The USS Constitution Museum is located in the

Charlestown Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

, which is part of the

Boston National Historical Park The Boston National Historical Park is an association of sites that showcase Boston's role in the American Revolution and other parts of history. It was designated a national park on October 1, 1974. Seven of the eight sites are connected by the ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. The museum is situated near the ship at the end of Boston's

Freedom Trail The Freedom Trail is a path through Boston that passes by 16 locations significant to the history of the United States. It winds from Boston Common in downtown Boston, to the Old North Church in the North End and the Bunker Hill Monument i ...

. The museum is housed in a restored

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

building at the foot of Pier 2. The museum, through its collections and interactive exhibits, tells the story of ''Constitution'' ("Old Ironsides") and the people who designed, built, and sailed her. The museum is also home to the

Samuel Eliot Morison Samuel Eliot Morison (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history and American history that were both authoritative and popular. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and tau ...

Memorial Library and includes a comprehensive archival repository of records related to the ship's history. The USS Constitution Museum is a private, non-profit organization that is managed separately from the naval ship.

Exhibits

* All Hands On Deck – An all-ages interactive exhibit that explores the realities of life at sea during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

* Old Ironsides in War and Peace – A in-depth look at the ship's storied history, including how and why she was built, how she earned her fame during the War of 1812, and why she is preserved at the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

's oldest commissioned warship * "Old Ironsides" War of 1812 Discovery Center – An interactive exhibit that explains the causes and consequences of the

through games, multi-media, books, and other hands-on activities * ''Constitution'' vs HMS ''Java'' – The story of the battle between ''Constitution'' and HMS ''Java'', told through artwork, archival records, and artifacts associated with the battle

USS Constitution Awards Program

The Board of Directors of the Museum makes three major awards annually:

The Samuel Eliot Morison Award

The Samuel Eliot Morison Award is the highest recognition by the Board of a Trustees of the USS Constitution Museum Foundation of a person whose public service has enhanced the image of ''Constitution'' and who reflects the best of Rear Admiral

: artful scholarship, patriotic pride, and eclectic interest in the sea and things maritime, and a desire to preserve the best of our past for future generations. * 1977

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (July 5, 1902 – February 27, 1985) was an American diplomat and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate and served as United States Ambassador to the United Nations in the administration of Pre ...

* 1978 John W. McCormack * 1979

Leverett Saltonstall Leverett Atholville Saltonstall (September 1, 1892June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the List of Governors of Massachusetts, 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more th ...

* 1980

Arleigh Burke Arleigh Albert Burke (October 19, 1901 – January 1, 1996) was an Admiral (United States), admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during th ...

* 1981 Joseph C. Wylie * 1982 Richard E. Rumble * 1983 John D. H. Kane * 1984

Grace Hopper Grace Brewster Hopper (; December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navy rear admiral. She was a pioneer of computer programming. Hopper was the first to devise the theory of mach ...

* 1985 Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. * 1986 Dodge Morgan * 1987 Edward L. Beach Jr. * 1988 Joseph Z. Brown * 1989 Tyrone G. Martin * 1990 William M. Fowler Jr. * 1991 W. Davis Taylor * 1992 William S. Dudley * 1993 Christopher McKee * 1994 Benjamin W. Labaree * 1995 Leon F. Kaufman * 1996 Dean C. Allard * 1997 John A. Roach * 1998 Anne Grimes Rand * 1999 Michael C. Beck * 2001 Harold D. Langley * 2002

Patrick O'Brian Patrick O'Brian (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series. These sea novels are set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and ...

(posthumously) * 2004

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

* 2005

Nathaniel Philbrick Nathaniel Philbrick (born June 11, 1956) is an American author of history, winner of the National Book Award, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His maritime history, ''In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex'', based on w ...

* 2006 Ira Dye (posthumously) * 2007

David McCullough David Gaub McCullough (; July 7, 1933 – August 7, 2022) was an American popular historian. He was a two-time winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. In 2006, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United S ...

