From interactive PECO Family Saturday* programs for the entire family to engaging activities for adults, Independence Seaport Museum offers a unique schedule of special events guaranteed to bring our region’s maritime history to life.

Find out what's also happening on Penn's Landing or the Camden Waterfront!

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These programs are made possible in part by a Cultural Economic Development Grant. These grants are funded by the Delaware River Port Authority, with administrative support provided by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. For additional information about these grants, visit the Cultural Alliance online.

Due to a restoration project, the Museum's ships, Cruiser Olympia and Submarine Becuna, will be closed to the public August 15, 2005 through September 30, 2005. Click here to learn more about the project.

Events Calendar (updated 9/16/05)

First Saturday of
each month

12pm - 1pm

 Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Cruiser Olympia
No Tour on Saturday, September 2
What powered Dewey's flagship during her victory at Manila Bay? Take a behind-the-scenes tour of 1892 Cruiser Olympia and see her triple expansion steam engines, declared a "National Engineering Landmark." After you check out her engines and boilers, visit her working ash hoist and engine, and learn how coal and ash were used on board the ship. Must be 12 or older to go on the tour. Please wear comfortable walking shoes; climbing steep steps is involved. Reservations suggested, call 215.413.8658. Free with admission or Membership.

Notice: For safety reasons, Independence Seaport Museum reserves the right to close the ships during severe weather. Museum's ships are not handicapped accessible.
Thursday, June 16 through Friday, September 30, 2005
 Closing September 30th!
Fishing on the Grand Banks:  The Marine Art of Thomas Hoyne

The terrors and hardships of fishing in the North Atlantic will be conveyed in a first-ever retrospective of paintings by marine realist Thomas Hoyne at Independence Seaport Museum. The exhibit features 48 paintings, almost half of Hoyne’s work, on loan from maritime museums and private collectors. The paintings are augmented with memorabilia from Hoyne’s studio, and related artifacts, such as ship models.

Tuesday,
September 20

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

 Docent Training Open House
Help us share the rich history of Olympia and Becuna with visitors--become a docent at the Seaport Museum! Join us for the evening to learn about becoming a docent. Talk with Education Department staff and current volunteers to get the scoop on volunteering at the Seaport. For details, call our Ships' Programs Coordinator at 215.413.8658.

Wednesday, September 28

6:00 p.m. Reception

7:00 p.m. Screening

 Film Screening:
Hunt for the USS Alligator: The Navy's First Sub
Sponsored by:
During the Civil War, President Lincoln commissioned the first U.S. Naval submarine, USS Alligator. While being towed to Charleston, fierce storms cut the Alligator loose near Cape Hatteras. Its existence was unknown for 140 years. The baffling story resurfaced in 2003 with the discovery of the sub's blueprints in France. How might its survival changed the Civil War? Where does the wreck rest? Learn about its creation, expeditions and ultimate demise. Solve the mysteries of the USS Alligator at this special screening, sponsored by The Science Channel, Comcast and the Seaport Museum. Afterwards, participate in a question-and-answer session with researchers involved with the search and the producer of the film. Reservations required, call 215.413.8621. FREE for members; $10 for non-members.

Click here for a printable PDF flyer. You need Adobe Acrobat in order to download the file.

Saturday,
October 1

12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

 Submarine Saturday

A PECO Family Saturday at the Seaport Program
Celebrate the re-opening of submarine Becuna with our veterans! Talk with "silent service" veterans who lived and worked aboard U.S. submarines, and learn what life was really like on one of these amazing boats. Tour the conning tower, sonar room, and engine rooms with the men who worked there. Make your own model submarine to take home. Free with admission or Membership.

Saturday,
October 22

12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

 Submarine Salute Saturday
A Center City Arts and Culture Week Event
Watch your head as you dive into history and go below deck of World War II submarine Becuna, commissioned in 1944 to serve as submarine flagship of the Southwest Pacific Fleet. Enjoy behind-the-scenes tours, meet submarine veterans, and learn what life was like aboard this underwater vessel. Kids can make a model submarine to take home! FREE with admission or membership. Discounted admission for Center City Arts and Culture Week: $4.50 for adults, $3 for children.

Saturday,
October 29

7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

 Spooky Old Ship for Kids

A PECO Family Saturday at the Seaport Program
Come aboard cruiser Olympia for a night of fun and frights! Enjoy Halloween treats, hear spooky stories of sea monsters and ghosts, and explore Olympia’s haunted past. Make a scary mask to take home. Reservations required, call 215.413.8616. FREE for members; $9 for non-member adults, and $6 for non-member children. Each child dressed in a costume receives $1 off admission.

