The Mariners' Museum

About

The Mariners' Museum and Park connects people to the world's waters because through the water – through our shared maritime heritage - we are connected to one another.

Story

Featuring world-class exhibitions, the USS Monitor Center, the extensive Mariners' Library, the Charlotte's Cafe and a 550-acre Park... you can spend the entire day with us!

The Mariners’ Museum, located in Newport News, VA is one of the largest and most prestigious maritime museums in the world and has been designated by Congress as America’s National Maritime Museum. The collection of over 35,000 artifacts include miniature ship models, scrimshaw, maritime paintings, decorative arts, carved figureheads, working steam engines and much more.

The Museum is situated on within a 550-acre park that is the nation’s largest privately-owned and maintained park that is free and open to the public. The park includes the 160-acre lake Maury, the 5-mile Noland Trail and the iconic Lion’s Bridge that overlooks the tranquil James River.

The Museum also includes the USS Monitor Center, home to the Civil War ironclad’s iconic gun turret. The USS Monitor Center features many artifacts from the famous ironclad are on exhibit and the incredible story of her creation, battle, sinking and recovery are told in vivid detail.

The Mariners’ Museum Library at the Paul and Rosemary Trible Library at Christopher Newport University houses the largest maritime collection in the western hemisphere, with 78,000 volumes, one million manuscript items, 600,000 photographs, and several thousand maps, charts, and ships’ plans. Its collection is international in scope and spans six centuries with several titles dating back to the 1500s. Used extensively by international scholars and researchers, as well as interested individuals, it is one of the most comprehensive maritime research collections in the world.