Home » Sea History
Ongoing Exhibits
Tall Ships & Vessels »
What was it like to live in the age of sail? Come aboard some of America's finest tall ships and historic vessels at Mystic Seaport, and find how 19th century sailors worked and slept, ate and drank.
Return to Titanic »
Fascinating exhibit marks Dr. Robert Ballard's historic return to the legendary wreck he discovered in 1985. The story of the discovery of Titanic as it's never been told before.
19th Century Seafaring Village »
This authentic 19th century seafaring village, comprised of more than 30 old New England trade shops and businesses, isn’t a replica - they’re real historic buildings, transported to Mystic Seaport from locations around New England.
Special Exhibits
Exploring Your National Marine Sanctuaries »
Dr. Robert Ballard's personal journey to America's underwater national parks -- many of which are off-limits to divers -- includes visits to historic shipwrecks of the Great Lakes, and to the final resting place of the sunken Civil War Ironclad U.S.S Monitor.
Building America's Canals »
More than 100 years ago, America’s first civil engineers built thousands of miles of canals, starting a maritime transportation revolution. Explore the planning, building and operating of our nation’s canals in this hands-on traveling exhibition. Build your own canal on a tabletop surface, use model cranes to load and unload cargo from canal boats, view photographs of historic canals and experiment with building masonry arches to learn why this 2,000-year-old technology still endures. .
Skills of the Sailor »
Stay warm and dry on a cold winter day inside the Mystic Seaport's new activity center as you learn traditional sailor's skills -- or perfect your existing ones. Try your hand at different traditional skills and arts from scrimshaw, canvas work and sketching to knot work, net making and knitting. Test your mind as you send coded messages with signal flags. Get active and raise a sail or move cargo with a block & tackle. Then relax to a special sea music performance or a story.
DNA, Red Tide and the Sea »
What is DNA? How is it connected to red tide? And why is it important to know? “DNA, Red Tide and the Sea,” an interactive new exhibit at Mystic Aquarium, answers all these questions while giving guests a look at our oceans on a whole new (microscopic) level.
Witness History »
What does it take to restore the last wooden whaleship in the world, theCharles W. Morgan? Come down and watch the ongoing, three-year project in our Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard and find out.
A New Age of Ocean Exploration »
Join Dr. Robert Ballard and the Institute for Exploration team as they begin to explore areas of our ocean planet never seen before. “A New Age of Ocean Exploration” features photographs, maps and information on Okeanos Explorer—the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s new ship of exploration—and other ways scientists are exploring our oceans. Information, images and footage from the ship will be transmitted in real time to Dr. Ballard’s new Inner Space Center, which will distribute the information to the Immersion Theater in Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration’s Challenge of the Deep exhibition.
