South Street Seaport Museum’s monthly sea-music event Sea Chanteys and Maritime Music – the original NYC chantey sing, now made popular on TikTok – continues virtually on Sunday, August 1, 2021 at 2pm ET. Broadcast live from the deck of Wavertree, this month’s sing-along will include whaling songs and show-related artifacts from the Museum collection in honor of American novelist Herman Melville’s birthday. From our living rooms and kitchens, join a round-robin of shared songs featuring members of The New York Packet and friends. Listen in, lead a song, and belt out the choruses for your neighbors to hear on the first Sunday of every month. The event is FREE. Sign up here to receive the Zoom link 24 hours prior: seaportmuseum.org/chanteysing. 
“Shows the power of TikTok – and now New Yorkers can get in on it! The Museum is really open about this idea that some beloved sea chanteys are racist or sexist. I love that they call it out! There’s also a chat where you can talk about this and talk about the context as the song is happening.” – Jennifer Vanasco, WNYC Radio
After years of meeting in person on the historic tall ship Wavertree, the event moved online in April 2020. Now in its second year of virtual incarnation, South Street Seaport Museum’s Virtual Chantey Sing has evolved into the preeminent virtual chantey sing in the world, featuring professionals and amateurs, old salts and new initiates, from across the street, across the country, and across the pond. South Street Seaport Museum actively recruits and supports new and diverse singers for each sing.

South Street Seaport Museum’s monthly sea-music event Sea Chanteys and Maritime Music – the original NYC chantey sing, now made popular on TikTok – continues virtually on Sunday, August 1, 2021 at 2pm ET. Broadcast live from the deck of Wavertree, this month’s sing-along will include whaling songs and show-related artifacts from the Museum collection in honor of American novelist Herman Melville’s birthday. From our living rooms and kitchens, join a round-robin of shared songs featuring members of The New York Packet and friends. Listen in, lead a song, and belt out the choruses for your neighbors to hear on the first Sunday of every month. The event is FREE. Sign up here to receive the Zoom link 24 hours prior: seaportmuseum.org/chanteysing. 
“Shows the power of TikTok – and now New Yorkers can get in on it! The Museum is really open about this idea that some beloved sea chanteys are racist or sexist. I love that they call it out! There’s also a chat where you can talk about this and talk about the context as the song is happening.” – Jennifer Vanasco, WNYC Radio
After years of meeting in person on the historic tall ship Wavertree, the event moved online in April 2020. Now in its second year of virtual incarnation, South Street Seaport Museum’s Virtual Chantey Sing has evolved into the preeminent virtual chantey sing in the world, featuring professionals and amateurs, old salts and new initiates, from across the street, across the country, and across the pond. South Street Seaport Museum actively recruits and supports new and diverse singers for each sing.

South Street Seaport Museum announces public cruises aboard the 1930 tugboat W.O. Decker every Saturday from July 31, 2021 through August 21, 2021. The ship will run three tours each Saturday, departing at 1:15pm, 2:45pm, and 4:15pm. Tickets to ride are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors/students, and $15 for kids and are available for purchase at seaportmuseum.org/decker.
Take an exciting 75-minute ride on the last surviving New York-built wooden tugboat W.O. Decker, recently named “Tugboat of the Year” by the Steamship Historical Society of America. Cruises will explore the New York Harbor, and views may include the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Battery, and Governors Island, as you set out on an adventure unlike any you’ve had before!
Advance reservations are recommended, and guests must check in 15 minutes before the scheduled tour. In accordance with current Federal and New York State COVID-19 guidance for public transportation, masks are required onboard W.O. Decker at all times. Access to W.O. Decker requires climbing angled gangways and a step over her side from a floating deck. Participants must be age 10 or older.
Seaport Museum Members receive discounted price points on Museum activities such as W.O. Decker rides and Pioneer sails. Memberships start at $50 and help support Museum’s exhibitions, preserve the ships and the collections, grow public programs, and serve over 12,000 students through education initiatives. To join the Museum as a Member, visit seaportmuseum.org/membership.

The largest gathering of wooden boats and enthusiasts in New England will converge at Mystic Seaport Museum for the 29th annual WoodenBoat Show Friday through Sunday, August 20-22.

