In its eighth decade, Mystic Seaport continued to engage visitors with the mystique of human connections to the sea. With the new Collections Research Center, the Museum began to manage its intellectual property in new ways that made it both a destination and a presence far beyond Mystic. Continually evolving, yet forever tied to the traditions of American seafaring that so long ago inspired the vision of its founders, Mystic Seaport defined itself as the Museum of America and the Sea through a decade of important and popular exhibits.
2000
- 25 March — Launch of the freedom schooner Amistad from the Museum’s lift dock, with 10,000 people in attendance.
- 13 June — Freedom schooner Amistad sails for the first time.
- 19 June — Voyages: Stories of America and the Sea, the Museum’s signature exhibit, opens in the Stillman Building.
- July-August — Schooner Brilliant participates in New London’s OpSail 2000 and wins Boston-Halifax and Halifax-England sail training races, making her first transatlantic crossing since 1933.
- September — “Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Power in Maritime America” conference held at Mystic Seaport.
- December — J. Revell Carr retires after 27 years as president and director of Mystic Seaport; James English becomes interim president.
2001
1 July — Retired Coast Guard Admiral Douglas H. Teeson takes over as president and director of Mystic Seaport.- Fall — Staff members begin moving into new Collections Research Center facility in Rossie Mill.
2002
- Publication of the second, updated edition of Mystic Seaport Museum Watercraft, by Maynard Bray, Benjamin A. G. Fuller, and Peter Vermilya.
2003
- Sea Dogs exhibit opens in Mallory Building, with many live dog events on the grounds during the tenure of this popular exhibit.
2004
- Larchmont Yacht Club donates launches Service and Necessity to Mystic Seaport for use in carrying visitors along waterfront.
- Women and the Sea exhibit opens in R. J. Schaefer Building.
2005
- September — Rebuilt sandbagger Annie sails again.
- October — Black Hands, Blue Seas: The Maritime Heritage of African Americans exhibit opens in Schaefer Building.
- Celebration of Mystic Seaport’s 75th anniversary.
2006
- Yacht Tales: Stories from the World of Recreational Sailing exhibit opens in Mallory Building basement.
- McGraw family donates 26 paintings by J. E. Buttersworth collected by Donald C. McGraw Jr., doubling the Museum’s holdings of Buttersworth paintings.
- Playscape boats for young sailors added to grounds across from Planetarium.
- A Berth to Bermuda: 100 Years of the World’s Classic Ocean Race, by John Rousmaniere, published by Mystic Seaport.
- June — Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group investigates paranormal (ghost) activity on the Charles W. Morgan.
- National Endowment for the Humanities begins to fund the Munson Institute of American Maritime Studies “American Maritime People” summer institute.
- September — “Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Power in Maritime America” conference held at Mystic Seaport.
- First annual America & the Sea photo contest.
2007
- From Model to Masterpiece: The Work of Thomas Hoyne and Erik Ronnberg exhibit and hands-on Art Spot open in Mallory Building.
- September — Opening of new Carlton Marine Science Center.
- Mystic Seaport International Council of Advisors established.
2008
Let Her Run rowing history exhibit opens in G. W. Blunt White Buidling.- May — Frozen In: Captain Comer and the Hudson Bay Inuit exhibit opens in Schaefer Building.
- 7 May — 100th anniversary of the launch of the Museum’s steamboat Sabino.
- 17 May — Dragger Roann relaunched after three-year restoration.
- June — Illuminating the Sea: The Marine Paintings of James E. Buttersworth, 1844-1894, exhibit opens in Mallory Building.
- June — 17th Annual WoodenBoat Show held at Mystic Seaport.
- November — Publication of new edition of Rudolph J. Schaefer’s book, J. E. Buttersworth, 19th-Century Marine Painter.
- November 1 — Charles W. Morgan hauled for bottom restoration.
2009
- 15 January — Mystic Seaport President Doug Teeson retires; Steve White becomes president.
- May — Planetarium renamed Treworgy Planetarium in honor of longtime Planetarium Director Don Treworgy.
- June — Mapping the Pacific Coast: Coronado to Lewis and Clark exhibit and hands-on Map Spot open in Mallory Building.
- June — Restoring an Icon: The Whaleship Charles W. Morgan exhibit opens in the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard.
- June — 18th Annual WoodenBoat Show held at Mystic Seaport.
- November — Skills of the Sailor interactive exhibit opens in the R. J. Schaefer Building.