* 2008 Charles E. Brodine Jr.; Michael J. Crawford; and Christine F. Hughes. * 2009 John B. Hattendorf * 2010 William H. White * 2011 Bernard Bailyn * 2012 David Curtis Skaggs Jr. * 2013 Donald R. Hickey * 2014 George C. Daughan * 2015 William Martin * 2016 W. Jeffrey Bolster * 2017 Lisa Norling * 2018 James D. Hornfischer * 2019 Ian W. Toll

The Charles Francis Adams Award

To honor museum founder Charles Francis Adams IV and his lifelong support of the community through his commitment and loyalty to those institutions and ideas which affect the quality of life of all citizens, and to recognize others who have followed his extraordinary example, the award is made annually to a person or a team of people who have given of themselves for the betterment of the community, and through whose good works profound positive change for the citizens of the community has occurred. * 1991 Jason A. Aisner (posthumously) * 1992 Caleb Loring Jr. * 1993 John Joseph Moakley * 1994 Mrs. George L (Hessie) Sargent * 1995 J. Welles Henderson * 1997 Harvey Chet Krentzman * 1998 John J. Schiff (posthumously) * 1999 Claire V. Bloom * 2001 Edward M. Kennedy * 2002 Vivien Li * 2004 Gordon Abbott Jr. * 2005 Gordon R. England * 2006 Thomas J. Hudner Jr. * 2007 James (Lou) Gorman * 2008 Kevin C. Phelan * 2009

Thomas M. Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician Mayoralty of Thomas Menino, who served as the List of mayors of Boston, Massachusetts, mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving ...

* 2010 John P. Hamill * 2011 Robert M. Mahoney * 2012 Robert L. Reynolds * 2013 Peter H. Smyth * 2014 Thomas A. Kershaw * 2015 James T. Brett * 2016 David H. Long * 2017 Thomas A. Kennedy * 2018 Niki Tsongas * 2019

Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician serving as the sixth president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 72nd governor of Massa ...

The Don Turner Award

To honor Don Turner, former head of the USS ''Constitution'' Maintenance and Repair Facility, for his singular contribution toward the preservation of "Old Ironsides" and the skills that built her, as well as his knowledge of and dedication to the ancient art of shipbuilding, and to recognize others who are similarly dedicated to maritime preservation and advances in ship construction and design, the Don Turner Award is made annually to a person or team of people, professional or amateur, who have contributed significantly to efforts to preserve important vessels or who have made significant contributions to our knowledge and understanding of ship design and construction. * 1991 Don Turner * 1992 Maynard Bray * 1993 Harvey Steinberg * 1994 Bill Kock * 1995 Charlie Deans * 1996 Patrick Otton * 1997 Robert J. Burbank and the Riggers of USS ''Constitution'' * 1998 Howard Chatterton * 2001 Dana Hewson * 2002

Robert Neyland Robert Reese Neyland (; February 17, 1892 – March 28, 1962) was an American football player and coach and officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of Brigadier general (United States), brigadier general. He served three stints as ...

* 2004

Olin Stephens Olin James Stephens II (April 13, 1908 – September 13, 2008) was an American yacht designer. Stephens was born in New York City, but spent his summers with his brother Rod, learning to sail on the New England coast. He also attended the Mass ...

* 2005 Dana Wegner * 2006 Walter Rybka * 2008 Quentin Snedeker * 2009 Don Birkholz Jr. * 2010 Richard Whelan * 2011 Elizabeth Meyer * 2012 Peter M. Stanford * 2013 Harold Burnham, Ralph W. Stanley * 2014 Nathaniel S. Wilson, '' Charles W. Morgan'' restoration team * 2015 Maine Windjammer Fleet, Captains Doug and Linda Lee; Captain John Foss * 2016 Meghan Wren Briggs * 2017 Naval History & Heritage Command Detachment Boston * 2018 National WWII Museum PT-305 Restoration Team * 2019 Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey Association

References

External links

*
All Hands on Deck
online interdisciplinary curriculum website
A Sailor's Life for Me
online game website
The Family Learning Project
website
Log Lines Blog
from Research and Collections at the USS Constitution Museum
C-SPAN American History TV Tour of USS Constitution Museum - Part 1C-SPAN American History TV Tour of USS Constitution Museum - Part 2
{{authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1976 Charlestown, Boston Maritime museums in Massachusetts Military and war museums in Massachusetts Museums established in 1972 Museums in Boston Naval museums in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Boston 1972 establishments in Massachusetts