The WoodenBoat Show, hosted in a partnership with WoodenBoat Publications, offers something for all wooden boat enthusiasts and maritime history buffs. More than 100 traditional and classic wooden boats of every type will be on display, from hand-crafted kayaks to mahogany runabouts, to classic daysailers and schooners.

In addition to taking in the historic vessels and beautiful boats, visitors can find everything they need to outfit their own watercraft and learn new skills at demonstrations and workshops throughout the weekend. A variety of exhibitors will offer items for sale including maritime art, antiques, tools, books, nautical gear, and much more.

Other popular features are the “I Built It Myself” display of home-built boats and a Concours d’Elegance of professionally built and maintained boats on exhibition.

Concurrent with The WoodenBoat Show this year will be the Museum’s Antique Marine Engine Exposition on Saturday and Sunday. One of the largest shows of its type in the country, the exposition features more than 150 engines on display, including inboards, outboards, gasoline, diesel, electric, and naphtha motors. Visitors are invited to see the displayed engines Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Engines will be fired up throughout the day and a selection of operating miniature engines and model boats will be on display as well.

Museum admission provides access to both The WoodenBoat Show and the Antique Marine Engine exhibition. Three-day passes are available.

Please note the Connecticut Summer at the Museum free admission offer for Connecticut children is not valid during the show, August 20-22.

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum will present “Casting a Light into the Deep Sea,” a free zoom webinar with research ecologist Lizzie Duncan exploring what scientists are learning about deep-sea coral and sponge communities off the California coast. This presentation will take place on Thursday, August 19, 2021, at 7 pm and is free thanks to the generosity of Marie L. Morrisroe. Registration is required at: https://sbmm.org/santa-barbara-events/. Donations are welcome.

Ms. Duncan, a research ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary, will lead webinar participants through the deep, dark world of deep-sea coral and sponges through the lens of a West Coast research initiative. The webinar’s featured highlights will include what deep-sea corals and sponges are and why they’re important, the threats they face, and what tools scientists are using to study them. The presentation will also include never-before-shared images and findings from recent expeditions, including the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, whose ultimate goal is to balance sustainable ocean use and ensure conservation of the Channel Islands’ ecosystems for future generations to enjoy.

The American Alliance of Museums is launching an exciting new demographic survey to help museums evaluate the diversity of their staffs and boards of trustees—and we are pleased to be able to offer a select number of spots to your member institutions. We invite CAMM member museums to participate in this important fieldwide effort.

Sample member communications: Is your museum interested in being a part of the American Alliance of Museums’ Facing Change initiative? AAM, in partnership with SMU DataArts, is offering a Museum Staff & Trustee Demographics Study to help museums evaluate the diversity of their staffs & boards of trustees and contribute to furthering DEAI in the field.
 
250 participating museums will receive customized reports evaluating their data and placing their institution within the museum field’s larger context. Museums with at least 10 staff members are invited to express interest in participating in the Museum Staff & Trustee Demographics Study by completing this form.

About the survey: In partnership with SMU DataArts and as part of the Facing Change: Advancing Museum Board Diversity & Inclusion initiative, AAM’s new Museum Staff & Trustee Demographics Survey will help museums evaluate the diversity of their staffs and boards of trustees. The Demographic Survey and data collected will allow AAM and the field at large the opportunity to understand the composition of the museum field workforce and boards of directors based on self-reported data collected across respondents.

Instructions: Museums interested in participating must complete this form to register for the study. They will need to identify a staff liaison, preferably a CEO/Executive Director or HR director, responsible for reviewing a 15-minute webinar that will provide instructions on administering the survey and disseminating the survey link to all museum personnel.

Dates: The survey launches on August 15 and will remain open until September 27, 2021.

Benefits of participation: Participating museums will receive the following:

• Access to a personalized digital dashboard with an individual museum report
• A comprehensive report comparing their institution to those within their geographic region
• A full report of the field for baseline numbers
• An opportunity to help move the museum field toward by modeling equitable evaluation practices

Confidentiality: SMU DataArts regards the confidentiality of survey data to be of utmost importance. Names and other personal information are not requested in the survey.

