The most effective way to learn is to roll up your sleeves and get involved. At Mystic Seaport, we take this principle to heart and use it as the inspiration behind many of our exhibits and activities. Instead of standing behind velvet ropes, our visitors touch, climb, play, and learn.
Tens of thousands of students visit us every year and see their lessons come alive before them. Visitors of all ages can dip candles, tie sailors’ knots, and chat with storytellers about what life was like in a seafaring village in the 19th century.
With interactive learning around every turn, the fun surrounding it all is a great bonus. Our younger visitors enjoy spelling out messages with maritime signal flags and hoisting sails in our Discovery Barn, and families can often be found at the nearby cooperage fitting oak staves onto a watertight barrel.
Whether our younger visitors are twisting strands into rope or climbing through a playscape to see the difference between a tug boat and a fishing dragger, we’ve found that the best learning comes disguised as fun.
