BRANCHES:
PROGRAMS:
SUPPORT:
N.C. Maritime Museum
. . . Field Trips and Programs
Public Programs
Watercraft Center Programs
Annual Events and/or Programs of Special Note:
Cape Lookout Studies Program - bases coastal marine education, conservation, and research activities at the museum's Cape Lookout field station. The field station is not available in 2008 and will be closed until further notice. The Cape Lookout Studies Program staff is also developing the North Carolina Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program to address the problem of marine wildlife entanglement in discarded fishing line. For more information visit. The skeleton and teeth of a 33.5' sperm whale is currently being prepared for display. Read the article. The staff also assists with studies on sea turtle nesting, stranding, and habitat use on the shores and waters around Cape Lookout.
Summer Science School for Children - is designed for students entering grades one through 10. Participants are introduced to the natural environments and the maritime history of coastal North Carolina. Classes are offered weekly from mid-June to early August. Small class sizes of 8 to 12 students, hands-on
activities, and field trips combine to make this program a unique educational experience. Lodging facilities are not available, except as noted for overnight
courses. Contact the museum for a Summer Science School for Children brochure and application, or see the
North Carolina Maritime History Council - identifies and encourages historical and educational projects that promote the enhancement and preservation of the state's maritime history and culture, and that create public awareness of that heritage. Membership is limited to non-profit organizations, institutions, and individuals directly involved in the study and teaching of the state's maritime culture.
The Carolina Maritime Model Society - the first organization of its kind for ship modelers in the state was established by the museum in 1995. The group meets the fourth Saturday each month at 2:00 p.m. at the museum, September through May The group has Saturday meetings monthly at the Museum between September and May (except for a combined November/December meeting). Check museum calendar for exact dates.
Traditional Small Craft Association - this group is dedicated to enjoying small boats on and around the water. The Beaufort chapter of the TSCA (a national organization), is sponsored by the Friends of the North Carolina Maritime Museum. Chapter membership includes a one-year basic membership in the Friends of the Museum. There is an annual gathering for anyone interested in small boats.
Wooden Boat Show - Held the first Saturday in May, the Wooden Boat Show has commemorated working and pleasure craft and traditional boat-related
trades, annually since 1975. Displays, demonstrations, lectures, and boat races are free to the public. Contact the museum for applications to exhibit a boat.
Intern Programs - Paid internships are available for North Carolina college students through the state internship programand individual colleges. Contact the Youth Advocacy Office under the Department of Administration in Raleigh, North Carolina. Students may also contact the museum for more information.
Family Day is held on a winter Saturday. Special activities focusing on a special theme are designed as a fun educational opportunities for children and their families.
Collectors Day is designed to introduce visitors to a wide range of themes and items that captivate individuals and inspire them to begin collecting anything from shells, buttons, or fossils to Beatles paraphernalia or boat miniatures.
Discovery Time is held on Thursday afternoons from June through July. Theme-based activities and games are presented for children.
Calendars listing the museum's programs and field trips are published four times a year. Contact the museum at (252) 728-7317 between 8AM and 4PM weekdays for information or reservations. Reservations must be made by phone or in person, due to limits on group sizes.
Note: Reservations cannot be made through e-mail. If inquiring by e-mail, please include your mailing address and phone number.
The North Carolina Maritime Museum conducts more than 300 public programs each year. Staff-led field trips to coastal habitats include barrier island
beaches and maritime forests, salt marshes, tidal flats, and pocosins. Marine life collecting cruises, fossil hunting, canoe trips, and coastal bird and plant trips are included among the many opportunities to explore coastal environments. Guest lectures, workshops, programs, and field trips are designed for the entire family, for adults, or specifically for children. All are listed in the museum's Calendar of Events.
The museum's Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center is open seven days a week (closed for some holidays - call ahead) for viewing the small craft collection, the construction of wooden boats,
and ship model building. The Watercraft Center programs offer a multiplicity of classes in boatbuilding skills, for novices and experienced woodworkers alike.
Ship model building classes are provided for students aged 10 to 16. Classes are explained in detail in the Watercraft Center Classes brochure, (available online, or contact us for a copy).
Educational Services
Educational services are offered to school, civic, and special needs groups. They include tours (self-guided and guided), hands-on live animal programs,
audio-visual programs, and field trips. Prior to your visit to the museum, you can print out the tour aids, Sea Hunt, a scavenger hunt-type iconic map that will lead students to all exhibit areas of the building, and Museum Treasure Hunt, a teacher-led tour sheet with questions about specific exhibits. Curators give lectures, consult with, and participate in programs offered by the community and schools. See the Educational Services Guide.
The Cape Lookout Studies Program Staff also conducts long-term bottlenose dolphin photo-identification research. Identification of individual dolphins is accomplished by photographing the dolphins' dorsal fins and using acquired scars and notches to identify indivual dolphins to study associations, recidency, migrations, and reproduction. If you would like to try your hand at photo-identification, click on The Fin Matching Game.
Summer Science School for Children online brochure.
Junior Sailing Program - is a basic through advanced sailing program open to youths aged 8 through 15. Two-week courses are held from mid-June through mid-August. The program uses the fun of sailing and the competition of racing to teach sailing, seamanship, and navigational skills. The course directors/instructors are certified by the U.S. Sailing Association as Level 1 Dinghy instructors and are certified in American Red Cross First Aid and CPR. Lodging facilities are not available. Contact the museum for a Jr. Sailing brochure and application, or see the Junior Sailing Program online brochure and application.
There is also a growing variety of other sailing programs and sailboat rentals.
