Learn more about the rare, the ridiculously cool, and the incredibly inspiring objects in our Collections. As stewards of these precious items, we love sharing their unique stories with you, and our community of mariners around the globe.
Collections Stories
Videos
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Inspired by Nature: The Sculpture of Anna Hyatt Huntington
Join Curatorial Assistant Cindi Verser as she talks about the life and art of Anna Hyatt Huntington. Anna's work was inspired by her love of nature and animals and some of her art can be seen here at The Mariners' Museum and Park.
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2023 Battle of Hampton Roads Commemoration
On Saturday, March 11, we hosted our annual Battle of Hampton Roads Commemoration and our community showed up!! Our galleries were buzzing with excitement and curiosity, and we couldn't be more grateful for this time spent with YOU - our Mariners' family.
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Matthew Henson: The first African American to reach the North Pole
This video shares the incredible story in Henson's own words from his 1912 autobiography "A Negro Explorer at the North Pole". The journey to learn more about his significant feat all started when one of our curators, Erika Cosme, decided to read more about Henson's impact on Black history...
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Aluminum Kayak built to escape Cuba
To escape the totalitarian regime in Cuba, an auto mechanic and his wife secretly assembled a boat from hoarded pieces of aluminum and a lawn mower engine.
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SS Savannah
This hybrid American ship was the first steamship to cross the Atlantic! Watch the video to learn more about this impressive ship's story.
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Ortelius Atlas
The illustrations in this atlas include many interesting and colorful subjects like mermaids, shipwrecks, sea monsters, and polar bears!
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Fore-edge painted books
These magical books are known as Fore-edge painted books, they are very rare and are painted through a specific, delicate process. The fore-edge paintings are sometimes added later than the publishing of the book, so the exact date of them is unknown.
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Chinese Silk Tapestry
Our Conservation and Collections teams pulled this amazing Chinese silk tapestry out of storage to photograph it and learn more about its unique story. They discovered something really cool along the way... and, we can't wait to uncover more.
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Remembering RMS Titanic
This life vest is believed to have been recovered from the body of one of the 1,500 passengers who perished on that icy night. This solemn piece reminds us of the panic, heartbreak, and pain so many had to endure that evening and beyond.