11 Cool Things to Do at Mystic Seaport Museum

I have visited the Mystic Seaport Museum, the nation’s leading and largest maritime museum, a number of times over my years in Connecticut, and each time I’m surprised once again at its beauty and all that it has to offer.

A quick look at their website or a Google search about the museum will turn up the basic information about it, but I thought it would be fun to share some random things to do at Mystic Seaport Museum that will encourage you to revisit as an adult, or just might inspire you to visit for the first time.

1. Viking Days

What could be more exciting than Vikings? For two days in June the museums transformed into a celebration of Viking culture, complete with a Viking market, musical performances, Scandinavian food, and so much more.

The highlight (at least in my mind) is the opportunity to board an actual Viking ship, the Draken Harald Hårfagre. She was reconstructed based on historical documents and is the world’s largest Viking ship sailing in modern times. Did I mention she is a “she”? I love that.

Viking Days is just one of a number of special events that occur throughout the year during the museum’s regular operating schedule. From classic boat shows to musical performances to clam chowder days there is an event that will make your experience of Mystic Seaport Museum even more memorable.

2. The Steamship Sabino

The steamship Sabino is the oldest wooden, coal-fired steamboat in operation in the United States. The OLDEST. Constructed in 1908 in Maine, she had a long career ferrying passengers before being purchased by a family in Newburyport, MA who restored her.

She made her way to Mystic in 1974 and has been transporting guests up and down the Mystic River ever since, only stopping for needed restoration. She was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1992.

Cruising on the Sabino is just one of many ways you can get out on the water at the Seaport. Rent a rowboat, take a launch tour, sail on the Breck Marshall, and more.

3. View the Restoration of the Mayflower II

Mayflower II is owned by Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA and is nearing the completion of a multi-year restoration at the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard at the museum.

The restoration of the ship will ready it for the 400th anniversary in 2020 of the Pilgrims’ arrival in 1620. It has been onsite at Mystic Seaport Museum since December 2014 and visitors can witness skilled craftsmen practice the art of wooden shipbuilding.

It is fascinating to roam through the working shipyard and see all of the various bits and pieces of boats stacked here and there as well as the various works-in-progress.

4. Learn to Blacksmith

Visitors can register for a class to learn blacksmithing from the resident experts at the historic James D. Driggs Shipsmith Shop. Whether a beginner or a more advanced learner, you will have the opportunity to learn and develop new skills from tending the fire to bending metal. How cool is that?

The museum offers a rotating schedule of classes throughout the year for things such as open-hearth cooking and boat building as well! Be sure to plan ahead.

5. Listen to the Chanteymen

Sailors and seamen have their own form of song, called the chantey, which traditionally has an alternating solo part and a chorus part. Sailors would originally sing them as they performed physical labor on their ship. Mystic Seaport Museum has its own group of chanteymen who perform daily at different times throughout the museum grounds.

The museum also hosts a Sea Music Festival on an annual basis which is a celebration of this unique type of music. From concerts to demonstrations to singing lessons, the festival will allow you to completely immerse yourself. There is something very moving and soulful about it!

6. Fascinating Figureheads

At once mysterious and a bit romantic, a figurehead carved from wood by skilled craftsmen would be incorporated into the ship’s bow in decades past. Its design would typically be related somehow to the name or role of the ship, and could range from an ethereal woman all in white to a patriotic eagle.

While the use of figureheads has fallen out of fashion (why must good things come to an end?), Mystic Seaport Museum has an extensive collection of them on permanent display. Quite possibly my favorite indoor exhibit at the museum, the figureheads range from quite small to larger than life.

To see how ship carving was done, visit the Ship Carver’s shop in the village. See tradesmen actively carving signs, nameboards, and maybe even a figurehead in the shop. Ship carving is just one of many trade demonstrations that visitors can watch on a daily basis.

7. Board the Charles W. Morgan

Many visitors come specifically to see the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaling ship from an American fleet of over 2,700. The LAST. Incredible and frightening at the same time. Board the ship and walk its decks thinking of those that came before, and pray that she continues to be cared for as she has been thus far.

Built and launched in 1841, the Morgan usually had a crew of about 35 from around the world. She embarked on at least 37 voyages, some lasting as long as three years, searching for whales across the globe. Guests can view the captain’s and sailor’s quarters, as well as the parts of the ship used for processing whale blubber.

8. Ties to Moby Dick

Mystic Seaport Museum has extensive collections with items numbering into the millions if you include their collection of photographs. One of many pieces is a pine box, painted to simulate mahogany, that was used to hold documents for the ship Acushnet. It would have been held in an agents office in the event anything ever happened to the ship.

The Acushnet was a whaling ship with a famous crewman: Herman Melville. At the age of 21, Melville sailed on her maiden voyage from New Bedford, MA, around Cape Horn, and across the Pacific to the whaling grounds. On board for 18 months, the voyage served as inspiration for his novel Moby Dick written years later.

Look for the box at the bank in the Seaport Village!

9. Read the Stars

Before fancy nautical instruments became available, sailors would navigate the waters by the stars. Get a lesson in “celestial navigation” at the planetarium on the grounds of Mystic Seaport Museum using the stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies that are visible by season.

About 1,200 stars can be shown in the 30-foot diameter dome which was designed specifically for the museum in 1960. What have you got to lose (except your way)?

10. Get a Taste of Nantucket

A replica of Brant Point lighthouse is on the grounds of the Mystic Seaport Museum. Constructed in 1966, it contains a multi-media exhibit about lighthouses, structures that never fail to capture our imaginations.

When the Brant Point lighthouse was built it was the second operative lighthouse in New England so its selection as the model for the lighthouse at the museum makes perfect sense!

11. Learn to Sail

Perhaps the ultimate experience to be had at Mystic Seaport Museum is a lesson in sailing. If you are a local, check out their adult, youth, and family sailing lessons. The museum is an accredited U.S. Sailing Center and classes are taught by certified instructors.

Visitors traveling from a distance can take a private sailing lesson up to two hours long. Just be sure to plan in advance! Imagine spending part of your time on the beautiful Mystic River, getting a birdseye view of the museum from the water.

For any museum or historic site that you visit, make an effort to go beyond the surface level of what is being offered. What special experiences can you participate in? We all enjoy and learn best when we can become actively engaged, or at least I think so.

So many of us have unpleasant memories of going to museums with our parents, or on field trips with school, which may keep us away as adults. If the activities available at Mystic Seaport Museum are any indication, it is time to go back! I hope this article has inspired you to visit and create new memories.

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