Plan Your Visit Buy Tickets Online Calendar of Events What to See & Do New for 2009 Daily Schedule Treworgy Planetarium Self-Guided Tours 19th-Century Village Get Out on the Water Fun for Kids Tall Ships & Vessels Preservation Shipyard » Exhibits and Galleries Tugs Exhibit Building America's Canals Skills of the Sailor Restoring an Icon Mapping the Pacific Coast » Navigation Activity Cart Sentinels of the Sea: Lighthouses Olin Stephens Voyages Yacht Tales Figureheads Exhibit Rowing Exhibit Whaleboat Exhibit Benjamin F. Packard Cabin North Boat Shed Thames Keel & Shipbuilding Exhibit Mystic River Scale Model Frozen In: Cpt. Comer & Inuit Black Hands, Blue Seas The Art of the Boat: Rosenfeld Illuminating the Sea: Buttersworth From Model to Masterpiece: Hoyne Carleton Mitchell Collection Traveling Exhibits Museum Gardens Meet the Actors Where to Dine Have Your Event Here Sailing Programs Community Classes & Programs Education Programs/Resources Shop Maritime Art Gallery Membership Research the Collections Support the Museum About Mystic Seaport Charles W. Morgan Contact Us

You are here: Home » What to See & Do » Exhibits and Galleries » Navigation Activity Cart

Buy Online Tickets for

Or Become a Member and
come for a whole year!

Finding your Way with our Navigation Activity Cart!

Learn about different nautical instruments. Look for our large rolling cart with graphics, experiments and nautical instruments on Museum grounds this summer and gain a better understanding of navigation and the crucial role it plays for mariners. Explore four topics that concern every mariner, past or present: Reading the Weather; Mapping; Finding Your Position and Finding Your Way.

Peer through a spyglass; go on a map-reading treasure hunt; make a log entry by recording the wind speed, temperature and barometric pressure; or measure the depth of the water from a nearby dock.

Visitors of all ages will be introduced to basic navigation techniques and tools, from ancient Arabic and Polynesian inventions to GPS, telescopes and nautical charts. Learn simple ways to orient yourself, just as sailors of the past did with their special instruments. Discover how other cultures such as the Polynesians, Arabs and Vikings used sticks, knots, beats and shadows to find latitude and how we use technology to navigate today.

Try your hand at some of these instruments and learn how to make simple versions using household materials. Take home tips and techniques to help you navigate in your own life - from your backyard to a new city. And don't forget to re-visit the Museum's permanent exhibits on maritime navigation and wayfinding that have long been visitor favorites: the Nautical Instruments Shop and the newly upgraded Treworgy Planetarium.

Discover these other fun activities for kids:

Map Spot - NEW! Explore the world of maps and create your own!

Art Spot - NEW! Create a maritime masterpiece

Birthday Parties - Have your birthday party at Mystic Seaport!

Children's Museum - Fun activities for kids ages 7 and under.

Playscapes - Climb aboard and explore our fleet of wooden boats just for kids.

Discovery Barn - Interactive activities for kids ages 8 and up (seasonal).

Tale of a Whaler - Interactive children's show teaches the basics of 19th-century whaling.

Hands-on History & Toy Boat Building - Create a unique maritime keepsake in these interactive workshops.