The Mariners' Museum

Cost, which includes
lunch, is $15 for non-members;
$12 for Museum
Members. Advanced
registration is required. To register, call 757-591-7748.
Luncheon
Lecture Series
September 21 •11:30 A.M. •Huntington Room
Cost, which includes lunch, is $15, $12 for Museum
Members. Advanced registration is required. To register,
call (757) 59...1-7748.
Dr. Tom Chaffin Author of The H.L.
Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy
Tom Chaffin is a professor of history
and the director/editor of the James K.
Polk Correspondence Project at the
University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His
books include Sea of Gray (Hill and
Wang, 2006) and Pathfinder. His work
has appeared in The New York Times,
Harper’s Magazine, Time, and other publications.Read More

Dr. William Thiesan
Guardians of the Gulf Coast: Coast Guard
Involvement in Operation Iraqi Freedom
......................................................................
As Atlantic area historian, William Thiesen is responsible
for preserving and promoting the history of the Coast Guard’s
Atlantic Area. He serves as a reso...urce on all Coast Guard
questions related to service history and archaeology as
well as museum, artifact, outreach or exhibit-related issues.
Before serving as Atlantic area historian, Dr. Thiesen taught
college courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels
and served as curator and assistant director for five years
at a large maritime museum in the Midwest. His maritime
history articles and reviews have appeared in maritime
history encyclopedias and maritime journals, and his book
Industrializing American Shipbuilding was published in
April 2006.Read More

Kids ages 9-15 will love this year’s Kayak Kids! Join The Mariners’ Museum and Chesapeake Experience for a week of fun on Lake Maury and the James River. The Kayak Kids day-camp includes daily kayak excursions, crabbing, seining, fishing, species identification, nature walks, scavenger hunts, crafts, games, and more. P...articipants will develop a love for and understanding of their natural surroundings through this exciting educational experience.

Each camp runs from Monday-Friday, 9 A.M.- 4 P.M., and is limited to 14 children per session. A down payment of $100 is due at registration. To register or for more information, please visit Chesapeake Experience. You may also contact The Mariners’ Museum at (757) 591-7743.


Children ages 9-12
Session I: June 8-12 Session II: July 20-24 Cost is $210 per session Children ages 12-15
August 10-14
Cost is $225 per session

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This lecture focuses on the USS Monitor and her crew from March 9 through December 31, 1862. Life was difficult for the crew but through their courage and resourcefulness, they learned how to employ the capabilities of their revolutionary warship. This remarkable story seems overshadowed by other events of the time, bu...t the lessons leaned influenced the employment of 34 Monitor class warships during and after the Civil War.

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What’s summer without a good book? And The Mariners’ Museum is the place to come for summer reading fun. Children ages 3-5 will enjoy an odyssey complete with pirates, mermaids, and other creatures both above and below the sea. Each week we will listen to a story, make a craft, and explore the galleries of the Museum. ...

While our youngest guests are enjoying their time in the Museum, “their” adults are invited to join in some fun of their own as we read and discuss two light-hearted books—perfect for reading on a hot summer day. The first will be Tony Horwitz’s light-hearted look at early exploration of the Americas in A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World. This book has been described by the Chicago Daily Herald as “an eye-opening, action-packed, laugh-out-loud book.”



After exploring the New World, we’ll travel to Malta and join The Pirates! In an Adventure with Napoleon: A Novel. This is the latest in Gideon Defoe’s hilarious Pirate series, which has been compared to the humor of Monty Python. Lunch will be available for purchase during Book Club meetings in the Museum’s Compass Café.

Cost for the six-session children’s story-time is $45 for the first child and $30 for each additional child.

Children must be potty-trained. The adult book discussion is free; however, participants are responsible for purchasing their own books. To register, call The Mariners’ Museum at (757) 591-7743.
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Led by historian A. Wilson Greene, tour wartime Petersburg, the focus of the longest sustained military campaign during the Civil War. Visit the battlefields that determined the city's fate, including the infamous Crater, a section of Petersburg National Battlefield. Enjoy a guided walk on the battlefield at Pamplin Hi...storical Park, tour the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, and see the streets of Historic Petersburg and Blandford Church, known for exquisite Tiffany stained-glass windows. The tour includes a buffet lunch. For more information or to register, download the program flyer.Read More