Located on the shores of Lake Champlain in Vergennes, Vermont the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is one of the premier maritime museums in the country.
There are over a dozen exhibit buildings on the site. These present the maritime history and nautical archeology of the Champlain Valley through hands-on interactive learning stations, video and audio displays, historical artifacts and images. Long term exhibitions are enhanced by new research, new acquisitions and special short-term installations each season.
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has educational programming to suit nearly every age and learning objective. We welcome everyone – from small home school groups to large busloads of kids. If you don’t see a program that works for you, give them a call; they can augment or adjust a program to better meet your students’ needs. From their on-site education at Basin Harbor, to their touring replica schooner Lois McClure; from the simplicity of having their educators visit your classroom, to the adventure of taking kids out in boats, they have a fun, exciting, and educational program for your students.
One of the cornerstones of the LCMM’s mission is to study Lake Champlain’s extraordinary collection of historic shipwrecks and present that information to the public. A natural outgrowth of the LCMM’s archaeological studies is the implementation of replica building projects.
In the 1980s, the museum began the first of its experimental projects to construct full-sized working replicas of historic vessels to teach the history and archaeology of Lake Champlain. The first replica boat, the Colonial-era bateau Perseverance, exceeded all expectations and convinced the museum that this was an effective process.
In 1989, construction began on a much larger project: the 1776 gunboat Philadelphia II. Throughout her construction phase, she was made available for viewing by the visiting public. Once completed, her use as an educational platform has been extraordinarily successful; students and visitors alike may step aboard the vessel, handle her lines, and interact with knowledgeable interpreters.
Today the fleet consists of two full-sized replica vessels that visitors may board, several restored boats for viewing, and numerous small craft, some on display in our new Hazelette Small Watercraft building, and some actively used in the rowing programs.
All of the museum buildings are accessible at grade level or with ramps built in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Approximately one-third of the museum site consists of open grounds, which include gardens, grassy and natural areas, pine groves, picnic areas, gravel walkways, outdoor exhibits, and facilities for watercraft at North Harbor. The replica 1776 gunboat Philadelphia II is located in the water, at the base of a steep gravel path and is not wheelchair accessible. However, two films and a 1/6 scale model in the exhibit “Key to Liberty: The Revolutionary War in the Champlain Valley” provide an alternative source of information about the gunboat and its history. The replica canal schooner Lois McClure is only accessible by stairs. However, interpreters are always available during hours of operation for questions.
Museum opens on June 4th, 2011 and closes October 16,2011
Open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum is located at 4472 Basin Harbor Road, Vergennes, Vermont adjacent to the Basin Harbor
Club
Telephone: 802-475-2022
Email: info@lcmm.org
Adults – $10, Seniors – $9, Children 5-17 – $6, Under 5 – Free, Members – Free