|
|
All exhibits permanent unless otherwise noted.
|
|
|
 |
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!
Click here to visit the What Floats Your Boat? webpage! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OLYMPIA: Launching The American Century
|
|
|
Don’t miss this one! This permanent exhibit, OLYMPIA: Launching the American Century, delves into the complex commentary on social and political matters of the Spanish American War era and presents a reflection of naval life at the turn of the century. Also, discover the many technological advancements that make OLYMPIA an important piece of naval history beyond the well-deserved glory she earned through the victory at Manila Bay. Examine OLYMPIA’s history through newspaper headlines of the times, telegrams, period photographs, letters and journals written by crew members and artifacts that were discovered aboard OLYMPIA, as well as objects on loan!
|
|
Travel through time and history with Independence Seaport Museum's exhibit Home Port Philadelphia, funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities along with audiovisual funding by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Focused solely on Delaware Valley maritime history of the late 19th-century and early 20th century, the museum allows visitors to journey through immigration, commerce, defense, industry and recreation led by the oral histories of the men and women who have lived, worked and played along the regions waterways.
|
|
|
Exciting and challenging hands-on activities have been incorporated into the Museum's premier historical artifacts offering education and fun. Visitors can climb aboard the cold, hard bunks of an immigrant's journey in a ship's steerage compartment, unload cargo from a container ship using a miniature Kocks crane, weld and rivet a ship's hull or just relax and take an imaginary trip down the Delaware River.
|
|
|
Signaled by audiotape boat horns and whistles, visitors chart a course for Penn's Landing. Learn the hazards of navigation as you travel beneath a three-story replica of the Ben Franklin Bridge and make your way along a carpeted Delaware River. View the charts and navigational instruments that helped guide early Delaware River travelers.
|
|
Experience traveling in a steerage compartment first-hand as you climb into the gray bunks that many immigrants called home while they made their way to Philadelphia's Washington Avenue -- the fourth largest immigration port of its time. View photos of first class dining accommodations and try out model steerage dining compartments. Hear the oral histories of actual travelers.
|
|
Philadelphia and the China Trade
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Celebrate Philadelphia’s historical maritime connection with China as Independence Seaport Museum examines Philadelphia’s role in the China Trade that began in Philadelphia in the late 1700s. Discover the remarkable similarities between our own Delaware River and China’s Pearl River and their respective ports, learn what items were traded between the first colonies and China, see the men, both from Philadelphia and China, who ventured into this new territory of trade opportunities, and more!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Use a miniature crane to unload cargo from a container ship and explore commerce and trade from the early 19th-century through the present. A touch-screen computer brings information on trade and waterfront development to your fingertips. Hear merchants’ and longshoremen's stories of how developments in ship technology and cargo handling have changed the nature of dock work and view a high-speed video that tracks shipyard activities from sunrise to sunset in just 3 minutes.
|
|
|
|
Experience the wonders of the ocean's depths in Divers of the Deep! Take an up-close look at undersea technology through the ages, including the pioneering minisubs STAR 1 and GUPPY 1. See the NEWTSUIT—a submarine you can wear! Audiovisual presentations narrate the history of undersea exploration, while a 430-gallon saltwater aquarium highlights the immense variety of undersea life.
|
|
On the Rivers, On the Shores:
Small Craft of the Delaware River Valley
|
|
Further explore the region's marine history and culture through Independence Seaport Museum's newest permanent exhibition, On the Rivers, On the Shores: Small Craft of the Delaware River Valley featuring small craft indigenous to the area. The exhibit which opened on July 6, 1998, includes an 1885 Merryman Lifeboat used by the U.S. Life Saving Service, a single racing shell used for rowing on the Schuylkill River and a rare 1910 Atlantic City Catboat -- one of only 40 manufactured in the world.
|
|
|
|
Volunteer & Internship Opportunities
|
Interested in becoming a volunteer docent (tour guide) or student intern? Email for more information.
|
|
|