General Education Overview

The North Carolina Maritime Museum is proud to offer programs for families, schools and community groups. These programs are designed to provide visitors with a memorable and meaningful experience in North Carolina Maritime culture, history and environment.

When visiting the Museum please keep in mind that you are never more than a week away from a Museum program, class or special event. Listed below are only a select few of the programs and classes we offer. Please take a moment to review our current calendar of events for a complete listing of all the classes and programs that are currently being offered.

New!Internship Opportunities: Click here to learn more.

Brown Bag Gams/Discovery Time Programs: Pack a snack and meet at the Museum during your lunch hour for informal presentations on topics of maritime history, culture and the natural environment. Free. Topics and dates are posted on website calendar.

Build a Boat in a Day: Each team uses the stitch-and-glue technique to assemble a kit for a small flat-bottomed plywood boat suitable for rowing or paddling. Teams are limited to four persons. Minimum age for this class is only 8 years. Please see the Museum calendar of events for dates and details.

Merry Time for Tots: Preschoolers (ages 2-5) and their caregivers take a unique look at nautical topics & Museum artifacts. Topics include “Fish & Fishing”, “Boats & Boating” and “Pirates.” See the Museum calendar for dates and details.

Murder Mystery Dinner: End your day with a “BANG” at our annual murder mystery dinner. It is up to the dinner guest so to solve the murder mystery before it is too late. Please visit our Museum calendar for dates, prices and this year’s theme.

Museum Scavenger Hunts: Self-guided scavenger hunts are available for children of all ages free of charge at the front desk. This is a fun way to tour the Museum as a family or group and learn about North Carolina’s maritime culture, history and environment.

National Estuaries Day: The last Saturday of September is dedicated to educating the public about estuaries and ways to preserve these vital marine ecosystems with the North Carolina Coastal Reserve. Stop by the education tent or take a field trip to the Rachel Carson Reserve for a marine debris clean-up. Please visit our Museum calendar for dates and details.

Traditional Boatbuilding Carpentry: Learn traditional boatbuilding techniques in this hands-on workshop. As a team, participants will construct a traditional “rack of eye” flat-bottomed skiff.