NMHS: A CAUSE IN MOTION Council of American Maritime Museums 2018 Annual Conference – Bermuda
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National Museum of Bermuda
courtesy nmb
deirdre o’regan
courtesy nmb
aritime museums serve as the frontline in preserving the material culture of our seafaring past and interpreting it to audiences young and old, landlubbers and old salts alike. These museums vary from publicly funded large institutions to small seasonal facilities, some operating on shoestring budgets. What they share in common is the mission to keep our maritime heritage alive by engaging the public. Each spring, directors, curators, and educators gather at a host museum for the Council of American Maritime Museums annual conference. This year, panel topics included how to best attract and engage younger generations, and how maritime museums can prepare for—and recover from—disasters, both natural and man-made. In 2014 back-to-back hurricanes in less than a week’s time severely damaged the National Museum of Bermuda (formerly the Bermuda Maritime Museum), housed at the historic Royal Naval Dockyard, including considerable injury to historic structures, facilities, and artifacts. The museum’s director, Elena Strong, and her staff shared lessons learned from the experience, and a considerable portion of the conference addressed disaster planning. As most maritime museums are situated in waterfront locations, this is a pressing concern for all in the field. I attended this year’s conference to address the topic of how to more effectively reach young people and gave a presentation encouraging museum leaders to get involved with an already dedicated group of young scholars through National History Day, with which the National Maritime Historical Society is actively involved. More than 600,000 middle and high school students participate in National History Day events each year, and these young people should be further encouraged by their local maritime museums, to keep their interest going and expose them to maritime topics for their research projects. Out at the National Museum of Bermuda grounds, we were excited to tour the recently completed renovations and get an opportunity to visit both with Burchenal Green discusses National History Day during Dr. Edward Harris, who just retired after decades at the helm, and Elena Strong, her presentation at the 2018 CAMM conference. who takes over as the museum’s executive director. I was particularly impressed with how many museums are trying to attract new audiences, and to re-inspire longtime members, through innovative exhibits and programs. Duncan MacLeod from the Vancouver Maritime Museum discussed that institution’s recent efforts to engage the Japanese community of Vancouver by producing an exhibit on the local fishing community, whose fleet of boats was destroyed during World War II when Japanese-Canadians in the region were interned. Nantucket Historical Association’s Michael Harrison described how his organization is reconnecting to the local community by looking beyond the classic Nantucket whaling history and inviting Nantucketers to share their contemporary relationships with watercraft of all kinds. Jane Downing of our host museum, the National Museum of Bermuda, gave a fascinating presentation on 400 years of piloting in Bermuda, describing how for many years in its early history, Bermuda Dr. Edward Harris gave CAMM conferees a hugely pilots were nearly all slaves, and the nature of how that played out in maritime informative tour of the museum, covering the island’s commerce and society ashore. history and the recent recovery from two devastating Bermuda is famous for its shipwrecks, and the museum has long been active hurricanes that tore the roof off the museum and dam- in conducting maritime archaeological fieldwork and research. There were several aged the facilities and artifacts. presentations examining shipwreck archaeology. Jim Delgado gave a presentation showing how new technologies can not only advance underwater archaeological research, but how the latest communication technology allows live fieldwork to be shared with museums far removed from the site through cyberspace. There were, of course, many other presentations covering what’s going on in maritime museums across the country. The best way to learn about them is to stop by your local museum or visit those near where you are on vacation this summer and see what they have to offer. You can find a directory and location map of maritime museums on our website, www.seahistory.org, or at the CAMM website at www.councilofamericanmaritimemuseums.org. Next year CAMM will meet at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, in Manitowoc, home of the World War II submarine USS Cobia (SS-245). —Burchenal Green, NMHS President
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