Museums for All, an initiative of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, encourages individuals of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum habits. Through Museums for All, those receiving food assistance (SNAP benefits) can gain free or reduced admission to more than 400 museums throughout the United States simply by presenting their SNAP EBT (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefit Transfer) card. For Museums for All, DCMM provides a discounted admission of $2 per person for up to four people to the Sturgeon Bay and Gills Rock museum locations.

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) is hosting a series of  Sea Glass Sundays! this summer on the following Sundays: July 25, August 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29, 2021, from 10 am-5 pm on the museum’s patio overlooking the Harbor. Summer Glass Sundays! are free and open to the public. 
The Santa Barbara Sea Glass & Ocean Arts Festival, which usually occurs each year in September, has been cancelled for 2020 and 2021 and will not return until 2022; but the Sea Glass Festival organizers wanted to provide the community with the opportunity to purchase sea glass items before then! Summer Glass Sundays! will feature a variety  of handmade, ocean-themed art and authentic sea glass jewelry created by dozens of talented artists. 

Door County Maritime Museum has expanded our policy to offer free admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve. DCMM provides free admission for those currently serving in the United States Military – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard – and up to five family members.

This admission policy is available year-round, especially honoring the service of the three local US Coast Guard stations in Door County. The City of Sturgeon Bay is one of 28 cities that have been designated by Congress as Coast Guard Cities, and the only one in the state of Wisconsin.

During the summer months, the DCMM military personnel policy is part of Blue Star Museums, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums in all 50 states that offer free admission to active-duty military personnel and their families from Armed Forces Day (May 15) through Labor Day.

Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) is delighted to announce that it will be hosting the annual summer Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment (SCAPE) Art Show and Sale both online and in-person this year. A percentage of the sale proceeds will be used to benefit SBMM and help rekindle its post-pandemic maritime educational programs.

SCAPE and SBMM are co-hosting Images of Our Rekindled Maritime Community, as an online exhibit and in-person sale of fine art. The exhibit and sale will be available online from Wednesday, August 18-Tuesday, August 25, 2021. The in-person show and sale will be held on Wednesday, August 25th and Thursday, August 26. This event will feature the work of more than 75 artists and their views of our ocean and Santa Barbara’s maritime life. Artwork may be viewed and purchased online at https://sbmm.org/20scape/ beginning Wednesday, August 18, 2021. Prior to the opening of the exhibit, some of the artists and their work will be profiled on SBMM’s Facebook, Instagram and Web pages as well as on SCAPE’s Instagram account. Artists who are interested in participating in the show and sale, are invited to submit up to three (3) artworks with a $10 fee per submission, a photo of themselves, and a short biographic artist’s statement between July 1 and midnight of July 28, 2021. Once the artwork has been received, all submissions will be reviewed by SCAPE for inclusion, and will be selected by the SCAPE Juror.

SCAPE was founded in 2002 and has grown to over 200 members, a diverse group including nationally known and local artists, students, patrons, and gallery owners. Membership is open year-round to everyone who wants to participate. SCAPE’s goals are to have exhibitions to help raise money to protect open spaces, to increase public awareness of environmental and conservation issues, to promote camaraderie and provide education for artists. They mount 2 or 3 juried exhibits every year. To date over $100,000 has been raised to benefit local non-profit beneficiaries including the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Channelkeeper, and Heal the Ocean, among others. 

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park celebrates the release of a new mobile application that provides a virtual tour through the historic 1907 tugboat Hercules, the only surviving steam powered ocean tug in the United States. Hercules represents not only 1907 marine steam reciprocating technology at its height, but also the strength and fortitude of sailors who survived terrifying storms at sea. Explore this unique survivor of the American maritime story and share in this virtual on-board experience. Take a close look inside the pilot house, crew quarters, and the engineering spaces. In each of these places, you’ll have the opportunity to view 360-degree images, historic photos, and videos describing the events of working and living on this ocean tug.

To find the app, visit the App Store or Google Play, and type in “San Francisco Maritime.” When you see “Xplore Hercules Steam Tug” and/or “San Francisco Maritime,” you’ve found the right one. The App will create an augmented reality version of the ship then start your adventure!