Spring 2020 at the South Street Seaport Museum

South Street Seaport Museum announces the upcoming March and April schedule of events and exhibitions. The Museum, located at 12 Fulton Street, NYC, is open Wednesdays-Sundays in February and March from 11am-5pm. General admission is $20 ($14 for seniors and students, children ages 8 and below are free). Tickets are available at seaportmuseum.org. Museum memberships are also available at seaportmuseum.org/membership.
 
Step inside 12 Fulton Street at Schermerhorn Row to begin a seaport adventure, followed by a visit to the Street of Ships on Pier 16. Museum admission includes on-going exhibition Millions: Migrants and Millionaires abroad the Great Liners, 1900-1914 as well as access to historic ships: ship Wavertree and lightship Ambrose are available to tour as part of the admission experience.
 
March Special Events
Celebrate Pi Day on Wavertree: Why is a porthole round?  Explore the world of circles on tall ships through activities for all ages.  The number pi, which is used in measuring circles, is approximately 3.14, so on March 14 (3.14) we celebrate Pi Day.  Hands-on circle-based activities include working with the capstan, compasses, and navigational charts.  Throughout the day on Saturday March 14.  Activities are included in general admission tickets for the day.  More information and museum admission at https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/
 
MiniMATES classes for children aged 18 months – 3 years
Our early-childhood program resumes in March, in a new downstairs gallery space!  MiniMates uses themed songs, stories, art projects, and hands-on activities to teach program participants and their caregivers about boats and ships, marine life, and artifacts in a playgroup setting. “A great “salty” authentic NYC experience for our child.” says a parent. “My son’s favorite class.”
Spring session runs from March 25 to May 21.  More information and Registration at https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/minimates
 
South Street Seaport Museum participates in Mayor’s Office Immigrant Heritage Week 2020.
Tour lightship Ambrose, the ship that lit the way to America for millions of immigrants from 1908 to 1932. It was Irish immigrant engineer John Wolfe Ambrose who lobbied for a channel to make New York Harbor safer and more accessible to increasingly large ships, and the channel and the lightships anchored there were named for him.  Tour the original Lightship Ambrose at the dock at South Street Seaport Museum and learn how this historic ship lit the way for millions of future Americans.
Daily Apr 15 – 19, included in museum admission.  Tours at 1 and 3 daily. (Museum open 11 – 5).
https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/ambrose/
 
Ongoing Events and Permanent Exhibitions
 
Exhibition: Millions: Migrants and Millionaires aboard the Great Liners, 1900-1914, familiarizes viewers with passenger life aboard ocean liners, the defining differences between travel for wealthy Americans in First Class and future Americans immigrating to the United States in Third Class, and the continuing importance that immigration plays in American history. Millions is one of the first exhibitions to examine, side-by-side, the dichotomy between First-Class and Third-Class passengers aboard ocean liners in the early 20th century. From 1900 to 1914, nearly 13 million immigrants traveling in Third Class arrived in the United States. During this same period, America’s wealthiest citizens, totaling no more than a hundred thousand passengers each year, traveled to Europe in First Class, spending the equivalent of over $11.5 billion on luxury vacations. Even though First-Class and Third-Class sailed on the same ships, their journeys were worlds apart. This exhibition features both original and reproduced artifacts from the South Street Seaport Museum’s permanent collection including ocean liner memorabilia and ephemera, ceramics, and luggage trunks from both immigrants and First-Class passengers. The exhibition highlights a few ship models of New York Harbor working vessels that played critical roles in immigration, including a model of the Museum’s lightship  Ambrose (LV-87).
 
Interactive Exhibition: Street of Ships/Pier 16: the South Street Seaport Museum is home to a fleet of five historic vessels: the 135 year-old Wavertree, cargo ship and flagship of the Seaport Museum’s fleet, now back from a 13-million dollar, 18-month, city-funded restoration; the Historic National Landmark 1907 lightship Ambrose; schooners Pioneer and Lettie G. Howard, both award-winning sail training vessels; and W.O. Decker, one of the last steam-powered, wooden tugs built in New York. Self-guided experiences on Wavertree and guided tours of Ambrose are available to Museum visitors. Ship access is weather permitting and guided tours of Ambrose are offered several times daily.
 
Visit the Cargo Hold of Wavertree
Included in the price of admission, the South Street Seaport Museum now offers a new level of access to Wavertree, a 134-year-old ship built of riveted wrought iron and the iconic centerpiece of the “Street of Ships” at South Street. For the first time, visitors can take a tour into the belly of the ship to view the breathtaking main cargo area as tours are conducted into the massive lower hold space to a viewing platform. Tickets are available at seaportmuseum.org.
 
Bowne & Co.: Established by Robert Bowne in 1775, Bowne & Co. holds the distinction of being New York’s oldest operating business under the same name. After growing as a financial printer throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Bowne & Co. Inc. partnered with the Seaport Museum in 1975 to open a 19th-century-style print shop at 211 Water Street in the South Street Seaport Historic District. Today, it is comprised of the Bowne & Co. Printing Office, a workspace that continues the age-old tradition of job (or small batch) printing using seven historic presses from South Street Seaport Museum’s working collection, alongside Bowne & Co. Stationers, 19th-century-style emporium selling gifts and fine goods. Bowne & Co., Stationers is open seven days a week from 11am-7pm.
 
About the South Street Seaport Museum
The South Street Seaport Museum, located in the heart of the historic seaport district in New York City, preserves and interprets the history of New York as a great port city. Founded in 1967, the Museum houses an extensive collection of works of art and artifacts, a maritime reference library, exhibition galleries and education spaces, working nineteenth century print shops, and an active fleet of historic vessels that all work to tell the story of “Where New York Begins.” www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org 
 
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