chesapeake bay maritime museum

Marylanders: Put this on your bucket list. Educational, interesting, great setting! We were a couple of "seniors" who love history in town for a romantic get-away. But this is also a place for families with small or older children. There's lots to see and entertain the kiddos and the staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.

This is a self-guided tour covering the life and activities of the Watermen and their families. Visit at your own pace. View boats in their fleet from years gone by. Watch them work on restoration of vessels. Learn about the role this area played in the Civil War. Walking distance from the main street of St. Michael's. There is dining and a boat ride on the bay within walking distance as well.

Because of incredible cabin fever, a friend and I journeyed out of the Baltimore area and traveled to St. Michael's on a cold, blustery day the last day of February. She wanted to check out the shops and I wanted to go to The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. I had never been in spite of living in Maryland for over 30 years. I was so pleased. Even though all of the buildings were not open, I found plenty to educate and amuse myself for 2 hours. How often do you get to roam through a decommissioned lighthouse to check out the light keepers log, view his living quarters and walk up to the top where the lamp shone out on the Bay? Watch a female instructor tutor her pupils on how to build a traditional wooden boat the old way? See a huge building filled with the wooden working boats used on the Chesapeake in previous times to gather oysters, crabs and fish in the various ways, by tonging, nets, traps? Have an idea what it would be like to be a crab picker or oyster packer through a replica of their work environment?And let your children scramble through one of the last working skip jacks while watching a movie of the crew bringing in dredges filled with oysters? .

This is the most awesome place to visit. Learn the history of the Chesapeake Bay and how the old timers derived a living from the natural resources offered by the Bay.

Wonderful museum. Wish I had more time to spend but ill be back. Highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in the civil war history.

This is a place to go with your entire family --offers a wealth of information on life and activities of the Watermen and their families . You can wander about the 18 acres of buildings and go into the lighthouse -see all sorts of boats in their fleet (an amazing collection of different types sea going vessels ) You did not have to grow up on the water or have boats (I did ) to completely enjoy yourself . A worthwhile trip (plan on spending most of your day taking in the exhibits of models -guns -fishing items -crabbing-clamming oystering-boat shops just to name a few --- one thing the grounds are spotless -good parking and you also have the town of ST MICHAEL'S which caters to all one's needs The staff are great people and they have a gift shop with all sorts of items . And of course The CMO (chief mousing officer ) EDNA the salty cat go and have fun you will enjoy your visit

This would be alot more fun in the Summer, but we did have a good time, and will be back in warmer weather.

I first became a member of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum back in the 1970s and joined again when I moved back to the Eastern Shore. It's so much a natural part of my life and activities that I often forget to recommend it to friends and acquaintences. So here's my recommendation: Even if you know NOTHING about the Chesapeake Bay and sailing or boating or oystering or crabbing - or even if you know EVERYTING about it - you MUST put a visit to this fabulous "living" museum on your itinerary - and you MUST spend the better part of a full day here. Most interesting and best run museum of its kind ANYWHERE!

WOW!! A Great place to visit. Living History at it's finest!Great Historic Village representing the Ship Building, Hunting, and Fishing Industries. A real Boat Building experience. Summer Study Programs for Children, Apprenticeship Boat building opportunities, Historic Boat Tours! Decoys, Models, A Huge Collections of Shot Guns, Boats, and Fishing Lures. This is a Totally Rounded History Museum! PLAN ON SPENDING A DAY!! Remember, this is a NON PROFIT, All Proceeds go to the Bay Museum. Memberships are available, and encouraged to keep a part of Americana Alive!!!

Totally loved our afternoon there! The day was gorgeous and the museum varied and interesting. Loved climbing the lighthouse! There was even a local dock cat! This was a great time of year to go because there were not too many people.

Thank you so much for your visit and taking the time to write this TripAdvisor review. During general admission, we are a pet-friendly campus, with watering and pick up stations for our leashed friends. The exception to the policy is during festivals, when we only allow leashed service dogs on campus. This is for the safety of our guests during times when we have thousands of people on our campus and food served. We hope you will visit us again.

My boyfriend and I happened to stroll upon the museum during a walk around the town. I liked how the museume was spread out and we got to be outside enjoying the weather. Nothing overally exciting about the museum, really liked the lighthouse!

Go during a festival,such as oyster fest and there's lots going on. Homemade items: jewelry, artists,carvers etc - music, food Go anytime and see exhibits, demonstrations, take a boat ride. Great place- lots to do!

This museum is a gem of the eastern shore. I visit my inlaws in St. Michael's annually, and we never miss a visit to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. My seven and five year old love the dozens of old boats they can get up close to. The lighthouse is always a highlight of the visit; an overnight 'sleepover' in the lighthouse is definitely in our future.

This museum is not a typical one-building stand and read the history! It is a full-day immersion into the watermen of the area, their boats, their work and their lives. We spent the better part of two days exploring the 18 acres which held 14 different sites to visit. I thought I would never get my husband out of the working boatyard where we talked to shipwrights as they restored and built wooden boats. The 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse is a screw pile which allows visitors to experience the life of a lighthouse keeper. Each exhibit was interactive and educational. After two visits, we ended in the gift shop which was well-stocked with unusual items. It was hard to leave!