sandusky maritime museum

I didn't expect to be impressed with the Maritime Museum of Sandusky but I was. This is a great start to learn about the history of Sandusky and offers plenty of hands on opportunities for the younger visitors in your party. Begin your visit with a film that provides and overview of Lake Erie and history of the Sandusky Bay and then make your way through the exhibits. You'll learn about the shipbuilders that were once in Sandusky, ice harvesting, commercial fishing on the lake, how Sandusky paid a part in the Underground Railroad , pirates and more. A building in the back houses some of the wooden boats that were built by the area shipbuilders and has a viewing window where you can watch volunteers lovingly restore a Lyman boat. A smaller building houses a large collection of outboard boat motors. Plan to stay a minimum of 45 minutes to an hour. This is great for school groups, couples, families, seniors and homeschool field trips.

This is where you get the lighthouse stamp for the Cedar point lighthouse. Sadly you barely see the lighthouse from shore. You have better view of Mablehead. The museum was nice, but its better for children.

My husband is a licensed boat Captain and a Merchant Marine. We drove 3 hours to visit the Museum. It was supposed to open at Noon on Sunday. We were there at noon but the doors were not open. We called a few times and knocked on the door since the lights were on, but nobody answered. We left and went to another Museum and about an hour later someone returned our call to let us know they were open. Once we paid our admission we were told to ring a bell if we needed anything we never saw anyone again. The museum is much smaller than we thought it would be, and really didn't have many interesting things. We were going to purchase something at the giftshop, which still has Christmas ornaments from 2005 on the shelves, but could not find anyone to ring us up, so we left. I would not recommend wasting time or money, or a 3 hour drive, to visit this place.

I learned so much about the History of the Sandusky area that I didn't know before. If your kids like pirates, they talk about pirates too! The hands-on exhibits for kids are nice.

We learned a lot from the movie and varied maritime and fishing displays in this museum. For instance, we learned Sandusky was an important fishery and industrial hub in its past. The museum seemed old, but it was clean and the women's bathroom was clean.

The museum only charged $12 for the whole family ( five people ). It had spacious free parking. The exhibits were quite interesting. I especiually liked the exhibit about the Great Lakes role in the Civil War. I learned some things about "ice harvesting" and the dredging of sand from the bottom of Lake Erie. My children enjoyed it also. The museum is small, but the exhibits are well done. It seems to be a well run enterprise.

Found information on the museum online when researching things to do and see in Sandusky. It was a good little museum. Was worth the price of admission. Had some interesting artifacts and information particularly regarding ice harvesting.

You don't hear about it as much but this museum is really enjoyable to visit. It has wooden boats from years back, great pictures, interactive exhibits, and props from lake going merchant ships plus a myriad of added memorabilia such as letters from Captains, authentic hardware, and ghost stories. Price is very light. It is a also a spot where you can get the Cedar Point Light House stamp if you are on that journey.. USLHS.ORGPerfect time to visit is before the Museum's big SPLASH fundraiser in late August. You can get an entry while you are there and it is not cheap. $100 donation. The prize list is awesome however. Cars, Motorcyles, five thousand, one thousand, and an assortment of other dollar packages and even overnight stay packages all over $500 in value given out every ten minutes. And there is live music too. I would not tour the museum the same day of the event because the non-stop bands and prize drawings are rather addictive. In fact, I bet that if you buy a ticket and come to the event... you will end up participating in more than one raffle and really enjoying ther food trucks. It is Saturday Augist 16 from 12 noon to 5 pm. Check the website for the event at bigsplashraffle.comI prefer visiting in Summer and Fall.

This museum is fun for the whole family. They have exhibits on shipwrecks, pirates, the Underground Railroad routes to Canada, early navigation of the area and the coal boats on the river. The best part, I thought, was the exhibit on ice cutting in Sandusky. Truly fascinating!

A good little museum, well worth the time if you are interested in Great Lakes history. They have an outdoor area with some boats and in the summer hands on demonstrations.A good place to go for a break from Cedar Point and to see something historical.Not too overwhelming for children as it is not a large museum.

If you love ships, boats, and the Great Lakes, you'll love this museum. It is small, but it is limited to the Sandusky area, so you get great depth on the subject matter. The Sandusky area has a long history and strong connection to Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay and the museum does a nice job of preserving and sharing it. A good value, as well. If you are around for one of the events that the museum hosts, you will be wowed.

This museum is much about the great lakes area & shipping. Glass cases, large & small, contain instruments, models of ships-coast guard, ferries & cargo. The case with instruments include compasses, taffical clock, sextants stadimeter, a course corrector & taffical spinner. There is an exhibit about ice cutting and gas powered cutters. One exhibit is about the Edmund Fitzgerald cargo ship. There is a wall of knots, along with bench where a visitor can try their hand at tying. Other exhibits is the Johnson Island Conspiracy. This about an escape attempt by civil war confederate officers, the escape didn't succeed. Also is a Pirates On Lake Erie small replica boat. One exhibit not to be missed is about the War of 1812 Battle of Lake Erie. Here a visitor will learn about the ships, crews, and weapons used by the U.S. & Engish navies.There are two separate buildings that house boats built by the Lyman Boat Works. The Howman Boat House is the main building to check out. This building contains Lyman out/in board boats, Also two rowboats. There is a large photo of the inside of the Lyman Boat Works. Also are a few hand tools used in the building & repair of boats.A visit will probably take 45 minutes at most. My visit was over one hour. This included photographing many of the exhibits. This museum is not one a visitor would go out of their way. I stopped before heading to the Liberty Aviation Museum in Port Clinton. Any person interested in maritime history, the Sandusky/Port Clinton area and the Lyman Boat Works, this museum is worth a stop. Large parking lot, free parking. I am glad I took the time to visit. Discovered many interesting exhibits. A visit is recommended. Jack. L., Syracuse, New York.

There are some very interesting artifacts of the area's long relationship with the lake but they are not particularly well presented or coordinated. I believe this is pretty much a volunteer operation so am willing to accept a certain lack of organization in a place that is clearly doing a good job of preserving local history.

We stopped here on a whim and I'm so glad we did! We started our visit with the informative film about the history of the Sandusky region, which gave us a great basis to understand and learn from the rest of the museum. There were many interesting and interactive displays. Some of our favorites focused on history (including ice production, boating, and Sandusky's role in the Underground Railroad), nautical knot-tying, the audio recordings and panorama of wildlife, and the well-stocked bookstore/gift shop. Our family, spanning three generations from ages 16 to 76, was completely engaged for about an hour, and we left feeling much more informed and knowledgeable about the region. (Basically agree with everything Chris M says, except that we are from out of town and knew nothing about the area, so this was a great introduction for us.) I would definitely recommend this to others who are in the area and have an interest in history and/or boating; for only a few dollars and an hour's time, you will definitely get your money's worth.

This is a great place for those interested in local history or the great lakes. Some fun interactive exhibits, atrifacts and films. This is cheaply priced and is a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. Appeal for out of towners may be limited, however.