Saturday,
December 3

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

 Folk Art Badge
Girl Scout Program for Juniors
Explore the folk arts of the sea by learning about the crafts sailors made to keep busy while they were away at sea. Listen to old sea shanties and find out how stories have been passed down for generations. Learn how old photographs can tell stories too. Then make your own sailor craft to take home. Pre-registration required, call 215.413.8630. Cost: $8 per child, adults FREE. Fee includes admission, program, and badge.

Saturday,
December 10 2005 through Tuesday, September 5, 2006
 Boatloads of Ben: Franklin’s “Strong Inclination For The Sea”
Franklin's Philadelphia was one of the world's busiest ports, a crossroads for ships from Europe, South America, and Africa. He charted the Gulf Stream, studied sail design, and organized America's first navy. Help celebrate Ben’s Tercentenary while discovering how Franklin applied his genius to the nautical puzzles of the day at this fun and informative exhibit. Free with admission or Membership.

The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary is an alliance created in 2000 by five Philadelphia institutions: the American Philosophical Society, The Franklin Institute Science Museum, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the University of Pennsylvania. Its purpose is to celebrate the 300-year anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth (1706-2006), and its projects have been endorsed as the official national celebration by the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Commission, a federal advisory body.

Saturday,
December 10
12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
 Ben Franklin's Guide to Ocean Travel

A PECO Family Saturday at the Seaport Program
Would you be prepared for a long voyage at sea? Franklin made four round-trip sails across the Atlantic Ocean. Learn from his experiences in ocean travel. Find out what to pack, how to spend your time, and what to eat. See what types of foods are best served aboard ships, and plan your own menu. Franklin recommended playing draughts (checkers) to pass the time while at sea–play a game and then make your own board to take home! Free with admission or Membership.

Sunday,
December 11

2:30 p.m.

 Lecture:
An Afternoon With Franklin Biographer, H.W. Brands
H.W. Brands, author of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize finalist The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, will talk about Franklin's relationship with the maritime world. A transatlantic commuter by the standards of his day, Benjamin Franklin lost no opportunity to examine the ocean and seek to unravel its mysteries. He measured and mapped the Gulf Stream, confirming and recording scientifically what sailors had experienced empirically and related anecdotally for decades. He sampled marine life, conjecturing upon its origins and development. He developed theories of storms that anticipated modern meteorology. Not least, he invented windsurfing. The presentation will include a question and answer session. A reception will follow the event. Reservations required, call 215.413.8630. FREE for members, $10 for non-members.

January, February, March
 Seaport Slumber
Overnight Program
Pack your sleeping bag and join us for an overnight adventure that's boatloads of fun for groups and families! Visitors ages 6 to 12 spend the evening doing fun activities such as going on a scavenger hunt, learning how to survive underwater, and playing a game about ocean life. After sleeping in the Museum's exhibits, wake up and tour cruiser Olympia and submarine Becuna in the morning. For more information or to make a reservation, call Jackie Stewart at 215.413.8658. Cost.

Saturday,
February 4

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

 Water Everywhere
Girl Scout Program for Brownies
What is a great way to use water? Try boats! Discover how boats work on the river by climbing into real boats and designing and constructing your own model boat to take home! $8 per child, adults FREE. Fee includes admission, program, and badge. To register or for more information, call 215.413.8630.

Ongoing

What Floats Your Boat?
Exhibit Funded by the National Science Foundation
Explore the science, history and art of boats and boat building in our new interactive exhibit! Step inside a fantasy backyard garage and experiment with water, wind and boat shapes. Remember all that talk about displacement, gravity, buoyancy and that guy, Bernoulli, and his principles? Rediscover it here as this family-friendly exhibit encourages visitors to not only consider the scientific aspect of boats, but to also appreciate their historic and artistic facets, from design to construction to actual sailing. Climb into a boat that sits on a waterbed, put weights in different places on a model boat to study its center of gravity, or pull different shapes through a ten-foot tank of water to examine how drag affects speed. Take on the role of boat builder in our wodden boat workshop and assemble a four-foot wooden boat puzzle. And further on, the curious can walk or crawl through a full size replica of a 22-foot 19th century Delaware River Shad Skiff. What Floats Your Boat? is a must-do experience for all!

Ongoing

Olympia:  Launching the American Century
Don't miss this fascinating permanent exhibit which explores Olympia's spectacular history, the men who served aboard her and the social circumstances of life during the era of the Spanish-American War.  A chance to view artifacts discovered aboard Olympia that have never been on display! 


Independence Seaport Museum’s PECO Family Saturday at the Seaport program offers interactive, educational activities once a month. All PECO Family Saturday at the Seaport events are free with Museum Admission or Membership.

For a complete monthly listing of all activities at Independence Seaport Museum or to RSVP, call the 24-hour Programming Hotline at 215.413.8621.