Spending The Day At The Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut

Last weekend, I was invited to the Mystic Seaport Museum for the museum’s first ever Content Creator Day! I was invited to spend the day at the museum. This museum in southeastern Connecticut is the leading maritime museum in United States.

As someone who has lived in southeastern Connecticut my entire life, I’m no stranger to the Mystic Seaport Museum. I spent time here growing up, but I hadn’t been since 2012.

I’ve photographed it from across the river plenty of times since then. I love photographing the lighthouse in different seasons. I photograph it pretty much every time I’m in Mystic.

When I received the invite for the event, I was super excited and knew I wanted to go. I’ve always loved history, but recently I’ve gotten really into Connecticut history and visiting historical sites throughout the state. So, this spot has been on my list of spots to revisit as an adult. I loved this spot when I was a kid, but adult me definitely appreciates the history more.

A Warm Welcome

I arrived at the Mystic Seaport with my sister for a welcome breakfast in the Thompson Exhibition Building at 10am. We were served a delicious breakfast spread by Constellation. My sister and I loved the Morgan doughnut! It was a great way to start the morning before we went off to explore the grounds.

exploring The Grounds

Around 10:30am, we set off to start exploring the grounds. Since I hadn’t been since 2012, I had to reacquaint myself with the grounds using the map we were provided. I decided to start in the Seaport Village since I remembered loving this section growing up.

We wandered in and out of trade shops. There were quite a few that had a flag outside, which meant there was an actual tradesperson inside. The first demonstration we saw was cooking in an old hearth. I’m no stranger to going inside historic homes, but it’s not often that I get to see the hearth in use!

We learned a lot about what the responsibilities of children were to help in the kitchen, how they preserved fish and meat, and how they baked breads and pies in the beehive oven. It was really eye opening and a great reminder as to how far we have come since then.

Another demonstration we enjoyed was seeing the printing press being operated. We learned about what the letters were made of, how they were stored, and how to actually print! There were even some word searches that were printed with the printing press that we could take home.

We wandered through a lot of other buildings that didn’t have demonstrations going on, but we took it all in. There were guided audio tours available as well as information that could be read as you made your way through.

As someone who loves lighthouses, I had to get a close look at the replica of Brant Point Lighthouse that’s on the grounds. As I mentioned earlier, I photograph the lighthouse quite often from the opposite side of the Mystic River. It was nice to see it up close! Unfortunately, the exhibit inside was not open when we were at the lighthouse. But, it was still beautiful.

Since the exhibit wasn’t open, we sat on the bench next to the lighthouse that overlooked the river. As we were sitting there, Sabino, a wooden steamboat, sailed past! Sabino serves as a working exhibit. It operates daily trips during the warmer months on the Mystic River for the enjoyment and education of visitors.

After the lighthouse, we headed to do a guided tour of the Charles W. Morgan. The Charles W. Morgan is the last wooden whaleship in the world. The boat was first launched in 1841 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The whaleship was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

The tour started at the Ship Chandlery. The ship chandlery was a retail and wholesale source of supplies for both individual seamen and vessels. The chandler would know the needs of his local economy and was a specialist in meeting needs such as whaling, shipping, fishing, or ship building. While we were inside, we passed around a jar of hardtack, which is a dense cracker that can last for years, making it great for long sea voyages.

Then we went upstairs to see the sail loft. In the sail loft, we got to see where they work on the sails for the ships. They had an early 1900s Singer sewing machine that they still use to help make the sails, which I thought was really cool. We also got to see one of the new sails for the Charles W. Morgan.

Before we headed to the ship, we made a quick stop at the James Driggs Shipsmith Shop. This shipsmith shop was built in New Bedford, Massachusetts by James D. Driggs in 1885. It’s the only manufactory of ironwork for the whaling industry that is known to have survived from the 19th century.

The shipsmith was a specific heavy metal artisan whose job was to create sailing tools as well as things like harpoons for whaling. Inside the shop you can see some different examples of harpoons that would have been made. During our visit, we actually got to see a shipsmith at work.

After, we boarded the Charles W. Morgan. We learned a bit about whaling history and life on the ship while on board. The main thing these commercial whalers were after was blubber that would be converted into whale oil. However, they also would get baleen from the whale, which was used for things like corsets.

The ship would be out at sea for 3-4 years. The captain’s quarters was the largest living quarters on the ship. That being said, the space was still a bit tight.

For everyone else, the sleeping quarters were quite tight. I don’t think that I would have lasted on a whaling ship. The ship was also so rough out at sea that the table had railings so their dishes wouldn’t fall off. It definitely was not for everyone!

On the guided tour, we were able to go to the lowest part of the ship, which is not accessible on the self-guided tours of the ship. This was where they would store the whale oil that was processed.

Grabbing A Bite To Eat

After touring the Charles W. Morgan, we decided to grab a bite to eat. There are multiple options spots you can go: Propeller Coffee Bar, Anchor Mystic Cafe and Sweets, Schaefer’s Spouter Tavern, and Greenmans’ Landing.

First, we checked the tavern because it was close to the Charles W. Morgan. But, there weren’t a ton of options that were kid-friendly. So, we ended up grabbing a bite to eat at Greenmans’ Landing. They had a bigger menu than Schaefer’s Spouter Tavern, including a kid’s menu. There was both indoor and outdoor seating. We opted for dining inside with the AC because it was 90 degrees.

Taking A Ride On Sabino

To finish off the activities for the content creator day, we took a ride on Sabino. Constellations provided us with the cutest snack boxes to enjoy during the cruise. They also had lavender cocktails and mocktails as well. My sister loved her mocktail and sweet snack box!

During the cruise, we were able to see the seaport from the water. We got great views of the lighthouse from the water as we cruised by.

You can also get a great view of the Charles W. Morgan from the water. It’s a lot easier to view the whole ship from the water because you’re not right on top of it.

Another point of interest was the The Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard, which is a part of the museum. In the shipyard, skilled shipwrights maintain historic wooden vessels. It was the first shipyard built specifically for preservation in the United States, and possibly the world.

While out on the river, you’ll also get a glimpse of downtown Mystic and the historic Mystic River Bascule Bridge, commonly referred to as the Mystic Drawbridge.

The cruise was a great way to end the event! Can’t go wrong with a boat ride. But, we didn’t end our day there. The Mystic Seaport Museum provided us with two vouchers to build our own toy boats at the toy boat workshop. My sister and I really enjoyed this! We spent an entire hour in the toy boat workshop.

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After this, we were quite drained from the heat and spending hours exploring the museum. So, we decided to head home. All in all, we had a great day at the museum! We are so thankful that we were invited to spend the day there for their special event “Find Your Sea Story: Creators’ Experience” and we can’t wait to visit again soon. While we did a lot during our visit, there was a lot we didn’t see!

view the Mystic Seaport Museum’s reel about the event below:

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