Maritime museums on Long Island: Worth a voyage of discovery
![Nomi Dayan, executive director at the Whaling Museum & Education...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AYzNiYzg4ZjMtZGUzYy00%3AZjMtZGUzYy00Y2U2YzUy%2Fimgum6r_web.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Nomi Dayan, executive director at the Whaling Museum & Education Center, left, leads a talk about whaling in Cold Spring Harbor. Credit: Ed Betz
From sunken wrecks to whaling communities, fishing families, rumrunning, tall ships, yacht racing and even the simple boats favored by clammers and oystermen over the decades, Long Island is famously rich when it comes to maritime lore and memorabilia. There are even tales of pirate treasure buried beneath our sands. Captain Kidd is believed to have hidden booty in Oyster Bay, Smithtown and Montauk and on Plum Island — none of which is known to have been recovered.
A TASTE OF SEA
“Long Island’s maritime history certainly is bold and bountiful,” points out Arlene Klein, executive director of the East End Seaport Museum & Maritime Foundation. “But it’s also a dynamic, living history you can see evolving on a daily basis right in the nearest port or harbor.”
Indeed, that may be the case, especially on the East End where oyster farms are springing up faster than vineyards. But across Long Island commercial fishermen still endeavor to fill their nets, recreational anglers cast for fluke, stripers, porgy and the like, while clam diggers and baymen continue to work inshore waters even if their numbers are but a trace of the past. Sea Tow, the nationwide security plan for boaters, even has its national headquarters in Southold, while Stony Brook University has a serious marine program and Cornell University oversees a range of marine-related research on local waters.
While it’s still possible to witness Long Island’s maritime heritage on display in real time, it’s easier to grasp the big picture by soaking up the highly researched information presented at local maritime museums.
SOMETHING FOR EVERY AGE
Jackie Babyak, a 47-year-old teacher from Hauppauge, and her husband Steve are regulars at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum with their son Sam, 6. “We enjoy checking out the whale boat,” she says. “We’ve seen scrimshaw, shark bones and whale oil, enjoyed a pirate festival and played old-time games like jacks, pickup sticks and Jacob’s ladder.”
Hands-on learning for kids is also the primary theme at the Maritime Explorium in Port Jefferson. “We feature a lot of interactive hands-on activities for parents and children, all with a nautical theme, says museum educator Carole VanDuyn. “We recently made model regatta-style sailboats fashioned after Olympic vessels and sailed them in rain gutters.”
DIGGING DEEPER
If a true historical perspective is what you crave, it’s hard to beat The Long Island Maritime Museum in West Sayville. They have five exhibit buildings which include an extensive research library. “Many people come here to research their own books and projects, others simply love to immerse themselves in maritime history,” says executive director Terry Blitman. A new exhibit opening this month, “Mapping Long Island,” is based on the 1883 Beers Atlas maps that were among the first published for travel, vacation and selling real estate on Long Island. At that time, people were still coming out to the South Shore and South Fork by horse and carriage or railroad. “You can see the names of the property owners back then,” notes Blitman. Another exhibit examines the history of oystering on the Great South Bay along with the rise and decline of the clamming industry.
SHORT AND SWEET
Besides the Long Island Maritime Museum, where maritime history buffs could spend days in research, the memorabilia in most other nautical museums can be viewed fully in an hour or two. Most museums also offer seminars and lecture series, kids programs and, in some cases, lighthouse tours, boat cruises and maritime-related events.
“History is always on display at Long Island’s maritime museums,” Klein says. “But our maritime heritage and culture is also still very much alive.”
WHERE TO GO
From full-scale museums to smaller displays in lighthouses and local historical sights, there are many opportunities to enjoy a historic perspective on Long Island’s maritime history. Here’s an introduction to some of the best:
The Long Island Maritime Museum
WHEN | WHERE 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday (opens at noon Sunday), 88 West Ave., West Sayville
INFO 631-447-8679, limaritime.org
ADMISSION $8 ($6 ages 12 and younger)
EXHIBITS “Wrecks, Wretched and Rescuers,” 19th and 20th century racing trophies, sailing vessel replicas, extensive maritime library, photos and memorabilia
EVENTS Sail aboard the 1888 oyster sloop Priscilla (by reservation), annual boat burning (Oct. 28), summer pirate and seafood festivals
The Whaling Museum & Education Center
WHEN | WHERE 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, 301 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor
INFO 631-367-3418, cshwhalingmuseum.org
ADMISSION $6 ($5 ages 4-18) or $20/family
EXHIBITS Interactive “If I Were a Whaler ...,” “Thar She Blows” Long Island whaling history exhibit opening Oct. 2, scrimshaw, whale boat on display (exhibits closed to public during September)
EVENTS Halloween “Booseum” (Oct. 30) Down the Hatch Series: “Kunstler’s Whaling Art” (Nov. 17)
Sag Harbor Whaling Museum
WHEN | WHERE 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May-October, 200 Main St., Sag Harbor
INFO 631-725-0770, sagharborwhalingmuseum.org
ADMISSION $6 ($5 students, $2 younger than 11)
EXHIBITS Largest collection of whaling equipment in the state, “Fifty Small Things” through Oct. 31 with maritime items from 1700-1945
The Maritime Explorium
WHEN | WHERE 1-5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday and by reservation, 101 E Broadway, Port Jefferson
INFO 631- 331-3277, maritimeexplorium.org
ADMISSION $5 (free younger than 1)
EXHIBITS Interactive stations for kids to explore hands-on boat building, sailing, signals
EVENTS “Building With Biology” family workshop Oct. 6, focused on synthetic biology
East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation
WHEN | WHERE 11 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends only through October and May-June (daily except Tuesday July 1-Labor Day) at Third Street, Greenport
INFO 631-477-2100, eastendseaport.org
ADMISSION $2 suggested donation (free younger than 15)
EXHIBITS North Fork-related maritime memorabilia, village blacksmith shop demos weekends June-September
EVENTS Narrated lighthouse cruises, Greenport’s annual East End Maritime Festival Sept. 23-25
American Merchant Marine Museum
WHEN | WHERE By appointment, 300 Steamboat Rd., Kings Point
INFO 516-726-6047, usmma.edu/museum
ADMISSION Free
EXHIBITS World War II marine memorabilia, ship models and historic marine artifacts, tools and artwork related to the United States Merchant Marine Academy
EVENTS Annual National Maritime Day observances in May, group tours by reservation
Long Island Traditions
WHEN | WHERE Beginning Sept. 24, new permanent outdoor exhibition at Sea Breeze Park, Woodcleft Avenue, Freeport
INFO 516-767-8803, longislandtraditions.org
ADMISSION Free
EXHIBITS Photos and memorabilia on the history of Freeport’s Nautical Mile, Prohibition rumrunning and bay houses
EVENTS Narrated bay house tours
East Hampton Town Marine Museum
WHEN | WHERE 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday and by appointment April-Columbus Day at 301 Bluff Rd., Amagansett
INFO 631-324-6850, easthamptonhistory.org
ADMISSION $4 ($2 students)
EXHIBITS Claus Hoie whaling paintings, marine artifacts, photographs, models and displays; focus on commercial fishing and whaling
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