NC Maritime Museum : BEAUFORT

Blue Compass III
2026-07-13 - 2026-07-17 | North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC, 28516, United States
Blue Compass III is a new Summer Science School class that provides children entering grades 5 and 6 with fun and adventure in their coastal environment. This five-day camp highlights the maritime traditions, natural resources, and rich history of the North Carolina coast. Campers will build a model boat, learn traditional fishing techniques, investigate underwater archaeology, learn how to navigate the seven seas, and tour Bonehenge Whale Center. Each day features interactive projects, outdoor exploration, and fun discoveries about life along the coast. The program runs from 9 a.m.–noon each day.
Summer Science School courses are designed to give children entering grades one to 10 hands-on experiences with North Carolina’s environment, history, and culture. Some courses take place outside the main museum building and may involve travel. Advance registration is required. Register below. Limited scholarships that cover course fees are available; email Education Curator Courtney Felton for scholarship information. For more information, call 252-504-7758.

Coastal Adventures
2026-07-21 - 2026-07-24 | North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC, 28516, United States
Students in grades 7 to 10 will learn in depth the importance of estuaries and coastal processes in this four-day camp offered in partnership with the North Carolina Coastal Reserve Rachel Carson. The camp includes field trips to the Rachel Carson Reserve and Bonehenge Whale Center, as well as plankton observing, squid dissections, bird watching, whale and dolphin study, and much more. The course runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.
The program is part of the museum’s Summer Science School series. Its courses are designed to give children entering grades one to ten hands-on experiences with North Carolina’s environment, history, and culture. Some courses take place outside the main museum building and may involve travel. Advance registration is required. Register online at ncmaritimemuseumbeaufort.com. Limited scholarships that cover course fees are available; email Education Curator Courtney Felton for scholarship information. For more information, call 252-504-7758.

Blue Compass I
2026-07-27 - 2026-07-31 | North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC, 28516, United States
Blue Compass I is a new Summer Science School class that provides children entering grades 1 and 2 with fun and adventure in their coastal environment. The five-day camp highlights the traditions, natural resources, and rich history of the North Carolina coast. Campers will discover how boats float, create fish prints, investigate shipwrecks, dress like pirates, and tour Bonehenge Whale Center to learn about whales. Each day features interactive projects, outdoor exploration, and fun discoveries about life along the coast.
Summer Science School courses are designed to give children entering grades one to 10 hands-on experiences with North Carolina’s environment, history, and culture. Some courses take place outside the main museum building and may involve travel. Advance registration is required. Register below. Limited scholarships that cover course fees are available; email Education Curator Courtney Felton for scholarship information. For more information, call 252-504-7758.

Blue Compass II
2026-08-10 - 2026-08-14 | North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC, 28516, United States
Blue Compass II is a new Summer Science School class that provides children entering grades 3 and 4 with fun and adventure in their coastal environment. The five-day camp highlights the maritime traditions, natural resources, and rich history of the North Carolina coast. Campers will build a stitch and glue model boat, fish from local docks, investigate underwater archaeology, discover a pirate’s treasure, and tour Bonehenge Whale Center. Each day features interactive projects, outdoor exploration, and fun discoveries about life along the coast. The program runs from 9 a.m.–noon each day.
Summer Science School courses are designed to give children entering grades one to 10 hands-on experiences with North Carolina’s environment, history, and culture. Some courses take place outside the main museum building and may involve travel. Advance registration is required. Register below. Limited scholarships that cover course fees are available; email Education Curator Courtney Felton for scholarship information. For more information, call 252-504-7758.

Bonehenge Family Friendly Tour
2026-08-21 14:00 - 14:30, 2026-10-12 14:00 - 14:30, 2026-11-10 14:00 - 14:30 (America/New_York) | North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC, 28516, United States
Children ages 7 to 14 and their companion adults are invited to participate in a new 20 to 30-minute tour of the Bonehenge Whale Center. The free tour is a shortened version of the regular public tour with softer imagery and vocabulary for a younger audience. Along with the opportunity to touch and hold multiple bones, whale oil, and a real whale’s tooth, the tour will include discussions on what whales eat, how they are adapted to deep ocean living, conservation issues regarding whales, and how the public can help.
This tour takes place in an active workshop; therefore, it is not recommended for children under the age of 7. Pre-registration is required by noon the day prior to the program. Register below. For more information, call 252-504-7758.

Bonehenge Public Tours
2026-08-28 10:00, 2026-09-11 10:00, 2026-10-16 10:00 | Bonehenge Whale Center, 275 W Beaufort Rd Ext, Beaufort, 28516
Bonehenge Whale Center is dedicated to research, marine conservation, stranded specimen collection, exhibit preparation and display, educational programming, and publications that focus on NC cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises). It operates as a partnership between the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and the Carolina Cay Maritime Foundation.
As an active workshop, this site is not regularly open to the public. Join the museum’s Natural Science Curator Keith Rittmaster and Associate Education Curator Christine Brin for an hour-long guided tour of the whale center. During this program, participants will see the skeletons of multiple whale species, have unique opportunities to interact with these specimens, and learn about the conservation issues facing cetaceans and what the public can do to help.
Participants must be over 14 years old. Limited spaces are available. Pre-registration required by noon the day prior. Register below or by calling (252) 504-7758.
