Travel Channel Episode Filmed at The Mariners’ Museum is Set to Air

For Immediate Release

Travel Channel Episode Filmed at The Mariners’ Museum is Set to Air

Newport News, Va. - (December 2010)-An episode of The Travel Channel’s “Mysteries at the Museum,” a portion of which was filmed at The Mariners’ Museum, is tentatively set to air Dec. 28 at 9 P.M.

A segment of the episode focuses on the disappearance of the USS Cyclops, a collier built for the Navy prior to WWI. The ship was lost without a trace in 1918, with 306 crew and passengers. It was based in Norfolk, and served the fleet from Newport, R.I., to the Caribbean.

The saga is complicated by several facts: The ship was lost in The Bermuda Triangle; the captain was harsh with his crew (compared to Capt. Bligh in his treatment of them; anecdotes abound), and extremely disliked. There is also speculation about the captain’s pro-German sympathies, and thoughts he may have been conspiring to hand the ship over to Germany. A cryptic telegram from the U.S. consul in Barbados after the disappearance—about an odd encounter with the captain just prior to the disappearance—further confuses matters.

The Mariners’ Museum has artifacts from the USS Cyclops, including a wood machine parts box found under a house in Norfolk, and donated to the Museum in 1941. In August, Travel Channel producers filmed at The Mariners’ Museum for a portion of the Cyclops segment.

Travel Channel representatives said the Dec. 28 date is subject to change, and that viewers should watch The Travel Channel Web site for updated times.

For more information:
Contact: John Warren
(757) 591-7746
E-mail: pr@MarinersMuseum.org 

The Mariners' Museum, an educational, non-profit institution accredited by the American Association of Museums, preserves and interprets maritime history through an international collection of ship models, figureheads, paintings and other maritime artifacts. The museum is open from 10 A.M. until 5 P.M. Wednesday through Saturday, and 12 to 5 P.M. Sunday. It will be closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. For information, visit www.MarinersMuseum.org, call (757) 596-2222 or (800) 581-7245, or write to The Mariners' Museum, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News, VA 23606.

The Mariners' Museum and The South Street Seaport Museum of New York City are partners in America's National Maritime Museum, an innovative alliance recognized by an act of Congress in June 1998 to share collections, exhibitions, educational programs, publications, and other endeavors.