2009-10 School Program &
Teacher Resource Guide
<Download Now>

Orion Award for Excellence in Experiential Education

This annual award recognizes stellar teachers who are inspiring to their students and to their colleagues.
<Learn More>

Educators' Weekend

April 10-11, 2010

Admission to the Museum is free for educators and their families (up to
4 people total).
<More information>

Paul Cuffe Memorial Fellowship

For the Study of Minorities in American Maritime History

Mystic Seaport invites applications for the annual competition for the Paul Cuffe Memorial Fellowship. Paul Cuffe, born in 1759 on Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts, was the son of a Wampanoag Indian mother and a former slave father. Active in the Quaker community, he founded a free school in Westport, Massachusetts. Before his death in 1817 he became a sea captain, shipowner, landowner, and respected community leader.

Since 1989, Mystic Seaport's Paul Cuffe fellowship has provided funds to thirty-five researchers from universities, colleges, and museums. The fellowships are offered to encourage research that considers the participation of Native and African Americans in the maritime activities of New England, primarily its southeastern shores. Fellowships support research and writing, a portion of which should normally be carried out in the Mystic area. The fellowships of up to $2,400 are made possible through the generosity of a local private foundation.

Cuffe fellows are requested to write a report on their research within one year.

"The Cuffe Fellowship motivated me to take chances and pursue avenues."
Kristen Kobialka, National Park Service, Salem

"The Cuffe Fellowship enhanced the quality of my research."
Lisa Y. King, Howard University

"After months of library research and establishing contacts with families of former Cape Verdean captains, I have only scratched the surface. My enthusiasm and commitment to advance this project have increased as it progressed."
Waltraud B. Coli, Providence College and SchoonerErnestina Foundation

Applications:
To apply for a Cuffe Fellowship, send C.V. or resume, a full description of the proposed project, a preliminary bibliography, brief project budget, and contact information for three references. Applications will be judged on the merits of the proposed research project, the qualifications of the applicant, and the use to be made of the scholarly resources of southeastern New England.
Application deadline is March 30

Research Facilities
The research collection of the G. W. Blunt White Library has nearly one million documents pertaining to maritime history. These include 1300 ships' logs and journals, ledgers, diaries, and documents from the whaling, fishing, and shipping industries. The library is open Monday through Friday,10:30-5, and most Saturdays 11-4.

Nearby institutions with relevant research materials include:
* American Antiquarian Society, Worcester MA
* John Carter Brown Library, Providence RI
* Nantucket Historical Society & Athenaeum, Nantucket MA
* Dukes County Historical Society, Martha's Vineyard MA
* Old Dartmouth Historical Society, New Bedford MA
* New Bedford Public Library
* Kendall Whaling Museum, Sharon MA
* Yale University, New Haven CT

Maritime Studies
Graduate-level courses in American maritime studies are offered each summer at Mystic Seaport through the Munson Institute. Admission is open to graduate students and others; auditors are welcome. The six-week courses include America Goes to Sea and The Maritime Way of Life. Housing is available.

The Munson Institute of American Maritime Studies
Mystic Seaport
P.O. Box 6000
75 Greenmanville Avenue
Mystic, CT 06355-0990

Phone: 860-572-5359 Fax: 860-572-5329
Email:munson@mysticseaport.org