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. In this lecture, museum conservator Michelle Crepeau discusses what a concretion...
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...
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....
The oceans truly connect us all, from pole to pole and around the equator. The legend of the mermaid is a great representation of that connection, one that binds seafarers the world over. A half-human, half-fish creature has appeared in many cultures throughout time and...
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 program...
When nature calls, you must go! But where do you go while at sea? You may be surprised by the historical practices of something so basic as using the bathroom when it comes to being on board a ship many years ago. Join Associate Curator...
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....
Lead is a soft and malleable metal that has been used for thousands of years as a writing surface for stamps, seals, and inscriptions, as well as an unintentional repository for tool marks and other signs of human workmanship. Like any other metal, lead can...