the World War II-era Submarine BECUNA. Immerse yourself in special interactive exhibits while visiting one of the largest maritime art and artifact collections in North America. In warmer months, join us for a paddle in our boat basin or use your experience to get out onto the river with a kayak excursion. With so much to explore, Independence Seaport Museum is the premier, family-friendly destination on the Penn’s Landing waterfront. The Seaport Museum was founded in 1960 as the Philadelphia Maritime Museum and has become a key component of Philadelphia's waterfront renaissance. We serve 110,000 visitors annually and are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.