Paid programs are sponsored by the Friends of the Maritime Museum in Beaufort.
In March 1862, opposing ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia battle to a draw but change naval combat forever. Monitor would eventually sink off the coast of Cape Hatteras during a storm and become the nation’s first marine sanctuary. Join us in the auditorium for...
Ranked amongst the fiercest pirates from the “Golden age of Piracy,” Anne Bonny and Mary Read’s stories are ones that daytime TV series wish they could write. Join Associate Museum Curator Christine Brin for a free, informal lecture that shares their scandalous stories. Due to...
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...
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...
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...
A never-before-seen look at one of the most unique U.S. Coast Guard training exercises at sea, this film gives an unprecedented firsthand experience of life aboard America’s Tall Ship. Christened in the German Navy and seized as a war prize during World War II, Eagle...
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...
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....
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....
Who would ever have known that the sport of surfing has been taking place in North Carolina for more than a hundred years? Join Education Curator Benjamin Wunderly in the museum auditorium for a look at the state’s role in the history of the sport...
Ranked amongst the fiercest pirates from the “Golden age of Piracy,” Anne Bonny and Mary Read have stories that daytime TV series could only aspire to. This presentation by Associate Education Curator Christine Brin may not be appropriate for younger children as topics of adultery...
Also known as Old Cook’s Storm, the Great Beaufort Hurricane of August 1879 wreaked havoc along the coast, devastating the Beaufort waterfront. Join Education Curator Benjamin Wunderly for a program that will reveal some of the accounts of one of the area’s worst storms. The...
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.