315 Front Street, Beaufort, NC 28516

Open Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. • Sun. 12-5 p.m.

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MARITIME HERITAGE SERIES: The Oyster Patrol: Early Enforcement of North Carolina’s Oyster Laws

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

In 1891, North Carolina created the Shell Fish Commission with the purpose of promoting and protecting North Carolina's most valuable fishery: oysters. To enforce the state's oyster laws, North Carolina leased several vessels to patrol the sounds until it purchased Lily, the state's first official...

Free

Maritime Heritage Series: Getting to Know Beaufort’s Dolphins

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

Museum Natural Science Curator Keith Rittmaster will discuss the biology and behavior of the bottlenose dolphins that frequent the waters around Beaufort. He will also cover the conservation issues that affect these marine mammals.  Bottlenose dolphins occur in Beaufort year-round, but they are not the...

Free

whale skeleton suspended over display cases

Maritime Heritage Series: Whale Skeleton Procurement in North Carolina, circa 1900

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

Join Education Curator Benjamin Wunderly in the museum auditorium as he reveals the final resting place for the skeletal remains of several whales that were hunted from the shores of North Carolina. The informal lecture also covers some of the historic shore based whaling practices...

Free

Re-evaluating the Origins of the North Carolina Menhaden Industry

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

The menhaden industry of North Carolina, which began in 1865 and ended in 2005, is one of the State’s most thoroughly documented fisheries. Unfortunately, the industry’s origins have never been thoroughly explored. Due to a reliance on two primary sources, scholars have assumed that there...

Free
light ship anchored offshore with sign reading Cape Lookout Shoals off its starboard side

Maritime Heritage Series: ‘Lightships to Light Towers: The North Carolina Capes’

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

Shortly after the construction of several coastal lighthouses in North Carolina it was apparent that some locations would require additional warning lights. The dangerous shoals of Diamond, Lookout and Frying Pan proved difficult to navigate for many seafaring captains. Join Education Curator Benjamin Wunderly to...

Free

woman in lab coat pulling encrusted typewriter out of plastic bin

Maritime Heritage Series: ‘Crusty Clusters, Hidden Treasure: Concretions in Archaeological Conservation’

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

Is it a seahorse? A plumbing fixture? What about a really big nail? Sometimes artifacts that are buried in the ocean form special crusts called “concretion” that change their appearance and hide their identity. Join Museum Conservator Michelle Crepeau in the museum auditorium to learn...

Free

Shrimping in North Carolina

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

North Carolina’s shrimp industry slowly emerged in the Lower Cape Fear region during the 19th century. However, it did not take-off until the years leading up to World War I when Scandinavian immigrants introduced the otter trawl to Brunswick County. Following the introduction of the...

Free
vintage drawing of a steamship exploding

Maritime Heritage Series: ‘Explosion on the Steamship Pulaski, 1838’

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

One of North Carolina’s most tragic maritime accidents, the steamer Pulaski sank about 30 miles off the coast in June of 1838 when a steam boiler exploded. Two thirds of passengers onboard were lost. Education Curator Benjamin Wunderly will discuss the days leading up to...

Free

Maritime Heritage Series: ‘North Carolina Marine Mammal Stranding Network’

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

Join Vicky Thayer, coordinator of the North Carolina Inland and Central Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network, in the museum auditorium to learn what the stranding network does when responding to whales, dolphins, porpoises, and seals that come ashore along North Carolina’s ocean and estuarine shorelines....

Free

Maritime Heritage Series: ‘The Sunshiners in Carteret County’

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

At the turn of the 20th century, North Carolina historian and journalist Fredrick A. Olds established Sunshine Clubs to entertain and educate children. During the summers, Olds took underprivileged youth from the Raleigh Sunshine Club to Carteret County to experience and learn about the seacoast....

Free

The Early History of North Carolina’s Recreational Fishery

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

Today we might imagine saltwater sport fishing in North Carolina as one where sport fishers pursue large sailfish and marlin offshore aboard fiberglass sport fishing boats. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, recreational fishermen could only dream of catching such fish. Instead, recreational fishermen...

Free

Maritime Heritage Series: ‘A General History of Mermaids’

North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC
Hybrid Hybrid Event

The legend of the mermaid, or half-human/half-fish creature, appears around the world throughout time. Join Associate Education Curator Christine Brin in the museum auditorium for a presentation that will look at some of the better-known legends of mermaids and their interesting evolution from grotesque sea...

Free

Registration and Refund Policy:

Registration costs, less a 10% fee, are refunded when the museum receives cancellation notice at least 48 hours before the start of a program. There is no refund within 48 hours of the start of a program, and tickets cannot be transferred to a later program date within that 48 hour timeframe. Due to material costs and supply, Harvey W. Smith Watercraft Center Courses require a 2-week notification for cancellations; only the course fee is refunded if cancellation occurs prior to 2 weeks. The Museum reserves the right to cancel any program that does not meet the minimum participant requirement up to one week before the program is scheduled. In the event of cancellation due to low enrollment, participants who have submitted a fee will receive a full refund. If a program is canceled due to inclement weather and unable to be rescheduled for another date, the participants will receive a full refund.