The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is one of ten Navy museums that are operated by the Naval History & Heritage Command. It celebrates the long history of the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

in the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

region of Virginia and is co-located with

Nauticus Nauticus is a maritime-themed science center and museum located on the downtown waterfront in Norfolk, Virginia, also known as the National Maritime Center. History Nauticus was incorporated under the National Maritime Center Authority in Febru ...

in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. In December 2008, the Hampton Roads Naval Museum was accredited by the

American Alliance of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, the gold standard for museum accreditation.

Collections

The museum's permanent exhibits include material on the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 17 ...

(1781), the American Civil War in Hampton Roads, the

Great White Fleet The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the group of United States Navy battleships which completed a journey around the globe from December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909 by order of President Theodore Roosevelt. Its mission was to ...

, World War II and the Cold War. Museum holdings are strong in the areas of naval prints, ship models and underwater

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

. The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is the official repository of the remains of two Civil War shipwrecks: USS ''Cumberland'' and CSS ''Florida''.

History

The museum opened on August 31, 1979, in the historic Pennsylvania House. This building, a replica of

Independence Hall Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers. The structure forms the centerp ...

, is one of the state pavilions remaining from the 1907

Jamestown Exposition The Jamestown Exposition was one of the many world's fairs and expositions that were popular in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. Commemorating the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony, it ...

, a world's fair. A major effort during the museum's tenure at Pennsylvania House was the 1984 installation of a large exhibit on the Civil War in Hampton Roads. During the 1980s, the city of Norfolk invited the museum to relocate to a new downtown maritime center. The Navy accepted the offer, and in 1994 the Hampton Roads Naval Museum opened in the

National Maritime Center. With the move, the museum's exhibit space increased significantly, while also increasing the number of educational programs. In 2000, the museum undertook management of the battleship USS ''Wisconsin'', which was berthed next to Nauticus that year and opened to the public on April 16, 2001. In December 2009, the Navy donated the battleship to the city of Norfolk, ending the museum's supervision of the ship.

Museum programs and resources

Special temporary exhibits in recent years have included "Animals and the US Navy", "Cuba Libre: The Spanish–American War in the Caribbean" and "Pax Americana: The US Navy in the Era of Violent Peace". The museum also offers guided tours, a lecture series, and educational programs. An active volunteer corps participates in all museum functions. A reference library, archive and photographic collection specializing in regional naval material are open to the public by appointment. The museum maintains a weekly historical blog post on a variety of naval history topics related to the Hampton Roads, Virginia area. The blog is maintained by their staff historian, and associated content is contributed from the museum's volunteers, educators and staff members.

References

External links

Hampton Roads Naval Museum official site

Hampton Roads Naval Museum Blog
{{authority control Maritime museums in Virginia Military and war museums in Virginia Museums in Norfolk, Virginia Museums established in 1979 United States Navy museums 1979 establishments in Virginia Naval History and Heritage Command

Collections

History

Museum programs and resources

See also

References

External links